FTP/SFTP Data Integration | Secure File Automation

Connect FTP/SFTP in 5 minutes. Your agent queries ingestion volumes, pipeline lag, schema drift, and backfill status—then cross-references with 1,000+ marketing and analytics sources for complete data pipeline visibility.

SOC 2 Type II 1,000+ data sources Any warehouse or BI tool

Improvado Agent

Connected to FTP/SFTP

Show me today's file deliveries and any transfer failures.

You have 47 files transferred today across 12 directories. 2 transfers failed on the /exports/analytics path due to connection timeout. Last successful sync was 14 minutes ago.

Retry the failed transfers and alert me if they fail again.

Retrying 2 failed transfers now. Both completed successfully. 100% transfer success rate restored. Monitoring enabled — you'll be notified if any transfer takes longer than 5 minutes or fails.

Trusted by data-driven teams

1,000+

Integrations

200+

FTP/SFTP Fields

99.9%

SLA Uptime

<5 min

Setup

SOC 2

Type II

Key Takeaways

Connect FTP/SFTP integration securely

Improvado connects to your FTP and SFTP servers to extract data files automatically without manual downloads. Our platform supports secure file transfer protocols with SSH key authentication and encrypted connections. The integration monitors directories for new files and processes them on customizable schedules or real-time triggers. No manual file transfers or custom scripting required for regular data extraction workflows.

200+ metrics and dimensions Campaigns, ad groups, keywords, audiences, geo, device — all granularity levels from the FTP/SFTP API

15-minute refresh cycles Near real-time sync with 99.9% SLA uptime. No stale dashboards.

Cross-channel normalization Marketing CDM unifies your data with 1,000+ sources into one schema. No manual mapping.

Any warehouse or BI tool Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks, Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio

AI Agent access via MCP Query, write, and monitor FTP/SFTP through Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client

Enterprise-grade security SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA. Raw data never leaves your environment.

OAuth setup in under 5 minutes No API keys, no code, no developer setup. Schema changes handled automatically.

Zero ongoing maintenance Pagination, rate limits, API versioning — all managed. Your team focuses on analysis.

Integration Details

Unified file processing across data sources

Improvado's data processing engine standardizes FTP/SFTP files alongside other data sources using consistent schemas and formats. Files from different servers are normalized into unified table structures for cross-system analysis. Combine legacy system exports with modern cloud platforms and marketing tools for comprehensive business intelligence. Your processed data flows seamlessly into BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, or BI tools like Tableau and Power BI.

FTP/SFTP (SSH-2 protocol) · username/password or SSH keys · scheduled polling · full refresh or incremental

Schema Overview

Data objects and fields Improvado extracts from FTP/SFTP

Object	Fields
Formats	CSV JSON XML TXT Parquet
Compression	gzip bzip2 zip none
Ingestion	full reload incremental by timestamp incremental by file pattern
Schema	auto-detect from delimiters manual column mapping header row detection
Auth	username/password SSH keys (public/private key pair) certificate-based

How it works

From connection to autonomous action in three steps

Connect

Connect via SFTP credentials (host, port, username, password or SSH key). Agent authenticates and maps your directory structure, identifying active transfer paths and file patterns across your server infrastructure.

Ask

Ask questions like 'Which directories had failed transfers this week?' or 'Show me average file sizes by path' or 'What's the transfer speed for large inventory files?'

Act

Agent retries failed transfers, moves files between directories, archives completed batches, adjusts transfer schedules based on file size patterns, and triggers downstream processes when specific files arrive.

Use Cases

What teams ask their AI agent about FTP/SFTP

Real prompts from enterprise marketing teams. The agent reads your data, answers in seconds, and takes action when you ask.

See how teams use Improvado →

Improvado Agent Analysis

Process daily sales reports from legacy ERP systems via SFTP for modern analytics dashboards.

Your AI agent analyzes FTP/SFTP data and delivers actionable insights — automatically, in seconds.

4 hrs → 10 min

Improvado Agent Cross-channel

Transform vendor data files delivered via FTP into analytics-ready format automatically.

Your AI agent analyzes FTP/SFTP data and delivers actionable insights — automatically, in seconds.

Manual → auto

Improvado Agent Reporting

Generate executive reports combining FTP data with real-time marketing and sales metrics.

Your AI agent analyzes FTP/SFTP data and delivers actionable insights — automatically, in seconds.

6 hrs → 15 min

AI Agent Access

Your agent doesn't just read FTP/SFTP—it orchestrates pipelines.

Read

Agent reads transfer logs, file metadata, directory structures, transfer timestamps, file sizes, connection status, error messages, and bandwidth utilization across all configured SFTP paths.

Write

Agent uploads files, downloads files, moves files between directories, deletes archived files, retries failed transfers, creates new directories, adjusts file permissions, and schedules recurring transfers based on patterns.

