SFTP Getting Started

As described in Setting Up SFTP Access to obtain the necessary credentials for:

1. Research Documents SFTP server
   • An SFTP username (login name)
   • Password
2. Data Files
   • An SFTP username (login name).
   • An SSH private key file (for key-based authentication).
   • A passphrase for the private key (if one is set).

Choose an SFTP client or library. You can use a graphical client like FileZilla or WinSCP, or automate downloads using scripts (for example, with Python’s paramiko library or command-line sftp/scp tools). Install and open your SFTP client.

Use the following connection details to log in:

1. Host:
   • intranet.idc.com – port 9922 for Research Documents
   • sftp.idc.com – port 22 for Datasets
2. Username: (the username provided by IDC)
   Please note that if you are using both SFTP servers for both documents and data files the usernames for the two SFTP servers will be different. Make sure you use the right username for each of the servers. The same applies for the SSH keys and passphrases.
3. Authentication:
   • For research documents provide username and the password
   • For data files provide the SSH private key file that IDC gave you. In clients like WinSCP or FileZilla, you will need to import or add this key. If the key has a passphrase, enter the passphrase when prompted.

You should be able to connect and see the directory structure on the IDC SFTP server.

• Research Documents: There is only a single directory for your research documents. The documents in the directory will always be up to date.
  For example – the file wk.zip will contain a list of files published to your subscription in last 7 days. For details refer to SFTP Research Documents for details.
• Data Files: Navigate through the SFTP directory to find your data. The root directory may contain folders such as “Data and Analytics” and “Knowledge Platform” (depending on your subscriptions). For traditional IDC data products (Trackers, Spending Guides, etc.), navigate to /Data and Analytics/Query Tool/ – this is where your subscribed data files will appear. Within this folder, you’ll see files (or subfolders) named for each product and release. For example, you might find files like:
  IDC_Quarterly_Workstation_Tracker_Final_Historical_2023Q3_delivered-08-Nov-2023_1.csv.gz.Each file is a GZIP-compressed CSV (as indicated by the.csv .gz extension). Download the.csv.gz files to your local machine. After download, extract the CSV from the GZIP archive (using a tool like 7-Zip on Windows, gunzip on Linux, or built-in archive utility on Mac). The CSV inside will contain the data, with the first row as headers.

  Tip: The IDC data files SFTP server (sftp.idc.com) organizes files by product and time. Typically, each product release results in one or more files (if a product is split by segments, you’ll see multiple files with _1, _2, etc. in the name). File names include the product name, type (Historical/Forecast), the quarter or year of the data, the delivery date, and a sequence number. The exact names and structure may vary based on your subscription, so use the SFTP directory listing to identify new files. For more information refer to the Data Format  section.

For ongoing integration, you may automate this process. IDC provides a sample mirroring script in Python that connects and downloads all available data files recursively. You can run such a script on a schedule (e.g. nightly) to keep your local repository in sync. See the SFTP Automation section for more on automation and a snippet of the example script.

By following these steps, you can quickly access all your IDC data exports via SFTP. This method is especially convenient if you prefer working with files or want to integrate IDC data ingestion into an existing ETL pipeline. If you encounter issues connecting, double-check the host/port and key setup, and see the Troubleshooting notes in the SFTP – Trackers, Spending Guides, CPE, and Wallet Products.

To learn more, continue to

• SFTP Research Documents
• SFTP; Trackers, Spending Guides, CPE, and Wallet Products