Marsh & McLennan Achieves Compliance and Cost Efficiency Gains with Kiteworks SFTP

Marsh & McLennan Companies, a professional services company, was struggling with complex compliance requirements and data management challenges across its widespread operations. The company needed a solution to support tens of thousands of users across five instances while meeting stringent regulatory requirements in the finance sector.

By implementing Kiteworks, Marsh & McLennan achieved over 50% improvement in compliance audit outcomes and a 25% decrease in operational costs related to data management and security.

Marsh & McLennan: A Leader in Helping Businesses Around the World

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) is a global professional services firm with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management, reinsurance services, talent management, investment advisory, and management consulting. Founded in 1871, the company operates in more than 130 countries, employing approximately 76,000 colleagues who advise clients in over 130 countries.

As a Fortune 500 company, Marsh & McLennan has consistently been recognized for excellence in its field. Over the past five years, the company has received numerous accolades, including being named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity, receiving recognition from Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, and being included in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies. Its subsidiary Marsh has been repeatedly recognized as the world’s leading insurance broker by Business Insurance magazine.

In Search of a Secure, Compliant, and Easy to Use SFTP Solution

The challenges at Marsh & McLennan Companies were multifaceted and increasingly complex. According to Dave Clarke, Senior Manager at MMC, the company was struggling with three critical issues:

Compliance Challenges: As a financial services company operating globally, MMC faced rigorous regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions. Meeting these varying compliance standards was becoming increasingly difficult with their existing systems.

1. Lack of SFTP: The company needed secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) capabilities to safely exchange sensitive financial data with clients and partners. Their previous solution lacked robust SFTP support, creating security vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies.
2. Scaling Difficulties: Supporting mass usage across a global enterprise with tens of thousands of users spread across five instances was proving problematic. The company’s previous systems weren’t designed to scale efficiently to meet the demands of their extensive operations.

These challenges weren’t merely operational inconveniences – they presented serious business risks. For most companies, non-compliance can result in significant financial penalties, reputational damage, and loss of client trust. Security vulnerabilities can also lead to data breaches with far-reaching consequences. Finally, an inability to scale efficiently can hamper productivity while increasing operational costs.

Kiteworks SFTP Gets the Call

Marsh & McLennan turned to Kiteworks to address these pressing challenges. The implementation was led by Dave Clarke, who manages the team that administers four on-premises and one SaaS Kiteworks instances for MMC.

The Kiteworks Private Content Network, with its modern SFTP server and client solution, provided Marsh & McLennan with a comprehensive secure content communications system that specifically addressed their needs:

1. Centralized SFTP Management: Kiteworks enabled MMC to consolidate and centralize security, governance, and management of their SFTP operations. This addressed the complexity issues they faced with legacy systems, enabling them to scale efficiently with distributed cluster and high availability options across their global operations.
2. Governed Self-Service Capabilities: Kiteworks’ self-service model empowered designated MMC users to create SFTP server folders and manage their own external users without requiring additions to LDAP or AD. This significantly reduced administrative overhead while maintaining control through centralized policies, allowing the platform to efficiently support tens of thousands of users across five instances.
3. Enhanced Compliance Framework: Kiteworks’ robust compliance features helped MMC meet the stringent regulatory requirements in the finance sector across their global operations. The platform’s comprehensive audit logs and reporting capabilities provided transparency and traceability for all folder, file, and SFTP activities, supporting compliance with industry regulations.
4. Seamless Script Integration: Kiteworks SFTP enabled Marsh & McLennan to continue using their existing SFTP server scripts without requiring rewrites, minimizing disruption and risk during implementation. This compatibility feature was crucial for maintaining operational continuity across their complex global infrastructure.

Clarke has also begun implementing Kiteworks Managed File Transfer solution in their SaaS environment, which extends the solution with robust automation capabilities, providing reliable, scalable operations management with simple, code-free forms and visual editing. This expansion addresses the traditional limitations of SFTP by adding scheduling and automated workflow capabilities without requiring complex custom scripting.

