GoAnywhere MFT vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct comparison

Fortra and IBM are both solutions in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category. Fortra is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while IBM is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2. Fortra holds a 10.1% mindshare in MFT, compared to IBM’s 5.0% mindshare. Additionally, 99% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of IBM users who would recommend it.

GoAnywhere MFT

Read 86 GoAnywhere MFT reviews

4,865 Views
4,573 Comparison Views

99% willing to recommend

Sterling Commerce Connect:D...

Read 12 Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct reviews

1,709 Views
1,709 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

GoAnywhere MFT

Sterling Commerce Connect:D...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 21, 2025

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct and GoAnywhere MFT both focus on secure and reliable file transfers, with GoAnywhere MFT seeming to have the upper hand due to its advanced integration capabilities.

Features: Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct offers high-volume, automated file transfers with a consistent focus on security and reliability. It supports comprehensive platform interoperability and is equipped with EBICS protocol handling. GoAnywhere MFT, on the other hand, excels with advanced integration capabilities across a wide array of protocols and platforms, offers enhanced workflow management, and features such as built-in encryption, auditing, and connectors, making it particularly versatile for various business demands.

Room for Improvement:Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct could improve by simplifying its deployment process and enhancing customer usability to reduce setup time and complexity. Its interface could be updated to better meet modern user expectations. GoAnywhere MFT could enhance by optimizing its integration and usability for even more streamlined experiences. Its deployment could be made even faster, and documentation more comprehensive to address user needs effectively.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct features a complex and robust deployment process, often resulting in longer setup times. In contrast, GoAnywhere MFT boasts a modern architecture that simplifies and accelerates its deployment. Additionally, GoAnywhere's customer service is highlighted for its responsiveness and supportive nature, contributing to higher user satisfaction.

Pricing and ROI: Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct involves higher initial setup costs, delivering strong ROI for enterprises with complex needs. Conversely, GoAnywhere MFT provides a more cost-effective setup with a flexible pricing model, demonstrating favorable ROI, particularly appealing for small-medium businesses and large organizations alike.

To learn more, read our detailed GoAnywhere MFT vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

GoAnywhere MFT vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

February 2026

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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

GoAnywhere MFT

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sterling Commerce Connect:D...

Ranking in Managed File Transfer (MFT)

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Managed File Transfer (MFT) category, the mindshare of GoAnywhere MFT is 10.1%, up from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is 5.0%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed File Transfer (MFT) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
GoAnywhere MFT	10.1%
Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct	5.0%
Other	84.9%

Managed File Transfer (MFT)

Featured Reviews

Anuj Bhagwat

Dev Ops Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Has enabled secure, centralized file sharing while saving significant time and resources

The best features in GoAnywhere MFT are that it's fast, reliable, and secure. First, the improvement is that we have resolved one of our security points with compliance. So that compliance point we resolved. And also it's a centralized file sharing system. All the users are able to access the file. There is no one-to-one sharing. It's improved about 80 to 85%. It saves about 80 to 90% resources. In terms of time, we can say 90 to 95% time is also saved because it avoids the one-to-one sharing and simply a user can put one centralized directory and all the users are able to access this solution and access the file. So it's 95%.

Read full review

reviewer1955103

Assistant Vice President at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Has delivered robust secure file transfer with exceptional encryption features

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 hours can take longer. In general, during American hours, the resource availability is not up to the standard. However, availability of support staff during UK timings or GMT timings is very good; they are supportive and helpful. Functionality-wise, they can make additional improvements to Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct. They recently improved by adding a GUI for configurations on Windows as well as UNIX platforms, which is very helpful. However, the web client is cumbersome and not as interactive as it should be. The CLI part is comprehensive, but the GUI needs improvement.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of GoAnywhere is that transfers are straightforward if there are no other requirements from the source and destination. It doesn't require much maintenance."

"I appreciate how files are being transferred. Before a file is shared with anyone, there is a scanning process that takes place, and the file is securely shared without any problem or malware existing in the file."

