So what is FileMaker? FileMaker, or to name it fully, Claris FileMaker Pro, is an application that allows the creation of relational databases. In short, it’s software for writing software. With FileMaker, a software developer can create an application which fits your needs and fulfils your business requirements. So it’s bespoke software for you and it’s also tailor made software for your business.
Databases? Is that really software? Yes. Totally. A database is a collection of information which can be displayed, analysed, referenced and reported on in all manner of ways - all of which can be unique to your own specific needs. You want to maintain lists of customers and their orders and then generate financial reports based upon that data? Yup, FileMaker will do that. You want a stock control system with up to the second accuracy? Yup, that’ll be FileMaker. You need to view your database remotely via a web browser or on an iPhone or an iPad? Yes, yes and yes. The fact is that FileMaker is many things to many people.
Why not off the shelf? Sure, you can go that way. They are plenty of off-the-shelf software solutions out there which work perfectly well for the average company. The problem is, in over 20 years of software and database development, I have never seen an ‘average’ company. More to the point, I’ve never been asked to create software which, without alteration and refinement, could even be used by another business. It’s just a fact of business life that no businesses, even those which are in the same market, can utilise exactly the same software and that’s just down to how businesses run. Each has its own processes, its own way of operating, its own principle goals and it’s because of all of these differences than no one should expect that an off-the-shelf product will be ideally suited to any given business.
Why use FileMaker? First off, over a million people, in over 50,000 companies across the world use FileMaker every day. That’s an awful lot of entirely bespoke software running business critical processes. It’s also a huge network of data being shared between businesses and their clients and customers. As we near the age of the internet of things, FileMaker could play an increasingly vital role in how you run your business and how you manage your clients.
So how flexible is it? Quite simply…very. You can run FileMaker on Apple Macs and Microsoft Windows PCs and on iPads and iPhones. In fact, with Claris Connect, you can run it in a web browser - easily. So you get cross platform / cross device functionality with AES 256-bit encryption across any network and all at expected internet / network speeds. And yes, you can even integrate FileMaker with online POS systems and accountancy applications and with an iPad / iPhone running FileMaker, you can read Barcodes and QR codes, capture signatures, store images and video all in your very own database. Claris FileMaker is secure, it’s flexible and it can be written to perform almost any computer function you can imagine.
So FileMaker’s great but why use Flare? Because we're great too :) James and I have a combined experience of over 40 years working with FileMaker across a variety of business markets. Healthcare, stock control, security, marketing, online sales, media - you name it, we’ve been there and we could be there for you too. So why not contact us and we could help you realise your dream of making your working life more productive, more profitable and just that little bit easier.