FTP as a Service (FTPaaS)

Rather than hosting your own file transfer solution and platform, hand it over to a third-party vendor who can manage the cloud infrastructure, scale, and monitor so you just have a web UI to work with and an always available solution. FTP as a Service (FTPaaS) offers many advantages compared to traditional FTP solutions, especially when using Couchdrop.

What is FTP?

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a protocol for transmitting files between systems. FTP on its own is an insecure method of transmitting files. However, when using FTP/S or SFTP this secures the transfer through encryption, such as using an SSH tunnel.

According to TechTarget.com, "In an FTP transaction, the end user’s computer is typically called the local host. The second computer involved in FTP is a remote host, which is usually a server. Both computers need to be connected via a network and configured properly to transfer files via FTP. Servers must be set up to run FTP services, and the client must have FTP software installed to access these services." 

While traditionally one would see it as an end user manually interacting with a server. FTP, FTP/S, and SFTP are commonly used to transfer files behind the scenes between two systems or between disparate applications, such as banking services through fully automated processes and functionality.

What is FTP as a Service?

FTP as a Service (or FTPaaS) is when you use a solution that fully manages, hosts, and maintains your FTP server and file transfer solution. Rather than hosting your own FTP server on a cloud platform where you have to manage, maintain, update, and work through complex workflows, handing this over to a SaaS solution simplifies business operations. This also has security benefits as you do not need to open your cloud or local platforms up to the internet and instead use a hosted platform.

What are the benefits of using FTP as a Service? 

Using FTPaaS offers many advantages including security, availability, scalability, ease of use, and modern functionality. 

FTPaaS security

FTPaaS offers better security than traditional FTP. With FTP as a service, you’re not relying on installing a traditional FTP application on top of a Linux device or another server. Traditional FTP opens your connection where it resides on the internet and you also have to manage access through complex text files and maintain security updates yourself. 

FTPaaS is always available

Given the critical nature of file transfers, having a redundant always available solution that can be geo-diverse and load balanced across multiple cloud nodes is a huge value point to using an FTP as a Service solution. These platforms can easily be scaled both horizontally (adding more nodes) or vertically (adding resources to nodes) due to the cloud-native architecture.

FTP as a service is scalable

When using the right FTP as a Service provider like Couchdrop, cloud platforms are forever scalable.  Due to the modern way these solutions have been built, they can automatically scale to meet demand whether that's by the number of files, file sizes, or the number of partners.

FTPaaS is easy to use

Rather than editing files or using native Linux commands to provide access to files and folders (this is after you have jumped through a VPN or RDP client) using FTP as a Service provides a simple-to-use web UI. This method is much easier to use as you can easily manage users and access, as well as have visibility of in-depth reporting and logging.

FTP as a service allows for modern functionality

When using a traditional FTP application you are limited by what the application has been built to do, often this is as simple as allowing users to connect to a directory in FTP. But using a hosted FTP solution, it can quickly adapt to modern requirements, such as integrating with your cloud storage platform, offering automation around pulling/sending files or working with files as they enter, alerting via email and webhooks, and more

Choose Couchdrop for FTPaaS

Couchdrop is an easy-to-use S/FTPaaS that works directly with your existing cloud storage like SharePoint and Dropbox. Along with adding FTP functionality to cloud storage, Couchdrop offers in-depth reporting and auditing, email and webhook alerting, and a robust automation suite that allows for file actions like copying, moving, renaming, PGP encryption/decryption, and much more. 

And you can try Couchdrop free for 14 days with no credit card. Simply create an account and you can explore Couchdrop right away with no extra hoops to jump through. Sign up for your free trial now.