Although a minor update, please note 2.5.2-2 is now available for all StingRay 2.5 users to download here.  So if only a minor release, why should I bother updating I hear you say?!  Well, this release addresses a few small bugs inherent in 2.5, therefore if you have been experiencing any of the issues outlined in StingRay’s ChangeLog this update will address them.

We couldn’t just leave it at that though, that would be dull!  Instead, we have decided to include a little gem for all of our 2.5 users.  Take a look at these…

2.5.2-2 now enables all StingRay users to upload their company logo to StingRay’s external interface for all customer’s to see.  Adding that personal touch to your customer facing file transfer interface helps promote your brand and instill confidence in your users.

So if you are currently running StingRay 2.5 you haven’t yet taken advantage of what 2.5.2-2 has to offer, go to the Updates section on the Hermstedt StingRay website and download it now, free of charge.  If you experience any problems when running the update you can either download our guide to ‘Branding your StingRay’s external web interface’ or call the Pro2col support department on 0333 123 1260.

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Its been a little while since our last post which is rubbish as I’d set ourselves the target of making sure that we stay on top of keeping in contact with our customers.  It has however been a very busy last couple of months for us here and we’ve now added a Twitter account for all those StingRay file transfer servers who want to keep up to date with news, views and release details.

Follow us on twitter

If you use Twitter add us and we’ll Tweet you all the latest updates.  You can find us at - http://twitter.com/filetransfer

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There’s an article on Pro2col’s web site demonstrating how StingRay has been used by a number of publishing companies within their incoming picture desk workflow.  StingRay is used by a number of publishers round the world for this purpose with its ability to handle large volumes of incoming FTP transmissions and to forward them on to Asset Management/Picture Desk workflows.  Have a look and give us a call if you’ve got any questions.

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Momentum is gathering with regard to development of the StingRay file transfer server.  With Hermstedt not releasing any updates for a couple of years we thought we’d follow the 2.5.0 release in December with a 2.5.1 release in February.  Whilst there are only a few minor changes they are not insignificant.

With the release of new features comes new challenges and as the Email Hyperlink feature was only text based there was always the potential for problems with the rather long hyperlinks to the files stored on the StingRay.  With some PC email clients we found that the links were being broken so we bought out the HTML links as quickly as possible which certainly helped with the formatting of the emails too!

Email Hyperlink Screenshot (StingRay v 2.5.1)

All StingRay users on version 2.5.0-x should now upgrade to the latest firmware version to take advantage of this enhancement.

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I read with interest yesterday an article by Meg Suggs about Managed File Transfer.  To paraphrase the article Meg suggests that “Managed File Transfer is replacing FTP servers” as the solution of choice.

It got me thinking about what it was about Managed File Transfer that businesses wanted or needed?  First off Managed File Transfer is defined by Wikipedia as:

“Managed File Transfer (MFT) refers to software and hardware technologies that enable “secure and reliable exchange of documents between organizations.” In broader terms, Managed File Transfer suites enable organizations to automate, manage and secure the exchange of large volumes of data between two or more entities.”

So why the shift to Managed File Transfer?  Well I think Wikipedia sums it up pretty clearly, its a way of providing a little more management, automation and security throughout the file transfer process than you’d achieve with a standard FTP server or email for that matter.

Interestingly Meg also referred to an article written early last year about the inadequacies of standard FTP servers and how “an illegal database containing more than 8,700 stolen File Transfer Protocol server credentials including usernames, passwords and server addresses was found. The stolen information belonged to companies from around the world and the database allowed for anyone to purchase those credentials and use them to launch malicious attacks against the compromised systems”.

With information readily available on the Internet providing individuals with the opportunity to create havoc and bring down complete company IT infrastructure it begs the question, why do companies take the risk by implementing cheap file transfer solutions when the potential cost to their business is so huge?

In addition to the security considerations the business process should also be taken into account.  Long gone are the days when file transfer was a standalone function.  File Transfer should be fully intergrated with other processes within the business providing greater automation and efficiency.  As file transfer becomes more integrated its even more important that the information transmitted and stored is done so securely.

For those interested StingRay Managed File Transfer Server ticks all of the boxes and more information can be read here.

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Well we’ve been promising ourselves that we’d start a company blog for some time now so today’s the day to kick things off. I suppose I should start off with telling you a little about the company and us.

Charles and I set up Pro2col in 2003 sat in a pub in Southampton.  It wasn’t that late in the day and we’d had a few beers but we were sure that there was a gap in the market for us.

I’d just been made redundant by Savvis, who had recently bought WAM!NET.  They closed down the 4-Sight division of the WAM!NET business leaving the UK graphic arts industry with no supplier of off-the-shelf file transfer solutions (Hermstedt had pulled out of the UK in 2002).  Charles had been consulting for 4-Sight, worked for several leading Apple Mac resellers and worked with Apple as a consultant.  Together we had a good blend of technical, marketing and sales experience which we thought we’d try to put to good use.

Pro2col started life as a partnership but we soon found that things were going a little better than had been anticipated and Pro2col Limited was set up in February 2004.  Since then we’ve added some fantastic members to the team and been lucky enough to supply solutions to some amazing companies.

Our number one product by a country mile was Hermstedt’s StingRay file transfer server.  We’d installed several hundred in the UK and had many customers that we maintained their servers for so we were surprised to hear that Hermstedt AG (the manufacturer) had gone into administration in early 2007.

We knew the team there very well having worked with them closely for the past three years so Pro2col moved to acquire the products, trademarks, brand and manufacturing rights for the StingRay to ensure initially that production could at least continue.

Since then we’ve set up Pro2col Deutschland based in Mannheim headed by Anette Hermstedt servicing the German marketplace.  Our Development team is based in Germany and we’ve just released the first on many new developments for StingRay.

This blog is going to give you an insight into the team here and hopefully keep you informed on what’s going on with the StingRay and what useful bits of information we think you might find useful along the way.

I’m James by the way. Officially the MD but also general dogsbody and occasional teaboy.

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