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Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct vs Thru comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Sterling Commerce Connect:D...
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Thru
Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)
27th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is 6.6%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Thru is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct6.6%
Thru0.8%
Other92.6%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
 

Featured Reviews

Caio Nascimento - PeerSpot reviewer
Transform encrypted files with enhanced flexibility and very robust
The package that IBM delivers does not come with many premade tools or templates. This means we have to create a lot of things by ourselves, which requires more work. We have a team of four to five people just to develop map-based programs. Additionally, the initial setup could be simpler and better.
reviewer1090674 - PeerSpot reviewer
Scalable, reliable, and excellent support
I have been using Thru for approximately two years The stability of Thru is very good. Thru is a scalable solution. We have approximately 50 people using this solution. The technical support from Thru is great. I rate the support of Thru a five out of five. Positive The initial setup of Thru…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Offers secure file transfers with a fast and efficient protocol for very large files."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides 100% reliability for file transmission. It ensures that files get delivered in a secure manner. When you use Connect:Direct, your file 100% gets delivered to the next delivery location. If the log shows that a file got delivered, it will have all the transmitted data without truncation or other data issues."
"Automation is the most valuable feature."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"The product has been very stable."
"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."
"The most valuable feature of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is its flexibility with encryption."
"For Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct, my overall rating is ten out of ten."
"The stability of Thru is very good."
 

Cons

"The resources required for this tool are costly and not easily available in the market."
"I do not have any notes for improvement."
"Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct could improve by adding some of the functionality that some other vendors have. For example, GoAnywhere has call agents, which are small clients that can be installed on the endpoints and can be handled by the central point on the server. If I want to do this with the IBM solution, I have to sell a lot of account addresses. The price could be unprofitable for the customer. There is some small functionality that could be implemented and could be easily done to improve this solution."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"Technical support is the number one concern."
"The initial setup could be simpler and better."
"This solution cannot be deployed on a root_squash NFS, which limits superuser privileges."
"User interface is not user friendly."
"The initial setup of Thru needed an engineer to be involved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."
"The solution's licensing cost is too high."
"Annual licensing fee."
"Overall, the price of the solution is good for what it does, but when you want to add some features it can get expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
35%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Media Company
5%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise10
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
Based on experience, the one area IBM can improve for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is the support mechanism. While support is available 24/7 whenever required, the solution time during American...
What is your primary use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?
The majority use case for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is for file transfer, specifically secure file transfer.
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Interactive Demo

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

HZMO, Bank of Communications
Dell EMC, Plus 500, Manhattan Associates, NetworkRail, Blackbaud, AB InBev, Blackwoods, Sage, Crocs
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra, IBM, Progress Software and others in Managed File Transfer (MFT). Updated: October 2025.
872,837 professionals have used our research since 2012.