File Transfer Protocol (FTP), is a network protocol used for file transfer. For those who have experience in building websites or have worked with web technologies, FTP should be a familiar term. In the past, tech-savvy users would set up FTP servers to make large files accessible to others as a way to transfer these files. However, many are discovering that FTP has many flaws and shortcomings as a way to send files quickly and securely to people. Here are just three problems with FTP: 

#1 – Too Cumbersome to Administer, Manage & Use
FTP can seem like a foreign language to those who have never used it before. You need to have knowledge of FTP to be able to successfully set up and manage it, which is too complicated for everyday users. For example, FTP typically requires that you upload a large file to a public folder, and from there, your recipient has to filter through a list of past files in order to find the one needed. Additionally, FTP has no built-in mechanism for retrieval of forgotten passwords. In general, creation and management of multiple user FTP accounts is inefficient and cumbersome. And while some FTP solutions are advertised as “free,” a lot of resources are actually spent on IT training, upkeep, and support throughout the years.

#2 – Lack of Security
FTP transfers are usually in plain text. Without security features, sensitive information can easily be compromised and exploited by strangers because FTP traffic travels over port 21, which is a commonly open port. Any data transferred through FTP can be intercepted, and because of this vulnerability, many firewalls actually close it to ensure systems integrity. While there are newer versions of FTP that includes security (such as SFTP or FTPS), the problem with ineffective management and usage still remains.

#3 – No Delivery Guarantee or Tracking
There is no integrity check for recipients, meaning the files may be incompletely transferred if it was interrupted or stopped. Also, most people deal with FTP's user management problems by simply creating one user account that is shared, allowing everyone to view and download each other's data, with no administrative controls to determine who actually downloaded the files and if the intended recipient actually received them.

These are just some of the issues experienced by many business users and IT managers in charge of managing their company's FTP system.  I still use FTP occasionally…to upload files to our web server for use on our website. That’s pretty much all it’s good for. For transferring and collaborating on files with other people, FTP is the 1.0 way of doing things.