Monitor

Agent monitors transfer success rates, connection stability, file arrival times, directory size limits, transfer duration thresholds, disk space availability, and triggers alerts when transfers fail or files don't arrive on schedule.

Query dataset freshness, trigger backfills, monitor ingestion volume, and validate schemas directly through Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client. Every read, write, and pipeline action is logged and governed.

Claude ChatGPT Cursor Gemini Any MCP Client

Explore MCP →

Improvado Agent · FTP/SFTP

You

Show me file transfer activity for the past 24 hours

Transfer Activity

Directory Path	Files Transferred	Success Rate
/data/inventory/daily	18 files	100%
/exports/orders	12 files	100%
/reports/logistics	8 files	87.5%
/warehouse/shipments	6 files	100%
/backup/customer_data	3 files	100%

47 total files · 2 failures · 95.7% overall success rate

You

Set up automatic retry for any failed transfers in /reports/logistics

Auto-retry enabled

Monitoring /reports/logistics · 3 retry attempts · 5min intervals

Destinations

Send FTP/SFTP data anywhere

Load normalized data to your preferred warehouse, BI tool, or cloud storage. Click any destination to see its integration guide.

Snowflake → BigQuery → Redshift → Databricks → Power BI → Tableau → Looker Studio → Google Sheets → Domo → Excel → Qlik → Amazon S3 → Metabase → Grafana → PostgreSQL → Azure SQL →

SOC 2 Type II: Certified Security

HIPAA: Health Data Privacy

GDPR: EU Data Protection

CCPA: CA Privacy Standard

Compare

They extract data. Improvado deploys an agent.

Traditional tools move data from A to B. Improvado gives you an AI agent that reads, acts, and monitors — with FTP/SFTP as one of 1,000+ integrated sources.

Feature	Improvado	Supermetrics	Funnel.io	Fivetran
Data fields extracted	200+	~90	~120	~80
Total integrations	1,000+	~150	~500	~300
Cross-channel normalization (CDM)	✓ Built-in	✗ Manual	Basic mapping	✗ Raw only
AI Agent access (MCP)	✓ Read, Write, Monitor	✗	✗	✗
Data warehouse destinations	✓ 16+ warehouses & BI tools	Sheets, Looker, BigQuery	BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift	✓ Broad warehouse support
Refresh frequency	Every 15 min	Scheduled triggers	Daily / 6hr	Every 15 min (premium)
SOC 2 Type II & HIPAA	✓	✗ SOC 2 only	✓ SOC 2	✓
Best for	Teams that want an AI agent, not a pipeline	Small teams, spreadsheets	Mid-market, data teams	Engineering-led ELT pipelines

Comparison based on publicly available documentation as of April 2026. Feature availability may vary by plan tier.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What file formats are supported from FTP/SFTP servers?

Improvado supports CSV, JSON, XML, TSV, and fixed-width files from FTP/SFTP servers. The platform handles compressed formats including zip and gzip automatically. Custom file parsing rules can be configured for specific data structures, delimiters, and encoding formats.

How does Improvado ensure secure FTP/SFTP connections?

Improvado uses SFTP with SSH key authentication and encrypted connections for maximum security. The platform supports both password and public key authentication methods. All file transfers are encrypted in transit, and credentials are stored securely using enterprise-grade encryption.

Can Improvado process files from multiple FTP servers?

Yes, Improvado can connect to multiple FTP and SFTP servers simultaneously with separate authentication and processing rules. Each server connection can have custom schedules, file patterns, and transformation logic. The platform manages all connections centrally through a unified interface.

Does the integration support incremental file processing?

Yes, Improvado tracks processed files to avoid duplicates and supports incremental loading based on file timestamps or naming patterns. The platform can process only new files or handle append/replace scenarios. File archiving and cleanup rules can be configured to manage server storage.

How often does Improvado check for new files?

Improvado monitors FTP/SFTP directories every 30 minutes by default, with options for custom schedules from every 5 minutes to daily. Real-time monitoring is available for time-sensitive data processing. Batch processing windows can be configured for specific business hours or maintenance schedules.

What happens if FTP/SFTP servers are temporarily unavailable?

Improvado includes automatic retry logic with exponential backoff for temporary connection failures. The platform queues failed transfers and retries them when servers become available. Detailed monitoring and alerting notify you of persistent connection issues or processing failures.

Customer stories

See all customer stories →

“Improvado saves about 90 hours per week and allows us to focus on data analysis rather than routine data aggregation, normalization, and formatting.”

Jeff LeeHead of Social, Media Buy, Influencer & Marketing Data, ASUS

Read story →

“Improvado's reporting tool effortlessly integrates all our marketing data so we can easily track users across their entire digital journey. This saves me and my team countless hours.”

Marc CerniglioInsights & Automation Manager, Chacka Marketing

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Put an AI agent on your FTP/SFTP today

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