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IBM Sterling File Gateway vs Safe-T Secure Application Access 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

IBM Sterling File Gateway
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Managed File Transfer (MFT) (3rd)
Safe-T Secure Application A...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (34th), Access Management (31st), ZTNA (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM Sterling File Gateway and Safe-T Secure Application Access aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. IBM Sterling File Gateway is designed for Managed File Transfer (MFT) and holds a mindshare of 5.9%, down 10.3% compared to last year.
Safe-T Secure Application Access, on the other hand, focuses on Enterprise Infrastructure VPN, holds 1.2% mindshare, up 0.3% since last year.
Managed File Transfer (MFT) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Sterling File Gateway5.9%
GoAnywhere MFT8.5%
MOVEit7.0%
Other78.6%
Managed File Transfer (MFT)
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Safe-T Secure Application Access1.2%
OpenVPN Access Server11.9%
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks6.3%
Other80.6%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

DB
CEO at Logic Systech Pvt Ltd
Has supported consistent deployments and automation but needs better reporting and tracking
The disadvantages I see in IBM Sterling File Gateway include price and reporting. Reporting is not very easy. If 10 people are putting file transfer using this protocol, determining who did what file transfer, how long it took, what encryption was done, and whether it was accessed by somebody or whether it was fully done without any retrial is difficult. Reporting is a big problem in IBM tool, according to our customers' complaints. When there is an audit requiring proof that a file has gone in a secure way, most customers have not been able to prove it. Additionally, when there is a large file transfer which has to be done in multiple pieces because of bandwidth restriction, they have not been able to do splitting. The splitting was not possible during file transfer. Many customers have asked if they can split the file and then send it, or pick and choose and send it from a large file. It was also found that it was hogging the bandwidth whenever it was doing file transfer. Ultimately, we ended up selling HP also. The tracking and monitoring features of IBM Sterling File Gateway present some challenges, particularly with tracking, monitoring and compliance issues which RBI is asking for. While it was possible to address these issues, it required an expert to figure it out. When expertise business activity is required, it costs money to customers who are not willing to pay. Regarding future features to make it more competitive, automation email could be one feature I recommend where once the file transfer is done, an email or log should be created for the admin person confirming successful completion. Second is 24/7 support in case of any issues. IBM has never been able to give round-the-clock support whereas customers can ship files even at midnight. Our support is also based on support from IBM. The third improvement area could be automation release notes. IBM has never given us or customers notifications when a new release or patch has come. Whenever a patch is released, an email should go to the buyer or user and to the reseller so they can sync up whether to upgrade the patch or not.
it_user787671 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer
Needs to be easier to configure and to display logs more simply
We use only it for scanning files for viruses. That's the only feature we use in this product It needs to be easier to configure, it should be something that's working well with other sources. It should be something that allows me to see the logs simply. One to three years. Sometimes it doesn't…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's highly configurable and there is no need for standalone scripting; it's adaptive, functional, and it's quick and easy to set up interfaces."
"The functionality of this solution is very high and it has many features, and one feature which is good is that you are able to plug in your own code."
"The biggest advantage of the tool is that it acts as a centralized solution for all the different protocols."
"I really like its offer of a system and business process that handles inbound and outbound transactions."
"It offers easy utilization of resources for smooth transfers."
"The solution's most valuable features include the partner management capability, which centralizes all configurations and connections."
"This product has been a leader in the field of secure file exchange."
"One feature that we appreciate or use for multiple customers is the routing channel."
"From a technical point of view, products are stable and scalable, and we do appreciate the personal touch the sales engineers (SE) support and development bring, as well as the personal touch of the sales support, the free online, and web-based training."
"Safe-T is very good for users because it has a plug-in for Outlook."
"If you want a very flexible system that you can easily integrate, and develop interfaces for it or plug-ins to other application environments, it's probably the most flexible"
"You can easily integrate it and fit the system to your organization's needs, and that's a very huge advantage."
"It's easy to use over the web. A user who is not in the office can use it and securely insert files."
"the security level is very high. After we tested it and checked all the security aspects of the product, we found that it's highly secure."
"If you need a solution for sending big files to customers or for receiving large files from them, this is a very good solution."
"Safe-T SDA has allowed my organization to secure my office applications and makes it harder for hackers to be able to hack into my internal office web applications."
 

Cons

"Not a ten because it's a bit complex, not so simple. It's one product but there are many screens."
"The automation part is somewhat limited."
"The number of failed files number increases with high workflow so that needs improvement."
"We have issues with the stability of this solution, like server-down issues."
"Reporting is not very easy. If 10 people are putting file transfer using this protocol, determining who did what file transfer, how long it took, what encryption was done, and whether it was accessed by somebody or whether it was fully done without any retrial is difficult."
"IBM is advising not to use the IT translate anymore but this is going to be an extra cost to the customer to use the alternative."
"The product could be improved by offering native API capabilities and making the solution more user-friendly for larger, multi-node implementations."
"The product itself wasn't very easy to comprehend. I required a lot of customization that didn’t meet my needs."
"I'm not sure what advice I would give others about this product because I don't like Safe-T."
"Better UI. A better UI for the people that manage all the processes of Safe-T. Some of the UI is not as intuitive as you would like it to be."
"When we have something that we want improved, it takes a little bit of time until it can be fixed."
"The cloud solution is not that great especially with Swiss customers."
"Setting up Safe-T SDE is very complex. It is not straightforward, and it requires much understanding on the concepts of the product."
"In terms of improvement, they need to be much more strict regarding the roadmap, about timelines and when new features will be up in production."
"One important thing that we haven't found in this product is the ability to provide a read-only view for documents. Also, the ability for the customer to add annotations to these documents."
"The Outlook agent is not working well for installing it in the entire office."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are two types of customer licenses, an annual preview license, and an ELA-based license. I have found the solution is priced well. However, they need to review the pricing model because if you look at any other competitors, such as GlobalSCAPE, they do pricing based on the components and what you select. With this solution you have a monolithic application which you need to buy, there is no component level price discount."
"I do know that it's generally considered expensive, but it's also widely used across corporate organizations due to its robust protocol communication, secure file transfer capabilities, and integration features. Although there are other tools on the market, IBM Sterling File Gateway stands out for its unique options and cloud compatibility, which offers future benefits, particularly in avoiding data storage issues."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"It's reasonably priced at $800,000."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
10%
Performing Arts
10%
Healthcare Company
9%
Media Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise12
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The cost-effectiveness of IBM Sterling File Gateway was a major factor in our decision to use it, in comparison to the higher costs associated with DataPower.
What needs improvement with IBM Sterling File Gateway?
The disadvantages I see in IBM Sterling File Gateway include price and reporting. Reporting is not very easy. If 10 people are putting file transfer using this protocol, determining who did what fi...
What is your primary use case for IBM Sterling File Gateway?
I have been dealing with IBM Sterling File Gateway for some time, and we have sold to about six customers across India with the help of IBM. One large bank which we have sold this solution to is SB...
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Also Known As

No data available
Safe-T SDA, Safe-T, Safe-T Software-Defined Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Government of Israel, eviCore Healthcore, Glen Imaging, Sarin, LBG, Rollomatic, Boegli-Gravures SA, Banque Heritage, Groupe Minoteries, Temenos, ZEK, RLM Finsbury, Harel Insurance, Meitav Dash
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra, BMC, IBM and others in Managed File Transfer (MFT). Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.