IBM Software

IBM® Sterling
Connect:Direct
Optimize performance and manage growth
without adding IT resources

The demands are growing daily

Benefits Organizations have never seen a greater need for reliable and secure file
transfer. File transfer provides the near real-time integration needed for
• Improve productivity
applications as diverse as convergence billing in telecommunications,
• Gain unprecedented scalability synchronization of central and disaster-recovery sites, secure transfer
of check image files, and consolidation of credit card transactions.
• Count on reliable file delivery
Secure file movement must also ensure data delivery to the right
• Ensure security and compliance destination within the right time window, so the receiving application
can process and act upon it consistently – day after day, and year after
• Leverage existing infrastructure
year. The problem is, many existing file transfer “solutions” built on
• Move files with confidence FTP do not have the necessary mechanisms for management,
monitoring, or advanced security.

IBM® Sterling Connect:Direct® from IBM is the leading solution for

secure, point-to-point file transfers. It has been optimized for high-
volume, assured data delivery of files within and between enterprises,
and provides script-based automation, scheduling and alert notifications
for 24x7 unattended operations. A key component of the IBM® Sterling
Managed File Transfer solution, Sterling Connect:Direct, allows
organizations to automate the data exchange between mission-critical
applications regardless of platform.

Unlike FTP implementations, Sterling Connect:Direct eliminates the

need for manual intervention in data delivery, improving the
productivity of your people and the reliability of your business processes.

Gain unprecedented scalability

Event-based architecture enables high volumes and large files – with no
product-defined limits on file sizes. Scalability ensures that you can
handle peak demand and keep pace as your business volumes grow,
whether you operate mainframes or distributed/clustered servers.
IBM Software

Count on reliable file delivery

An acid test for any file transfer system is how it responds
when there is a failure. Sterling Connect:Direct, which also
supports various clustering technologies and IBM Sysplex on
the mainframe, provides built-in automation and checkpoint
restart to ensure lights-out operations.

Move files with confidence

The proprietary and secure Sterling Connect:Direct protocol
has never been breached. Our solutions help customers satisfy
regulatory and industry requirements within their file transfer
operations, including compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley,
FIPS-140-2, Payment Card Industry (PCI) and healthcare
(HIPAA) requirements. Today, IBM is the world’s most trusted
collaboration partner and the leader in secure file transfer.

Capability Description

Automation and • Supports 24x7 unattended operations

management • Schedules jobs on a one-time, recurring, or continuous basis

• Assigns and manages file transfer workload

• Event driven alert notification

• Process language builds scripts to provide integration with back-end systems

• API and SDK for programmatic access by other applications

Assured file delivery • Supports checkpoint restart

• Automatic recovery from network interruptions

• Automated alert notifications for success/failure

Security and • Standard Sterling Connect:Direct • IBM® Sterling Secure Proxy

compliance – Interfaces with operating system security for user authentication – Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)-based
– Provides a complete audit trail of data movement through extensive authentication, session break and SSL
statistics logs termination
• IBM® Sterling Connect:Direct® Secure+ option – Ensure that no file is stored in the DMZ
– User authentication – No inbound ports opened in the firewall
– X.509 certificates for authentication – Validation of the IBM® Sterling
– Data encryption (SSL/TLS) Connect:Direct protocol
– Certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) checking
– FIPS 140-2 and Common Criteria certification

Multiple platform • Operating systems support • Network protocols support

support – z/OS – TCP/IP

– OpenVMS – SNA
– i5/OS (OS/400) – UDT (UNIX 4.2, z/OS 5.2, Windows 4.7)
– UNIX and Linux – FASP High Speed Add-On
– Windows
– HP NonStop

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© Copyright IBM Corporation 2016

IBM Corporation
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Produced in the United States of America

July 2016
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The information contained in this publication is provided for informational purposes

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References in this publication to IBM products, programs, or services do not imply

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