A system and method for transferring target data from a remote source to a remote destination are provided. Metadata such as directory structure and content is obtained from the source and used to organize the transfer. The transfer may be executed by operator elements which are customized to interact with particular remote sources and/or destinations. A configurable number of operator elements may run in parallel and a message queue may be used to distribute tasks to the operator elements in furtherance of the transfer. In some embodiments, the operator elements may be hosted by separate servers. Some of operator elements may be hosted by the same service that hosts the remote source or the remote destination.