"GoAnywhere stands out for its user-friendly project creation, intuitive testing and troubleshooting, and especially its notification system, which keeps me informed of any issues that need attention, a feature we lacked before."

"We are a review website for enterprise IT, and we perform two main functions: First, we publish these reviews for other people to read, either publicly or anonymously; second, we work directly with vendors who are interested in understanding what users think about their product."

"When users say, 'I'm building spreadsheets that I would like to be uploaded on a regular basis into the IBM i,' we are able to accommodate that request within a matter of hours rather than the days it would take to create programs to do that. That is very useful. It has eliminated several dozens of scripts for us."

"Scheduling is valuable. You can schedule a transfer for any time you want. It can be hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly. You can transfer the file on AWS, Azure, or SharePoint."

"It enabled us to allocate staff toward other work. All the time that we would have wasted worrying about this stuff and correcting problems is put into other parts of our job. That's one of the best things about it, is that we don't waste time on these projects. We just don't have to worry about them because it lets us know if there's a problem."

"Before, we had to write scripts and manually update them to move data around, encrypt files, or rename files. Now we just use the GUI to set the modules for transfers, encryption, renaming, and copying, allowing us to set it and schedule it to run without any user interaction."

More GoAnywhere MFT pros

"Automation is the most valuable feature."

"The solution's file transfer speed is quite high."

"The most valuable feature of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is its flexibility with encryption."

"Connect Direct offers Check Point functionality to ensure data integrity during transfers."

"For Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct, my overall rating is ten out of ten."

"Security is the most valuable feature of this product."

"The product has been very stable."

"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."

More Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct pros

Cons

"Without knowledge, it can be challenging to manage as it uses XML files for configurations and has tricky variables. While it's not particularly intuitive for new users, it becomes easy once mastered."

"Sometimes file sharing gets failed. Many of the users in the last week faced the issue that the files are not delivered."

"The UI can feel somewhat heavy when we perform advanced troubleshooting for complex workflows."

"The security features must be updated regularly."

"We had a few activities or events in the past where threat actors or hackers targeted MFT solutions or systems or software by exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities."

"The support desk has room for improvement. I keep opening tickets and they keep telling me that they're closed, but they're not resolved."

"The interface could be more customizable."

"One area where GoAnywhere MFT has room for improvement is in how the application reports issues; when the application runs on a server and encounters problems, it doesn't provide detailed information on the server issues, which could help users troubleshoot better."

More GoAnywhere MFT cons

"Sometimes we face issues and can't figure out the cause of failures."

"The user interface needs to be improved."

"The user interface could be more user-friendly."

"User interface is not user friendly."

"Technical support is the number one concern."

"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 resources required for this tool are costly and not easily available in the market."

More Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is not cheap, but it is not expensive."

"Its pricing is fair. It is not the most expensive, and it is not the cheapest. For what we get in our environment, the pricing model works pretty well."

"GoAnywhere's price is justified by its features and the time it saves me."

"Licensing can be expensive and it depends upon which features you want to buy."

"It would be good for the company to explore a modular approach to selling the product so it could be cheaper and more attractive to users."

"The pricing for GoAnywhere MFT seems reasonable when compared to other similar services, especially cloud services. Azure is significantly more expensive."

"Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT pricing is competitive."

"GoAnywhere was the most attractively priced product that met our needs. In our PoC it really came down to MOVEit and GoAnywhere, and GoAnywhere's pricing was about 30 percent less."

More GoAnywhere MFT pricing and cost advice

"Annual licensing fee."

"The price and licensing of Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is expensive."

"The solution's licensing cost is too high."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

31%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Media Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	57
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	43

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

GoDrive eliminates the need to use the exchange server for file sharing.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

GoAnywhere MFT pricing is fine for me. I do not have any complaints regarding the pricing because SFTP is the most valuable asset in the organization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT?

I believe that GoAnywhere MFT can be improved because the initial setup is somewhat challenging for a new user, so they need to make the initial feature easier for everyone, whether new or experien...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct is an expensive platform.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct?

