Productivity solutions guide
http://www.macworld.co.uk/filemaker
The key to getting what you want from a database is being able to explain what you need. While developers come in all shapes and sizes, they should all be good at listening so they can understand what you need. The more accurately you can convey your needs the better chance you have of getting the right database.
Many developers have a speciality, such as publishing, accounting or something more niche. They didn’t all start out trying to be database developers—they just built a database for a particular job, then realised that they had a product that would be useful in the rest of their industry. So if you have a database in mind, either way of approaching the problem can pay you dividends. If somebody has done something similar already, you can benefit from their experience by using their database.
If you’ve stumbled across a hitherto undiscovered use for a database and want to develop the idea, you may end up with a product that you can sell. However, this could give your competitors the same advantage as you in your own industry—so it may be advantageous to keep it to yourself. I’ve known companies to do this as a way to keep their competitive advantage.
If you’re new to database development, it can be difficult to know where to turn. In fact it couldn’t be easier, simply look at the FileMaker site (www.filemaker.co.uk) and click on the find a developer link. That lets people search for keywords for solutions, or for developers by area. Alternatively, check out this site's full list of the members of the FileMaker Solutions Alliance (FSA).
Earlier this year Macworld held its annual awards ceremony, and there was a special FileMaker Developer award. There were lots of entries and it was tough to get to a shortlist of only ten projects. I was amazed at the diversity, creativity and complexity of some of the databases that had been built. I was also impressed with the extremely high quality of the entrants. It demonstrated two things, one that there is a huge developer community out there just itching to put ideas into action. The other thing was that there is a wealth of applications already in existence just waiting to be used in almost every professional situation.
What fascinates me is the kind of things FileMaker gets used for. For instance, FSA Partner Linear Blue has developed an artist-management system for classical musicians. It was designed for HarrisonParrot, and manages the diaries of over 75 classical musicians.
It integrates with Palm OS, fax, email and other third-party software. The relational database offers its users advanced management reporting capabilities that makes such a complex task manageable.
Another FileMaker Partner, MaJic, designed a database for Grand Slamm Childrens Films. The database keeps track of every part of the animation company’s production. It stores, searches and retrieves images used in the animations, keeps tabs on the status of the production of each episode, emails schedules and, of course, keeps records of all the films made.
FileMaker developers may have made big inroads into those creative industries, but MacTherapy does plenty of bread and butter work too—like the site it put together for Pret a Manger’s New York sandwich delivery service. If you live in New York, you can order Pret sarnies by logging on to a FileMaker-powered site. The system, which uses every aspect of FileMaker technology from XML to runtime, is used by over 60 Pret outlets in the UK and US, and processes many thousands of delivery orders for lunch and breakfast each week.
A little closer to home is the FileMaker database that powers the sales department of IDG (the publishers of Macworld, PC Advisor and Digit). FileMaker developers Cardinale designed and implemented the system which holds details of every advertiser, every job… even notes on every sales call. It churns out reports that let our people understand every aspect of the market, from who spends the most money, to advertisers’ birthdays. This kind of customer-relationship management is essential in a modern sales environment. Cardinale has helped us do that with ease.
Bespoke development companies such as BabelFix specialize in creating solutions that have the look and feel of commercial applications. Advanced interface design allows a host of integrated features to be presented cohesively and seamlessly, while its work is often so intuitive in use that it can seem surprisingly simple.
So whatever your needs, there’s either somebody who has done it before or somebody who can help you develop a solution. If you need a little help, or just need somebody to do it all for you, there are plenty of options.
David Fanning
A multipurpose main screen layout for the charity Survival International.
Pret A Manger commissioned a FileMaker database for online orders and deliveries.
HarrisonParrot’s FileMaker database keeps track of musicians’ schedules.