FileMaker Pro, the number one database software for Mac or Windows, is widely regarded as the most versatile development software on the market. Some of us have been developing databases longer than Operandi have been around, and it is rare that you have to tell a client that something they requested can’t be done. Recently, a client sat on the other side of the desk and thought it would be great to have their database create a PDF of a quote for him to email to someone. The answer was; did he want it on his desktop or create an email with it in.
This, of course, is one of the simpler things you can do, but it shows how helpful some of the features can be, and there are some very complicated process that FileMaker can achieve, but it all relies on a visionary client to ask the questions that mean something to their business.
There is a little confusion over what FileMaker software gives the user. FileMaker is not an actual database. It is a software you build a database with. This can be as simple, or as complicated, as you want, but you will need the skills to take things further, or to develop more elaborate solutions.
Part of our job in developing a database system for you, is to listen to your ideas and requirements. Sometimes we have to challenge an idea, partly because it may conflict with the general process of things, partly because we need you to consider why. It isn’t unheard of to spend a couple of hours discussing one feature or process for your solution.
We get the opportunity, from time to time, to work with a client who has created a database for themselves, and simply need a bit of help in adding something they either don’t have time to do, or that it’s more complicated than their skill level allows. This can be a little difficult, as it is very easy to build a functional system, but without the need to understand ‘proper’ design rules and methods, we often need to make some changes before we can add the features we are commissioned to add.
We do find that a lot of clients have started with one of the many example databases you get when you install FileMaker. This makes most things much simpler for us to work with, but it’s more interesting for the sad techies in us to work on the problem ones!