

Sterling Commerce Connect Direct and Control-M compete in data management and process automation. Despite Sterling's favorable pricing and support, Control-M has an edge due to superior features in automation.
Features: Sterling Commerce Connect Direct provides secure and reliable high-volume file transfer, ensuring data integrity with comprehensive logging. It features the ability to recover from communication issues and offers flexible deployment options. In contrast, Control-M excels in workflow orchestration across multi-cloud environments, supports a wide range of applications, and includes a user-friendly GUI for scheduling complex tasks.
Room for Improvement: Sterling Commerce Connect Direct could benefit from enhanced automation features and improved cloud integration. Additional monitoring tools and simpler integration with diverse platforms would enhance its capabilities. Control-M could improve ease of deployment for traditional environments and simplify the initial setup process. Additionally, increasing the range of supported platforms for integration would further bolster its utility.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sterling Commerce Connect Direct offers straightforward setup and detailed configuration guides, promoting easy integration in traditional settings. It boasts effective support structures for quick problem resolution. Control-M has a more complex deployment process, but it offers versatile cloud support and is backed by comprehensive training and proactive customer service, making it adaptable to various deployment models.
Pricing and ROI: Sterling Commerce Connect Direct is recognized for its more favorable upfront costs and cost-effectiveness for budget-conscious organizations. Control-M may have higher setup costs but delivers a greater return on investment through enhanced automation, leading to significant operational efficiency and long-term savings.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Control-M | 7.1% |
| Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct | 5.4% |
| Other | 87.5% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 37 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 23 |
| Large Enterprise | 140 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 1 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 1 |
| Large Enterprise | 10 |
Control-M SaaS by BMC is tailored for growing teams, offering essential orchestration for managing hybrid cloud workflows starting at $29,000 annually.
Control-M integrates automation, orchestration, and a user-friendly interface to streamline workflows across banking, DevOps, and cloud environments. Key modules like Managed File Transfer and cross-platform support simplify job monitoring, while Batch Impact Manager enhances scheduling. Despite its capabilities, improvements in output analysis, reporting customization, offline access, and API integration are desired by users.
What are Control-M's key features?Control-M is implemented in industries such as finance and enterprise operations, aiding in automating batch processing across platforms like SAP and Teradata. It integrates with secure file transfers, ERP systems, and databases, whether deployed on-premises or cloud, ensuring seamless operation optimization.
IBM's Sterling Connect:Direct is a software product that offers security-hardened, point-to-point file transfers to reduce reliance on insecure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transmissions. It is designed for high-volume file distribution within and between businesses. The solution guarantees more reliable file movement, from batch integration and movement of large images or catalogs to synchronization with distant sites. Sterling Connect:Direct also enables hybrid cloud deployment through certified containers, allowing for simple and consistent deployment lifecycle management.
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Features
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its robust file processing and its security for file transfers. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:
Michele I., Business Unit Manager at Innovery, writes of the solution, “The file processing is done very well. By default, there are a lot of configurations that can be customized. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is one of the stronger MFT solutions in the market, it is available in each type of installation, and offers SaaS, PaaS, YaaS, on-premise.”
Camilo M., Pre-sales Engineer at Dell EMC, mentions, “It's a great tool because it offers secure file transfers and it has a fast and efficient protocol for very large files.”
We monitor all Managed File Transfer (MFT) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.