Amazon unveils AWS Transfer Family Web Apps—but is it enough?
Amazon recently unveiled AWS Transfer Family Web Apps, aiming to simplify file management for Amazon S3 users with browser-based access to upload, download, and organize files without desktop clients or complex scripts.
Sounds tasty. Well, this addition to the AWS Transfer Family is a welcome treat, but it’s not exactly an Awesome Blossom—especially for enterprises and compliance-heavy industries like healthcare and finance.
While AWS Transfer Family web apps provide convenience for non-technical users, SFTP To Go builds on the same Amazon S3 infrastructure with advanced features designed to address the unique needs of organizations that demand security, automation, customizability, and reliability for large numbers of users, continuously.
What AWS Transfer Family Web Apps bring to the table
There’s no denying that this new offering has some excellent features, including
Simplified file management
AWS Transfer Family web apps enable authenticated users to interact with S3 storage through a browser interface, offering basic functions such as file upload, download, copy, and delete. Files up to 160 GiB can be transferred using multipart uploads, with HTTPS securing data in transit.
Just so you know, our web portal does this for you too, except our web portal is just one of our many features—it’s certainly not all we’ve got.
Security features
AWS employs its IAM Identity Center for user authentication, providing integration with SAML or OIDC identity providers. Permissions are highly customizable using S3 Access Grants, ensuring fine-grained control over file access. AWS also complies with major standards like HIPAA—as do we.
Scalability and durability
AWS Transfer Family Web Apps inherit S3’s renowned scalability and durability (11 nines of durability, which we inherit too) and integrate with tools like Amazon EventBridge for workflow automation.
However, this automation requires users to configure workflows across multiple AWS services, adding uber-complexity for those without technical expertise. So, it’s for non-technical users, but setup can get really complicated.
Where AWS Web Apps falls short
Complex configuration
To achieve a secure, compliant and working setup with AWS Web Apps, you’ll need to create and manage multiple IAM roles, configure CORS policies, define authentication Lambda functions, Access Grants and that’s just to get started.
For organizations without extensive AWS expertise, this setup is likely to prove both resource-intensive and error-prone.
Cost management
Pricing for Web Apps, as well as the other components you’ll need to set up a compliant transfer and storage infrastructure for, say, healthcare or finance, is based on hourly usage as well as units, protocols used, total data transfers in and out, and S3 storage costs.
This structure makes expenses completely unpredictable, especially for organizations with fluctuating or high data transfer volumes.
What’s more, based on checks we did with AWS’s own estimate calculators, prices for enterprise ecosystems can quickly become untenable. As a reference point, consider that just one web app, without you moving any data, employing any protocols, or storing anything, will set you back ~$365 / month.
Features sold separately
True, we already discussed cost issues in our last point. Just to clarify though, AWS transfer family is all about secure protocols like SFTP and FTP, and it can be set up to do all the things that we do, feature wise.
The thing is, you have to pay extra for each (just like you have to pay $356/m for a web app unit, you have to pay ~$240/m for any other protocol endpoint, but you haven't even uploaded a file, set up security, users, automations, etc.).
High-maintenance automation
AWS Transfer Family Web Apps relies on external tools like EventBridge for automation, requiring convoluted setup at an additional cost. It can automate perfectly well, but requires a high level of technical prowess and effort to set things up.
Yours truly (A.K.A. SFTP To Go) offers built-in automation for scheduled backups, real-time transfers, and webhook-triggered workflows, simplifying processes for everyone from startups to enterprises and compliance-heavy industries.
Try SFTP To Go for free!
Why SFTP To Go excels in the same space, and more
SFTP To Go brings a fully managed, all-in-one solution that extends Amazon S3’s capabilities while addressing the fraught complexity of high-admin nature of managing AWS Transfer Family Apps.
Designed for compliance-heavy industries like healthcare and finance, it combines secure storage, automated workflows, and real-time transfers to create a seamless experience for non-techy users—but it’s also accessible from a more technical perspective with advanced API support and integration with a range of apps and workflows.
Simplified setup
SFTP To Go eliminates the need for complex configuration processes—it works out-of-the-box. Organizations can get up and running quickly with minimal technical overhead, avoiding the steep learning curve associated with AWS’s broader suite of tools.
With that said, while we provide easy web portal access for the less technical, we also empower devs and IT teams with advanced customization, integration, and automation tools.
No maintenance, stellar support
Since we host and manage everything, there’s no heavy maintenance along the way— only your personal configurations and customizations. Simple as it is, our expert support is always ready to assist, 24/7.
Enterprise-ready automation
Unlike AWS web apps, SFTP To Go includes built-in scheduling and real-time webhook notifications, enabling automated backups and seamless data transfers across systems. For example, patient records or financial reports can be synced automatically without manual intervention.
Pre-built compliance
Every aspect of SFTP To Go is designed with compliance in mind. This includes HIPAA-ready features such as encryption (AES-256 for data at rest, TLS for data in transit), role-based access, and detailed logging to simplify audits and incident response.
AWS’s offering is also compliant when set up correctly, but the difference here is that we make compliance easier for our enterprise users, not more complicated.
Predictable pricing
This is a very significant factor. Unlike the per-hour pricing model of AWS web apps, SFTP To Go offers transparent plans with predictable costs, as well as custom plans for enterprise, outlining tangible cost limits so you can plan ahead.
This is especially desirable for organizations operating on fixed budgets or managing high data volumes.
Reliability, durability, scalability
SFTP To Go ensures availability up to the same 99.999999999%—that’s because it uses the exact same infrastructure that AWS uses.
However, combine that reliability with multi-redundant storage so your data remains untouched through any event or hardware failure, and streamlined autoscaling capabilities that support everything from small-scale operations to sprawling enterprise networks, and SFTP To Go becomes the most flexible, dependable solution here.
Unified file transfer and storage with web app access as a bonus
SFTP To Go integrates file transfer protocols like SFTP, FTPS, and HTTPS directly into Amazon S3, ensuring secure data movement while making the most of S3’s scalability and durability.
We don’t expect you to pay more for these features or pay an expert to configure a range of AWS services so you can enjoy a smooth workflow. By combining compliant, protocol-rich transfer and storage into a single solution, yours truly eliminates the fragmentation seen in AWS's product lineup.
Who should choose SFTP To Go?
If you’re in a compliance-heavy industry or manage complex workflows requiring automation, it’s clear that SFTP To Go comes with all sorts of advantages.
Its enterprise-focused features, pre-configured compliance, accessibility for both technical and non-technical users, and simplified setup make it ideal for healthcare providers, financial institutions, and other organizations with serious data handling needs.
On the other hand, AWS Transfer Family web apps is alright for businesses that have the resources to take on the complicated setup and admin involved, and want to own the development, maintenance and operation of their file transfer platform.
Ready to serve: SFTP To Go is your Awesome Blossom
AWS Transfer Family web apps are like a solid appetizer—great for a light snack, but limited in scope.
The truth is, they’re not great for sharing on an enterprise scale—the pricing structure and setup process is just too complicated and unpredictable.
SFTP To Go, on the other hand, is the Awesome Blossom of cloud file management: fully loaded, packed with flavor, and designed to satisfy even the hungriest enterprise workloads.
Try SFTP To Go for free!