Is FileMaker Right For My Needs?

[Frank Black]

Total noob with questions galore...

I am tasked to research the value of various applications with the goal being the creation of a PC hardware/software/maintenance database for use by our organization. I am so woefully ignorant of FileMaker than I am ashamed, but I hope someone can give me insight. Here is what we envision...

We'd like a database whose front-end is graphical in some way. If it can operate on the web, that would be excellent. We envision using it on smart phones (iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile) as well as PCs/Macs. The interface would have a homepage showing a map of our complex. One could click on any building and then be taken to a diagram of that building. Clicking on a room within the building diagram would show all the computers in that room. Clicking on a computer would give all data on the machine (Manufacturer, model, serial number, user, specifications, installed software, service history, etc.). There should be tools that would allow us to examine the data on all machines so we could cull certain facts (all machines where Microsoft Office was installed, hard drives larger than 80GB, tube monitors, etc.). We envision this as a useful program for our technicians so they could have access to data in the field rather than just at their desks (which is the case right now).

Aside from the programming challenges (we have 15 full-time programmers), I want to know if such a thing is possible with FileMaker. And by "possible" I mean practical and done without hacks or workarounds since such a thing is the intended use of FileMaker.

Thank you all very much for your input.

Frank

[Vaughan]

If you want a web interface and already have 15 programmers sitting around, I'd be doing in it LAMP.

The "clickable map of the campus" will probably have to be hand-coded no matter what environment it's built in.

There are commercial tools that do hardware/software management.

[Genx]

Yes, very advisable to use SQL for the db source (FileMaker which is normally used to provide a GUI wouldn't be very useful here and it's web capabilities are OK for standard use at best).

So SQL and any language that can present a browser based version of the site (ASP/PHP/Ruby). MySQL/MSSQL, Apache/IIS, Linux/Windows questions aren't overly relevant here, use what you've got.

Your 15 programmers should be able to knock this together in a couple of days

P.S. good luck with windows mobile. IPhone and android have rich browsers that would be able to deal with this... windows mobile... not so much.