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

JSCAPE by Redwood vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 12% of the time

MOVEit vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Sterling File Gateway vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 9% of the time

Control-M vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 8% of the time

OpenText Data Integrator vs GoAnywhere MFT

Compared 2% of the time

More GoAnywhere MFT Competitors

Kiteworks vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Compared 20% of the time

IBM Sterling File Gateway vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Compared 17% of the time

Control-M vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Compared 9% of the time

Globalscape EFT vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Compared 7% of the time

CA XCOM Data Transport vs Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

Compared 6% of the time

More Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

GoAnywhere MFT

January 2026

Download GoAnywhere MFT product report

Buyer's Guide

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

January 2026

Download Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct product report

Also Known As

HelpSystems GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere MFT, GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer,

No data available

Overview

GoAnywhere MFT offers user-friendly workflow features, advanced security, and seamless integrations. Its intuitive interface supports streamlined operations and rapid project creation, making it suitable for managing secure file transfers.

GoAnywhere MFT provides sophisticated automation through Advanced Workflows, enabling reduced manual tasks and improved efficiency. With centralized data exchange, file monitoring, and comprehensive security protocols, it supports scalability, encryption, and IP filtering for enhanced protection. Users appreciate its adaptability with systems including IBM and Epic, contributing to improved process management and significant time savings. While beneficial, enhancements in DNS support, user interface intuitiveness, and customer service responsiveness are potential growth areas. License costs are noted as high, with demands for better documentation, cloud service integrations, and improved scalability and load-balancing functionalities.

What are the key features of GoAnywhere MFT?

User-Friendly Workflows: Intuitive interface streamlines operations.
Advanced Security: Includes encryption, IP filters, and monitoring.
Seamless Integrations: Adapts to systems like IBM and Epic.
Automation: Simplifies processes with reduced manual tasks.
Scalability: Grows with business needs.

What are the benefits and ROI of using GoAnywhere MFT?

Improved Efficiency: Reduces workload through automation.
Time Savings: Accelerates project delivery.
Enhanced Security: Protects data with advanced protocols.
Adaptability: Supports multiple platforms and integrations.
Process Management: Simplifies and streamlines data exchange.

GoAnywhere MFT is deployed by organizations for secure file transfers across systems like financial, healthcare, and corporate sectors. It supports SFTP, FTP, and HTTPS for data exchanges and is highly effective in automating processes and managing large file movements efficiently. It integrates well with cloud platforms like Azure and accommodates environments such as Windows, Linux, and IBM iSeries.

Fortra

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:

Performance capabilities such as extraordinary scalability and low latency.

Automated, dependable file transmission that permits unattended, round-the-clock operations.

Designed to run on a variety of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, IBM z/OS, OpenVMS, i5/OS, and HP NonStop.

Advanced security features with cutting-edge encryption to meet regulatory and industry standards.

IBM certified containers for Sterling Connect:Direct are enterprise-grade, secure product editions that are scalable, secure, easy to install, and manage update and rollback processes. They also have integrated common software services for consistent deployment lifecycle management.
Boosts transfer speed for large files over high-speed networks by up to four times the previous speed while reducing latency.
Gives existing FTP transfers the ability to retry, checkpoint, and compress existing transfers.
Supports a variety of network protocols, including TCP/IP, Systems Network Architecture (SNA), and an optional high-speed add-on based on Aspera FASP technology.

Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

High performance: Takes care of your most demanding workloads, including multi-gigabyte files to large volumes of small files.

Reliable file delivery: To help ensure predictable, assured file delivery, it offers automated scheduling, checkpoint restart, and automatic recovery.

Secure transmission of files: Maintains the confidentiality of customer information and supports regulatory compliance measures.

Speed up patching and installation: By deploying your solution with a certified container that contains all necessary components, you can drastically cut installation and patch time from hours to minutes.

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.”

IBM

Sample Customers

McKesson City of Modesto, California Kwik Trip Northwestern University Charter Communications

HZMO, Bank of Communications

Buyer's Guide

GoAnywhere MFT vs. Sterling Commerce Connect:Direct

February 2026

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