Your business has grown and evolved over the years, and your Claris FileMaker database has been keeping pace with you the entire time. Unlike other applications, this solution you built does everything you need, it fits your business rules, rather than forcing you to adapt your workflows to an off-the-shelf application.

You built it yourself way back when by grabbing a QuickStart guide, locked yourself in your office, started by hammering out a few tables, a few layouts, and a couple of scripts to tie them all together. As years went on and your business’s needs grew, so did your database. Maybe you contracted with a developer to help build an integration or two. Claris FileMaker was always up to the challenge, and because of that, your business continued to thrive. 

Now, years down the line, you’re in a different place, technology is rapidly changing, and Claris FileMaker development isn’t what it used to be. There are so many 3rd party applications that you can add on, but which are the right ones? Can they be integrated into Claris FileMaker or will staff need to learn a whole new solution to do their jobs?

Maybe now is a good time to look at your solution, your business needs, and where you want to go. We can help you through this process taking on the heavy lifting and technical side to provide you with options for having a solution that runs better, is more agile for today’s technology needs and allows users to use a single solution to do their day-to-day work.

Think about:

• Does your solution have a lot of “dead weight” with screens, fields, scripts, etc., that are no longer being used? 
• How long does it take to train someone in how to use the solution? Are there a lot of “ignore that, we don’t use it anymore” caveats when showing a new employee, the workflow?
• Now that you’ve got years of data in your tables, are you finding that it’s not as zippy as it used to be?
• Are you realizing that there were structures you built as you were learning that could have been done differently, more efficiently? 
• How many hands have been in the pot customizing this solution? Is it always nerve-wracking to go in to change something because you’re afraid you’ll break functionality that someone worked on years ago?
• Have you wondered about some of the workflows that could be streamlined with updated technologies to perform better, are easier to use, and more versatile in how information can be accessed? Do you have staff or technicians in the field that could use a mobile app to provide real-time data to those in the office, or provide a way for them to see their routes, and track time and mileage along the way?
• Have you been thinking about how to leverage your database to allow your customers access to parts of your workflow, but you don’t know where to start or what that will take?  Having a secure portal for customers to access their account details, project information, pay invoices, etc., is not as difficult as you may think.

The great thing about Claris FileMaker is that it’s a rapid-development application with a low barrier for getting started, but occasionally that means that your mission-critical solution is a bit of a patchwork quilt with a few holes.

A certified Claris FileMaker consultant can review your solution, its workflows, brainstorm improvements, and help you get it cleaned up and organized. Whether it’s just removing the dead wood and organizing your schema, refreshing your user interface, or building a perfectly optimized new version, our team can leverage their years of experience with the platform to modernize your solution using best practices to bring your workflow to the next level.

We have a low-cost, flat-fee Maintenance Support Program where you can receive a full health assessment that grades your solution based on five key areas: environment, stability, performance, security, and adaptability. As part of the assessment, we will make improvement recommendations in priority order and indicate what can be covered under the maintenance program at no extra cost.

Taking time to do a little planning and spring cleaning with our team can revitalize your FileMaker database and take your business to the next level of efficiency. 

Are you ready to improve the way you work?  It is easier than you think.

Additional Blogs, Training, and Resources

If you are interested in additional Claris FileMaker videos, training courses or product news, please:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel for FileMaker tips and tricks.
• Subscribe to our newsletter for industry and product updates.
• Check out Productive Computing University for in-depth training courses covering advanced FileMaker technologies.
• Have a look through our blog posts that discuss various FileMaker topics.

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