Progress® Automate MFT® is a cloud-native workflow orchestration solution designed for high scalability and resilience. Built on a coordinator-agent topology, it enables robust management of complex workflows across diverse environments.

Leveraging modern cloud technologies, Automate MFT facilitates hybrid cloud operations through centrally managed agents. These agents can be deployed either in the cloud or within on-premises environments behind firewalls, offering flexibility and control for workflow automation.

Features overview

Automate MFT enables users to configure and manage workflows through a browser-based Web UI, using a set of modular components including credentials, endpoints, schedules, and tasks. These components are stored and managed centrally in the cloud, simplifying administration and enhancing reliability.

Agents

To execute file transfer tasks, Automate MFT uses agents:
  • Self-Hosted Agents: Lightweight executable that can be installed and run on modern Windows or Linux servers. These agents support file transfers between local and public endpoints. The installation process is simple, and the agent can self-upgrade or be manually updated by users.
  • Progress-Hosted Agents: Managed by the Automate MFT SaaS service, cloud agents are designed to handle tasks that involve publicly accessible endpoints. When a task only requires access to such files, the user can choose to run it on a cloud agent managed by Progress. The service automatically provisions a new agent, executes the task, and ensures that both the agent and any temporary data are properly cleaned up afterward. This process eliminates the need to use any resources from the user's private network.

Agent Pools

Agent Pools allow users to group multiple self-hosted agents so Automate MFT can distribute the workload automatically. Rather than binding a task to a specific agent, any available agent in the pool can execute the workflow. In addition to providing increased task execution capacity, this also ensures task execution continues even if an individual agent becomes unresponsive or loses connectivity, and simplifies infrastructure maintenance because agents can be added or removed without modifying individual tasks.

Libraries

Automate MFT includes libraries for managing key task components:
  • Endpoints define the source or destination locations for file transfers, including local directories, cloud storage, and SFTP, FTPS, and MOVEit Transfer servers.
  • Agents execute tasks by facilitating file transfers, either through self-hosted installations or Progress-managed services.
  • Schedules specify when tasks should run, allowing for automated execution based on time or recurring intervals.
  • Authentication Methods provide secure access credentials for connecting to endpoints.
  • Keys + Certs manage encryption keys and digital certificates used for secure file transfers and authentication.
  • Tags assign custom identifiers to tasks and folders for enhanced filtering, organization, and searchability.
  • Scripts enable in‑pipeline file operations, such as adding, reading, and editing files.
These elements can be defined independently and reused across multiple tasks. For example, updating a shared schedule will automatically apply the change to all associated tasks.

Task Organization

To support efficient task organization, Automate MFT offers:
  • Folders: Users can group tasks by vendor, project, stakeholder, or any custom category.
  • Tags: Custom one-word identifiers can be applied across tasks and folders, enabling powerful filtering and search capabilities.

Task versions

Automate MFT supports task version control:
  • Auto-versioning: Up to 200 rolling versions are maintained per task.
  • Named versions: Users can save up to 100 named versions for documentation, auditing, or source control. Named versions are preserved indefinitely.

Sources, destinations, and filters

Automate MFT tasks can be configured with multiple file sources and destinations, enabling flexible and scalable file transfer workflows across various environments.
  • Sources: Define where files are retrieved from. These can include local directories, cloud storage, or remote servers accessed via protocols such as SFTP, FTP, or HTTP/S. Users can apply file specifications (for example, *.doc, report_*.csv) to filter and select only the files relevant to the task.
  • Destinations: Specify where files should be delivered after processing. Tasks can include multiple destinations, allowing files to be distributed to several endpoints simultaneously.
  • Source and destination filters: Automate MFT enables intelligent filtering at the source and destination level. This feature allows users to route files conditionally based on attributes such as file name, extension, size, or other metadata, without requiring scripting or visual programming. For example, files ending in .pdf might be sent to one destination, while .zip files are routed to another.

Processes

Processes are predefined operations that can be applied to files within tasks. Automate MFT currently supports:
  • Zip/Unzip
  • PGP Encryption/Decryption
Each process includes file specification capabilities for precise control over which files are processed.

Parameters

Parameters define reusable key–value pairs that can be referenced in task macros, scripts, conditional steps, and file paths.

Custom scripts

Automate MFT supports running custom cmdlets and a subset of standard PowerShell cmdlets. Scripts can read files in the pipeline, modify them, add new files, and remove files within the pipeline. Script execution is logged and managed through Automate MFT in the same manner as other task actions.

Auditing

Comprehensive audit logs track all configuration changes, supporting compliance and traceability with before-and-after views.

User interface
  • Web-based UI: Accessible via browser for easy configuration and management.
  • Dark theme: A dark mode option is available for improved usability and visual comfort.

Single-Sign-On (SSO)

Automate MFT supports SSO with your organization’s identity provider. Administrators can configure SAML or OAuth‑based authentication to enforce centralized login policies. Multiple identity providers can be configured.

API Access

The Automate MFT REST API allows users to interact programmatically with Automate MFT components over HTTPS. APIs can be called from many programming languages, including Python or PowerShell.

Role-based access control

Automate MFT uses a folder based Role-based access control (RBAC) model. Permissions can be assigned at the folder level and user access levels can be customized.