SFTP Benefits Realized

Since implementing Kiteworks, Marsh & McLennan has realized significant, measurable benefits:

1. Dramatic Compliance Improvements: MMC has seen over a 50% improvement in compliance audit outcomes. As Clarke notes, there has been a substantial “reduction in compliance issues to remediate and resolve.” The platform now “meets audit and compliance requirements of our company as well as most of our clients who utilize the service we host.”
2. Enhanced Security Posture: The Kiteworks platform, which runs through a hardened virtual appliance, has significantly reduced the company’s risk exposure.
3. Cost Efficiencies: MMC has achieved a 25% reduction in operational costs related to data management and security. These cost savings represent significant value, especially when applied across their global network.
4. Operational Stability: Despite the busy nature of daily operations and the broad, global use of the product across tens of thousands of users, Clarke reports that operations are “not too overwhelming,” indicating improved operational efficiency and reduced administrative burden.
5. Strategic Alignment: Kiteworks has become a strategic ally for Marsh & McLennan, helping the company tackle critical data transfer tasks with an emphasis on security and compliance—essential considerations given the industry-specific demands the company faces regularly.

Kiteworks for SFTP Security, Governance, Compliance, and Efficiency

Kiteworks’ modern SFTP solution has proven uniquely qualified to address Marsh & McLennan’s complex data management and compliance challenges, delivering tangible improvements across multiple dimensions of their business.

Kiteworks SFTP platform stands out in the enterprise market due to several key features and capabilities:

1. Democratized Enterprise SFTP: Kiteworks revolutionizes SFTP with a modern, easy-to-administer solution that freed up time and budget for Marsh & McLennan while providing rock-solid reliability, security, and governance. This allowed MMC to configure their security policies while empowering users to efficiently onboard partners, manage content, and set permissions.
2. Centralized SFTP Server Management: Kiteworks eliminated the complexity of managing legacy SFTP servers by providing a hardened virtual appliance that consolidated security, governance, and management. This allowed Marsh & McLennan to scale with distributed cluster and high availability options, critical for supporting their global operations.
3. Governed Self-Service: The platform’s self-service capabilities enabled designated MMC users to create SFTP server folders and manage external users without IT intervention, while still allowing administrators to control who manages folders and monitor activities. This balance of flexibility and control was vital for an organization of MMC’s scale.
4. Seamless Script Compatibility: Kiteworks SFTP enabled Marsh & McLennan to continue using their existing SFTP server scripts without requiring rewrites, minimizing disruption during implementation. This compatibility feature allowed them to maintain operational continuity while upgrading their security and compliance capabilities.
5. Enhanced Automation Through MFT: By beginning to implement Kiteworks Managed File Transfer, MMC is addressing the traditional limitations of SFTP by adding scheduling and automated workflow capabilities without complex custom scripting. This provides robust automation with simple, code-free forms and visual editing.
6. Comprehensive Compliance Framework: Kiteworks’ out-of-the-box logging and reporting capabilities have helped Marsh & McLennan demonstrate compliance with industry regulations. All folder, file, and SFTP activities are logged, with comprehensive logs that can be fed in real-time to SIEM systems for threat detection, incident response, and compliance verification.

For enterprises facing similar challenges to Marsh & McLennan—managing complex compliance requirements, securing sensitive data transfers at scale, and supporting global operations—Kiteworks offers a proven solution. As demonstrated by MMC’s experience, the platform delivers not just tactical improvements in security and compliance, but strategic value that extends throughout the organization.

The substantial benefits Marsh & McLennan has already realized—including over 50% improvement in compliance outcomes, alongside a 25% reduction in operational costs—provide compelling evidence of the Kiteworks’ effectiveness in addressing the complex data management challenges faced by today’s global enterprises.

How Kiteworks SFTP Can Help Your Organization

The Kiteworks Private Content Network, a FIPS 140-2 Level validated secure file sharing and file transfer platform, consolidates email, file sharing, web forms, SFTP and managed file transfer, so organizations control, protect, and track every file as it enters and exits the organization.

Kiteworks SFTP enables businesses to configure their security policies while empowering users to efficiently onboard partners, manage their content, and set their permissions.

Kiteworks SFTP runs on a hardened virtual appliance, allowing you to consolidate and centralize security, governance, and management. And Kiteworks SFTP is easy to use. Users can create their own SFTP server folders and manage their own external users. Easy upload and download of files using a simple web sharing interface removes friction. Or share content to and from SharePoint and Windows networks file shares.

To learn more about the Kiteworks Private Content Network and how our modern SFTP solution can save you valuable time and budget while providing rock-solid reliability, security, and governance, schedule a custom demo today.

Additional Resources

Blog Post SFTP Vulnerabilities and Strategies to Secure Your File Transfers

Blog Post SFTP Security – Is It Truly Secure?

Blog Post What to Look for in a Top SFTP Server: Critical Features

Video Kiteworks Snackable Bytes: SFTP Server

Blog Post How to Improve SFTP Adoption: Top Benefits and Strategies