Is Claris FileMaker right for you?

Claris FileMaker is the perfect platform for building bespoke business systems. Its performance, reliability and ease of use are a match for any platform, and its outstanding flexibility means we can build you whatever system you need – automating your manual processes, driving your productivity and integrating seamlessly with your existing applications. If you’re ready to transform your business, Claris FileMaker is the right platform for you.

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“We have an excellent system! Keep up the good work!”

Roy Lovegrove

AIT Partnership

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What is Claris FileMaker?

Claris FileMaker is a database system and application development platform in one. It’s a powerful blend.

Think of it as a really solid set of foundations. You can build what you like on top – anything from a garden shed to a palace. Unlike an off the shelf system, it won't force you to use functionality you don't need. You can decide exactly what you need and that’s what you get. What’s more, Claris FileMaker is a beautiful and elegant platform to work with.

Claris FileMaker is also open to the world. It works on Windows, Mac, iOS and the web, and can be integrated with almost any other software. With FileMaker Pro, you can access your system via laptop or desktop computers, and FileMaker Go gives you access via mobile iOS devices. 

FileMaker WebDirect can be used to give customers a way of interacting with your FileMaker system online via a website. For large numbers of web users, more powerful custom web portals can be built on the platform. 

For anyone looking for an alternative to Excel spreadsheets, FileMaker is a giant leap forward in every way. If it’s speed, power, reliability and endless flexibility you’re after, choose Claris FileMaker as your software platform.

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Claris FileMaker – the advantages

Claris FileMaker is a long established platform which is regularly updated and supported by its creator, Claris. It’s also backed by Apple. It is more robustly designed and tested than open source software, making it extremely reliable. As a platform it is fantastically versatile, capable of delivering basic software performing simple tasks, as well as highly sophisticated systems that drive digital transformation.

Why you might need a FileMaker solution

Paper-based working

Using paper forms to record information is inefficient. With the data instead captured in a system, it can be used for traceability, reporting and analysis without those processes being manual.

Limited choice of device

Many systems won’t function on mobile phones as well as desktop computers. With FileMaker, data can be seen and captured on desktop, mobile, the web and on touch devices.

Multiple data entry

Many businesses will enter the same data many times – wasting time and risking error. A bespoke FileMaker system means that once the information is entered once, it can be used wherever else it is needed.

Spreadsheet overload

Spreadsheets can be hard to manage, prone to errors, and difficult for multiple people to use simultaneously. FileMaker systems are ideal alternatives to Excel. We can build a system that not only contains all the same information but ensures the information is complete and correct, and is capable of analysing it in much more flexible and insightful ways.

See how this looks in practice

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Why we recommend Claris FileMaker

Versatile

  • Excellent platform for building all kinds of systems, from basic organisational tools to heavy duty or highly specialised systems involving complex analysis, prediction and more.

  • Great way to fill the voids neatly between existing software systems, giving you the best of all worlds. 

  • Easily adapted to exactly what you need and nothing you don’t.

Reliable and robust

  • A long established platform with a track record of reliable performance.

  • Regularly updated and supported by its creator, Claris, a subsidiary of Apple.

  • Rigorously designed and tested.

Integrates well

  • FileMaker integrates with anything that has an API (REST or SOAP), with SQL databases, ODBC sources and many other systems and standards.

  • Offers a seamless user experience focussed on the needs of the user.

  • Readily accessible to developers of other systems using the FileMaker Data API.

Find out more about Decent

Our team Why work with us?

How we work with you

Concept

We start by digging deep into how your business works, your aspirations, and what you want to achieve. This thorough understanding is a critical first step – the secret to transforming your business. 

Design

We gain a detailed understanding of the business processes that the software needs to support and look for ways to streamline and improve them. We then design your new system. 

Build

Our UK-based software developers build your system, testing it carefully to ensure it meets your business needs – while keeping ease of use uppermost in mind. We often create and launch one module at a time, so you see results as soon as possible.

