What is Data Transfer?

Data transfer refers to the collection, replication, and transmission of large datasets from one organization or business unit to another.

What do I need to know about data transfer?

Data transfer refers to the secure exchange of large files between systems or organizations. In an internal context, data transfer is often used as an alternative to a holistic enterprise application integration system. However, data transfer is most often used to share data securely among business partners, suppliers, or government agencies for cooperative purposes. 

What are the challenges of data transfer?

Data transfers are often used to share secure enterprise data with a business partner. Because the data is moving beyond the enterprise perimeter, care must be taken to secure the data. Besides security, another challenge of data transfer is complexity. Data transfers involving hundreds or thousands of files require a reporting and tracking component to make sure that data is copied completely and accurately and also to create a historical record of what was transferred, including metadata such as time, file size, and destination. Performance is also a concern as data transfer often involves very large files that can take a long time to process. 

What are the benefits of data transfer?

A secure data transfer process will ensure that organizations meet compliance requirements. It will provide a record of the transactions so that the organization will know exactly what information was shared and so that any anomalies can be investigated. It will also provide a high degree of automation and performance enhancement, thus minimizing costs to complete the transaction.