Cloud SFTP — And A Whole Lot More

SFTP is secure: Files.com runs every SFTP session inside an encrypted SSH connection, so logins and file contents are never sent in plain text. Files.com SFTP follows the official standard (RFC 4251–4256), supports ED25519 and RSA keys, and can require two-factor authentication on the connection itself, not just on the web sign-in. The server proves its identity with a host key before any login happens; what SFTP is and how it works walks through the whole handshake. Every session is recorded in a tamper-proof audit log.

Managed SFTP means the provider runs the server, patches it, scales it, and keeps it available. You just create accounts and folders. Self-hosted SFTP means you run OpenSSH on your own VM or appliance and own the patching, the firewall, the high-availability setup, and the on-call when a CVE lands. Files.com is fully managed: a high-availability pool across eight global regions with a 99.9% uptime SLA on qualifying plans, and no daemon for you to maintain. Managed SFTP is one part of managed file transfer software; the automation, AS2, and PGP layers sit on the same platform.

SFTP transfers files over a single SSH connection, which makes it firewall-friendly and the modern default. FTPS is FTP secured with TLS and uses separate control and data channels, which some legacy partner systems still require; the Secure File Transfer Protocol guide compares all three protocols. Files.com supports both, along with plain FTP (off by default) and WebDAV, from the same managed endpoint, so you meet a partner on whichever protocol they bring.

Files.com is a managed cloud server for SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and WebDAV, with SCP supported alongside SFTP. It also handles AS2 for EDI trading-partner exchange and exposes an S3-compatible endpoint, so any app or SDK that speaks the Amazon S3 API can connect directly. The FTPS and FTP implementation follows RFC 959 plus extensions, with both implicit and explicit TLS and both active and passive modes. Plain unencrypted FTP is supported but disabled by default.

Files.com works with all the common SFTP clients: OpenSSH, WinSCP, Cyberduck, Paramiko, Microsoft .NET, and the long list of older enterprise FTP clients and libraries partners still use (how to choose an FTP client covers the trade-offs). We have spent 15+ years making the server work with whatever a partner brings. Files.com SFTP uses version 3 of the protocol, which is what nearly every client speaks; the newer v4, v5, and v6 versions are not supported.

Files.com handles files up to 5 TB and 50 concurrent sessions per user, which covers real production workloads; a team with an operational need for more can contact us. When a transfer is slower than the link allows, how to make SFTP transfers faster covers the client settings that matter. SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and WebDAV are all included on every plan, with no per-protocol surcharge.

You can migrate an existing SFTP server to Files.com without disrupting partners. Files.com imports your existing password hashes (PBKDF2, MD5, SHA-256, and other common formats) and your existing SSH host key, so partners reconnect with the same credentials and the same client, without even a changed-host-key warning. Old and new systems can run in parallel during the cutover, and bulk import handles the accounts; how Files.com simplifies the move walks through a cutover, and replacing your SFTP server without partners changing anything covers the sequence from mirroring the folders to switching the old server off.

A Files.com SFTP server is live in minutes: create your site, add an account for the partner, hand them the address and their key, and the connection works. Most teams have a partner exchange running within a day of starting the 7-day free trial, with no credit card and no sales call to start.

Files.com can put an SFTP endpoint directly in front of your existing cloud storage. Point it at your own Amazon S3 bucket, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, or another backend. Partners connect over SFTP; the bytes land in your bucket. You get a managed, governed SFTP front door without migrating the data anywhere.

Files.com reaches on-premise storage without opening a single inbound port. Drop the Files.com Agent on a server in your datacenter and it connects that on-prem storage to your SFTP endpoint over an outbound-only connection: no inbound SFTP listener exposed to the internet, no DMZ, no VPN. Partners still see an ordinary SFTP endpoint; you decide where the data lives.

Files.com provides static IP addresses for firewall allowlisting. Traffic comes from an IP range Files.com owns, and a custom domain (Power plans and above) provisions two dedicated IP addresses for inbound and outbound traffic, so partner firewall teams allowlist once. The /ip_addresses API endpoint gives advance notice of any changes.

A file landing over SFTP can kick off a Files.com automation. The moment an upload finishes, Files.com can route the file, convert its format, run PGP encryption, send a notification, or push it onward. Because this only happens once an upload is fully complete, half-finished files never set off a workflow early.

Files.com supports both PGP encryption and EDI for partner exchange. PGP/GPG encryption and decryption run automatically as files move, which covers what most trading partners require. AS2 for EDI (the RFC 4130 standard, with MDN delivery receipts) is available on Power plans and above.

Yes. Files.com accepts plain FTP alongside SFTP and FTPS, so dataloggers, cameras and equipment that cannot be upgraded push to a fixed hostname on your domain with a per-device credential, and their files land in folders that automations and file-delivery monitoring watch.

Point every device at your Files.com hostname, with one account per device or site scoped to its own folder, and retire the regional servers. The folder tree can mirror the old per-region layout so downstream jobs keep their paths, the Agent still delivers files to on-premises systems, and every upload is logged.

Files.com Starter is $199/month and includes SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and WebDAV with no per-protocol surcharge. When you grow past the included counts, overages are cheap rather than a forced tier jump, and every tier and overage price is published.

Inbound and outbound SFTP, FTPS, FTP, and WebDAV are available on every Files.com plan. Connection volume scales by plan through a System Users allotment for inbound and a separate allotment for outbound, and both expand at published overage prices.