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MOVEit vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

MOVEit
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sterling Commerce Connect:D...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of MOVEit is 8.8%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is 8.4%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

Gijish Vikraman - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides the ability to securely transfer very large files and has great logging capability
We've faced some challenges with MOVEit as well. During the initial setup, we encountered issues with the MOVEit Transfer Gateway component, which operates in the DMZ. It frequently went down, causing disruptions in SFTP connectivity for most of our vendors. As a result, we had to implement extensive monitoring to ensure we received instant visibility whenever the gateway failed, allowing our system admins to respond quickly and restart the service. Another issue stems from the fact that MOVEit is a Java-based product, and it seems to have a memory leak, leading to system slowness and unresponsiveness at times. To mitigate this, we had to schedule weekly restarts to clear out memory, which remains an ongoing process because, without these restarts, we wouldn't have a responsive system. These are two key challenges we’ve encountered with MOVEit Transfer. Regarding MOVEit Automation, a job is typically triggered as soon as a file arrives, and it looks for the file, matches it, and moves it to the destination. However, if the expected file doesn't arrive, say on a Tuesday at 8:00 AM due to a job failure or someone forgetting to place the file, we need better visibility. Currently, MOVEit Automation offers limited capabilities for this scenario. We rely on error codes that indicate when no file was found, and we've built an email alert system around this, but for complex schedules—like jobs running on the 10th of each month—the system becomes ambiguous and occasionally generates false alerts. While MOVEit is not designed as a notification system, better alerting features would be incredibly valuable. I'd also like to see Google Cloud connectivity in future updates. MOVEit has been expanding its connectors, initially supporting Azure, followed by AWS, but connectors for Google Cloud Platform are still missing. Adding this capability would be a great enhancement. Another improvement I'd welcome is the ability to interact with message brokers. Currently, MOVEit handles file transfers and supports HTTP calls, meaning you can invoke APIs or download files over HTTP/HTTPS protocols. However, I’d like to see support for messaging protocols like MQ or AMQP. These protocols would make the platform more versatile, particularly for integrations where we need to pull messages from a queue and create files. IBM offers this capability, and if MOVEit could add it, it would make the product even more feature-rich and useful for our needs.
Sumit Mundik - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good file transfer speed, but licensing cost is too high
The initial setup of the solution is not straightforward because it's not GUI-based. If you are installing the solution on a UNIX server, you should have a basic understanding of UNIX. You should know how to go from one directory to another, what the config files are, how to edit those files, and how to get the backup of those files. You need a little technical knowledge for it. The developers working on the solution are very costly for the organization. Also, the complexity of having this kind of setup is very difficult. This solution is only used by giant financial companies like BNY Mellon, Barclays, and JPMorgan Chase. They cannot replace the solution because they have several files transferred internally using it. It is very difficult and cost-consuming for them to change, migrate, or upgrade their system. That's the reason they are not able to do it very easily.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It satisfies our requirements but they don't do new improvements as per the market."
"Especially at the time of monitoring, it's a nice way to take a look at the script and take a look at run time, which gives enough information for the files that are getting picked or not."
"The tool’s GUI is very simple."
"The automation is generally very simple that helps with operational efficiency. Since we mainly created interfaces and scheduled transfers, the tool itself handled the file transfer automation."
"From an administration standpoint, it's very easy to manage, and I feel pretty confident in the security of the product. From an end-user standpoint also, it's very easy."
"The convenience of renaming files and using time stamps to segregate them has been very valuable."
"The renaming and timestamp features are great."
"The most valuable feature of MOVEit is the upload speed."
"Offers secure file transfers with a fast and efficient protocol for very large files."
"Automation is the most valuable feature."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"Security is the most valuable feature of this product."
"The Security Plus feature of this solution is excellent, and allows you to send encrypted files very securely to remote destinations."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"The solution's file transfer speed is quite high."
"For Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct, my overall rating is ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"With the new other vendors coming up, they come up with certain features, in addition to the file transfer. But MOVEit does not develop their product. That's why we are looking out for other solutions."
"Communication can be improved between the product owners and users."
"It takes some time to learn and understand how the solution functions."
"Since I have to monitor two times a day, it would be nice if they have script templates."
"It would be beneficial to include a feature that allows you to hide items and not be locked out if someone has made too many password attempts."
"We have had some challenges. Earlier when we were setting it up, a component called gateway, which runs in the DMV, was not working as expected. It was going down very often. That means most of our vendors were not able to connect using SFTP because that service was down. We had to put in a lot of monitoring to make sure if that goes down, there is some visibility instantaneously so that our system admins can go and do a restart."
"The initial setup is a bit difficult."
"In future releases, MOVEit could add support for some additional protocols. For example, I don't think they supported the SFTP or FTPS protocols at the time."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"Technical support is the number one concern."
"The resources required for this tool are costly and not easily available in the market."
"They have File Agent, which is an additional utility and a component of Connect:Direct, for automated file transmission. In that utility, there is some issue with the file name. There is a limitation on the file name, and that is being fixed by IBM."
"The initial setup could be simpler and better."
"User interface is not user friendly."
"Sometimes we face issues and can't figure out the cause of failures."
"The user interface could be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Technical support is only available with a paid license."
"When compared to other products I've used, I believe MoveIt is worth the money someone might pay to use it."
"It's cost-effective."
"I haven't really priced out many other products like this, but I feel it's reasonable. Their upgrade support after hours was going to be $6,000. I just made the decision to wing it and just do it during business hours and call support if there was a problem."
"The solution's licensing cost is too high."
"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."
"Annual licensing fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
43%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MOVEit?
The automation is generally very simple that helps with operational efficiency. Since we mainly created interfaces and scheduled transfers, the tool itself handled the file transfer automation.
What needs improvement with MOVEit?
The product must improve its security features. Recently, there have been multiple attacks on the solution. It has ruined the reputation of clients who use the solution. The vendor must ensure that...
What is your primary use case for MOVEit?
We can use the product to transfer files. I work for a bank. The files we transfer have PGP encryption by default. The data we send or receive is encrypted, ensuring that there is no data breach.
What is your primary use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
The primary use case for Connect Direct is for transferring data from Linux or Unix systems to mainframe systems. I am the mainframe support person responsible for Connect Direct, Xcom, and other p...
 

Also Known As

Ipswitch File Transfer, Ipswitch Managed File Transfer
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cambridgeshire County Council, Capita Document & Information Services, Enterasys, City of Guelph, Hermes
HZMO, Bank of Communications
Find out what your peers are saying about MOVEit vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.