To many companies, “ad hoc transfer” is all about getting people to quit sending large and/or sensitive data through their email clients.   With than in mind, Ipswitch File Transfer developed a web-based module for its WS_FTP Server and a similar module for its MOVEit DMZ Server to do just that.

However, “ad hoc” isn’t just about email.  Back in the day, when someone wanted to get a file to someone else and there was no explicit file transfer process in place, a sender would likely put a file on the company FTP site, a hidden directory on the company web site (guilty!) or cut the file to CD or thumb drive.   One of the reasons not everyone has gone to email is that those other methods either involve a log that the sender can check or a physical hand-off.  In other words, ad hoc senders want to be able to monitor the process.

Taking a step back as an administrator,  think of your own user base.  Even if you have implemented Ipswitch File Transfer’s Ad Hoc Transfer server modules (thank you!) and have weaned your users off sending important files through email, are you sure they are using their other file transfer access (FTP, SSH, ?) to interact with other people the way you expected them to?   How would you know?  That, in a nutshell, is why the monitoring and logging capabilities around “ad hoc” person-to-person transfers on ALL your file transfer products are so critical.