[Mimedefang] OT: Better file transfer system?

[Kenneth Porter]

The discussion of grey listing and "critical email" reminds me that email 
is used a lot as a B2B file transfer system. At least, it gets used that 
way a lot by my company and its partners.

What better alternatives are available?

For selected partners I've set up "web folders" using Apache's DAV module. 
Windows clients can create a web folder that supports drag and drop, and 
the connection can be secured over HTTPS. The folder can be viewed using an 
ordinary web browser. People dropping files in the folder send an email to 
alert the recipient that the file is available. This works great when 
transferring large files over a slow connection. The process of creating 
each partner's folder is somewhat manual (I have to set up an Apache 
Location clause for each folder) and I have to create an htpasswd file for 
each client and email them a password. (Anyone have tools to automate this?)

I've seen companies that use email internally even when a file server with 
a public shared folder is available. (My machinists use a shared folder to 
exchange CNC programs and drawings.)

What other options have you come up with that avoid abusing email as a file 
transfer system?