Release

We install the new FileMaker system, help with implementing it and ensure any issues are solved. This process is handled with great care to minimise disruption.

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The impact of a customer web portal

Claris FileMaker makes it simple to build a customer-facing web portal, allowing your customers to place orders, download invoices, access documents and raise service requests – and do all this simply and easily via a web browser.

The Claris tool that enables this is FileMaker WebDirect, giving key customers and suppliers access to your FileMaker system. However, if you want to give large numbers of customers access online, you’ll need a custom web portal, something we specialise in creating for our clients.

The benefits of a customer web portal are significant. It can enhance business processes and improve customer interaction, ultimately streamlining operations and boosting customer satisfaction.

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Why not use an off-the-shelf product?

If your business model is very standard, an off-the-shelf software system could be right for you. But if you’re a growing, evolving business, or you have your own particular ways of working, or you like to innovate in your sector, then you will find an off-the-shelf product constraining. And customising an off-the-shelf product is often difficult.

If you want a system that can grow and change as your ways of working evolve, you’ll want a bespoke system, preferably built on a platform that’s powerful enough to do what you need it to do. You’ll also want a design and development partner who can continue to update and evolve your system.

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Why Claris FileMaker might not be right for you

  • You have large numbers of desktop users (500+) all requiring constant connection to the system as their main software tool
  • You do highly specialist work which already has a software package designed for it, or use existing off-the-shelf software that perfectly meets your needs. 
  • You are building the front end of a public-facing website – although FileMaker may still be perfect for the back-office operation

If you’re not sure what kind of business system you need, it’s important to consider your overall IT strategy carefully. This is something we are well placed to advise on, whether you need FileMaker solution or something else.

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Looking for an alternative to FileMaker?

If you’re looking for an alternative to FileMaker, the problem is probably that your existing system has been badly implemented. We can fix it for you. 

A great deal of our work involves taking existing, badly set up FileMaker systems and transforming them into tools that work brilliantly for businesses. 

So before you go to all the expense and disruption of introducing an entirely new system, talk to us about how we can rescue your FileMaker system.

Find out more here
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Work with leading Claris FileMaker developers

Decent Group are the UK’s leading independent Claris FileMaker experts. We have built systems on the FileMaker platform for many years and have a deep understanding of how it works and how to get the best out of it. Our expertise has been recognised through our Platinum Claris partner status, and we are certified FileMaker developers. You can be confident that any FileMaker work we do for you will be the right solution for your needs.

We’ve worked with some great people

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Case study

New system drives big growth despite small size of team

New FileMaker and new IT team give property finance lender the edge

Reinventing a FileMaker system produces big efficiency gains

Bespoke inspection app and web portal help put playground safety first

Keeping the Blackpool Illuminations switched on

Bespoke software optimises a business’s entire processes

Hungry to grow, this specialist furniture company needed a comprehensive system to replace improvised Excel and Dropbox solutions. The system has driven strong growth, and we continue to work with them to make it even more powerful.

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A complete overhaul of an existing FileMaker system allowed our client to streamline all its business processes. We also recruited and trained an IT team to bring systems and solutions skills in-house for ultimate efficiency. 

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We transformed this aluminium die casting manufacturer’s existing FileMaker system, giving them instant access to detailed real time order and production data. The system has virtually eliminated errors, improved efficiency and helped the business to grow. 

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Our solutions for managing playground safety inspections enable RoSPA Play Safety to provide an industry-leading service. The process improvement has delivered impact impossible with an off-the-shelf product.

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When you have £10 million worth of world-famous equipment in your warehouse, you need to stay on top of where it all is, what it’s all worth, and how to switch it on and off. Our bespoke software system makes all this instant and effortless for Blackpool’s Lightworks workshop.

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This food business needs to keep track of hundreds of very different products to ensure great customers service. We created their system from scratch – a perfect fit for each of their processes. Since then the business has grown – without increasing staff numbers.

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