12 To 18 Months To Stand Up
Basic partner integrations on Sterling routinely take a year or more to deploy. Files.com is live in days, with our team running the migration.
Files.com vs. IBM Sterling
Modern File Orchestration, Live In Days — Not 12 To 18 Months
Files.com is the modern alternative to IBM Sterling. 4,000+ companies run their file transfer on it instead, including Equifax, Cognizant, Michelin, TowneBank, and Banner Health. They were live in days, not the 12 to 18 months a Sterling rollout takes.
IBM Sterling Was The Gold Standard A Generation Ago
IBM Sterling has been around since the 1970s. In its era, it was an excellent product. The problem is that too many enterprises are still running it today.
A Sterling customer today is dealing with crumbling infrastructure, seven-figure licensing, and consulting bills that never stop. Most also staff a so-called Center of Excellence whose whole job is keeping Sterling running.
And it isn’t one product. To do one job, IBM makes you license three: Sterling File Gateway, B2B Integrator, and Control Center. Each one is paid for, deployed, and maintained on its own.
Files.com does the same job as one cloud-native platform we run for you: SFTP, FTP, FTPS, WebDAV, AS2 and EDI, Automations, transformation, the on-premise Agent, and the REST API. One product, one bill, and our team runs the migration.
Earnest, a fintech lender, retired an on-premise IBM Sterling File Gateway for Files.com — shrinking its loan-disbursement window from 15 minutes to 5 and onboarding school servicers in minutes instead of weeks.
Earnest
“Our previous solution was on-prem, so we had to allow a third-party vendor onto the entirety of our network. What’s great with Files.com is that this isn’t the case. Everything is being handled at the cloud-based level, whether it’s inbound or outbound on our network.”
What Running IBM Sterling Looks Like Today
Seven-Figure Licensing, Plus Consulting
Sterling runs on seven-figure, quote-driven contracts, and the consulting bills never stop. You never see a price while you are deciding.
A Center Of Excellence To Keep It Running
Sterling customers staff a dedicated team whose job is operating the platform. Files.com is run by Files.com; your team logs in and uses it.
Three Products To Do One Job
A full Sterling deployment is Sterling File Gateway plus B2B Integrator plus Control Center, each licensed, deployed, and maintained on its own.
Why The Architecture Is The Entire Decision
Sterling makes you run the software. You license it, you stand it up over a year or more, you staff a Center of Excellence to operate it, and you pay IBM or a partner to deploy and upgrade it.
Files.com does the opposite. We built the platform for the cloud, and we run it, patch it, and keep it secure. Your team logs in and the file transfer works. There is a self-serve trial if your IT team wants to validate the technology before the procurement conversation.
That is the entire decision: do you want to run this software, or do you want to use it?
Where Files.com Wins
One Platform, Not Three Products
SFTP/FTP, Automations, Inboxes, AS2 and EDI, the on-premise Agent, and the REST API in one product. Sterling makes you buy three: File Gateway, B2B Integrator, and Control Center.
Live In Days, Not 12 To 18 Months
Files.com is cloud-native and deployed by us. A first workload moves in days, not the year-plus a Sterling integration takes to stand up.
No Consulting Tax, No Center Of Excellence
Files.com support engineers run the migration and operate the platform. There is no dedicated Sterling team to staff and no IBM professional-services line items to fund.
Published Pricing
Files.com publishes its pricing. Sterling is quote-driven, seven-figure, and negotiated deal by deal.
Transformation Built In, DataWeave-Compatible
Files TransformScript uses DataWeave-compatible syntax, with File Extraction as declarative metadata, all in one platform. Sterling separates this across its Map Editor, Application Integrator, and Process Modeler.
#1 In Gartner Peer Insights For Managed File Transfer
#1 across every G2 rating in the category, with 4,000-plus organizations and 15-plus years of operation.
Files.com Vs. IBM Sterling FAQ
What buyers ask most when comparing Files.com to IBM Sterling.
The Decision
If a workload genuinely needs native AS/400 support, deep PeSIT, or specific federal and defense compliance, choose IBM Sterling.
For everything else, choose Files.com. You run the same partner exchange and EDI on one cloud-native platform, live in days instead of a year-plus, at a published price that’s a fraction of a seven-figure Sterling stack — with no Center of Excellence to staff and our team running the migration. Nothing gets torn out before its replacement has proven itself.
Move Off IBM Sterling
4,000+ organizations run mission-critical file transfer on Files.com instead of legacy MFT. Talk to our team or validate the technology on a free trial.
No pushy sales process