When you found our service, you might have been a bit puzzled as to why we’re FileMaker specialists. It’s very possible that you’ve never even heard of FileMaker. So we thought we’d post a bit of information that might help you along.
FileMaker is, put simply, the leading database application for workgroups. It was originally released in 1984, and currently has over 18 million units shipped worldwide. It’s available in over 60 countries, in 17 languages, and the company has been profitable every quarter since its formation.
If you want more detail about the company itself (FileMaker, Inc.), you can take a peek at their corporate fact sheet.
A FileMaker solution can be deployed in a wide variety of environments – simultaneously!
- Windows
- Mac
- iOS / Mobile
- Web
- Single-user
- Multi-user
In addition to this high degree of flexibility in platform and deployment, FileMaker can also be deployed on a server or on a local computer, via the web or through local sharing. Its highly adaptable nature makes it ideally suitable for our target audience – small businesses and nonprofits, who often have a relatively low user count and are often working with limited budget resources.
Especially attractive is FileMaker’s iOS client, FileMaker Go. Often with only minor modifications, the solution you use in your home office on your desktop computer can work quite well on your mobile device – your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. This means access to your data systems even when you’re not in the office, all without relying on a separate application or needing to build a web site for that access.
FileMaker consistently wins awards for its ease of use. Unlike more traditional database environments, for example, no programming knowledge (including knowing how to write SQL queries) is needed to perform basic functions in a FileMaker system. Additionally, a FileMaker system is intuitive for the average user, unlike many database systems based in more “enterprise”-level environments.
Not only is FileMaker easy for users, it’s easy and quick for the developers as well – and that translates into lower costs for you, our client. Not only that, but FileMaker licenses are considerably cheaper than many competing products.
At this point, you might be saying, “But we already have some data systems in place. We don’t want to pay to replace everything we have.” Not to worry. FileMaker excels at integration. Whether it’s interacting with existing enterprise databases (in the form of Oracle, SQL Server, or MySQL), moving data from web services, or just grabbing data from an existing Excel spreadsheet, FileMaker can handle the job. Ask us how!
We often hear questions from clients such as, “Well, how does FileMaker compare to Access or SQL Server?” Or, we sometimes hear, “What’s wrong with just keeping my data in Excel?” This is understandable, since many users are more familiar with these Microsoft products. Let’s take a look at a couple of quick side-by-side comparisons:
As you can see, it’s very advantageous to look at FileMaker as a solution to your company’s or agency’s data management challenges!