Convince me to use FMSA 13

[CoZiMan]

Ok.

Long time user.

In house developer.

We ran FMS 7-9 reliably with a fixed cost.

Now between the poor user experience managing and installing FMS 11-13 and the very much greater cost associated with FMS 13 we are NOT pleased.

Go ahead.

Convince me to continue using FMS.

[LaRetta]

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

[Lee Smith]

Hi Coz,

 

This is your decision and only you can make it. 

 

It isn’t our job to convenience you to use FileMaker’s product.

 

Any convincing you need, has to come from your analysis of the pro and cons.

 

Lee

[Wim Decorte]

We ran FMS 7-9 reliably with a fixed cost.

 

What does that mean?  Fixed cost how?

Now between the poor user experience managing and installing FMS 11-13 and the very much greater cost associated with FMS 13 we are NOT pleased.

 

Not pleased with what?

The cost is the cost and that should never be a surprise.  But what is the "poor user experience" with FMS 11-13 all about?  That spans 3 versions with very different features and different technologies.

 

If you are NOT pleased, and you want us to contribute you have to do a better job of explaining yourself.  We're not here to try to convince you.  You have to be convinced based on what value the FM platform can bring you.  Based on the very little you have said it seems like you don't see the value.  There is no absolute value.  It's all situation specific.  And we don't know your situation.

[CoZiMan]

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

Hi LaRetta,

I really like FM.

All the benefits of quick and easy development while maintaining the ability for elegant, complex solutions.

But we are a small company. The cost/benefit ratio can be onerous to prove.

So we went from ~$250 per seat per year with server less than 3 years ago and a two year upgrade cycle to now more than $500 per year. If we go to an annualized server license it actually costs more.

AND we now have to purchase and dedicate a server box and manage it seperately from our existing webserver.

It makes management of costs a priority. That complexity of usage is exactly what we've avoided so far. That meant the management costs were almost non-existent. If I have to devote X hours and X dollars to sufficiently manage just the product it becomes difficult to justify.

So, no, you are not convincing me against my will. I just can't justify the costs anymore as we use the product now.

I suppose the "How do you use it?" is the most cogent comment.

[bcooney]

Compared to what?

[CoZiMan]

What does that mean?  Fixed cost how?

 

Not pleased with what?

The cost is the cost and that should never be a surprise.  But what is the "poor user experience" with FMS 11-13 all about?  That spans 3 versions with very different features and different technologies.

 

If you are NOT pleased, and you want us to contribute you have to do a better job of explaining yourself.  We're not here to try to convince you.  You have to be convinced based on what value the FM platform can bring you.  Based on the very little you have said it seems like you don't see the value.  There is no absolute value.  It's all situation specific.  And we don't know your situation.

Exactly as you understand it in YOUR experience - how does the cost and management affect your situation as a developer?

Do you see a greater or lesser uptake with the current product?

We used to holler "Yeah small workgroup!".

Compared to what?

Right. That's going to be the next question from my boss.

[comment]

Shouldn't you consider a hosting service?

[CoZiMan]

Shouldn't you consider a hosting service?

We can't allow the data offsite legally.

Sigh.

Would love to have it hosted.

[James Gill]

Are you hosting using Mac OS X Server or Windows Server?  I'll probably get flak for saying this, but I can tell you from first hand experience that at least as far as Filemaker goes, in my experience Windows Server beats Mac OS X Server hands down.  Granted that's a loaded statement, but as somebody who has worked with Mac OS X Server and Filemaker since Mac OS X 10.4 and Filemaker 9, I've never encountered as many issues between two products as with Filemaker Server (13 specifically) and Mac OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion.  Granted I've also run into issues with FMS 13 and Windows Server 2008 R2, but there's a big difference in support between an enterprise class server OS and Mac OS X Server.