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Goodbye, Filemaker

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  Goodbye, Filemaker clkaufmann@gmx.ch (Christoph Kaufmann) - 2015-06-12 20:23 +0200
    Re: Goodbye, Filemaker Howard Schlossberg <howard@nospam.fmprosolutions.com> - 2015-06-14 21:40 -0700
      Re: Goodbye, Filemaker Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2015-06-15 18:50 +1200

#2346 — Goodbye, Filemaker

Tim Dietrich, author of FM EasySync and various other freeware tools,
stops "doing filemaker". I copy the text from his blog for the benefit
of offline readers.

http://timdietrich.me/blog/goodbye-filemaker/

"Goodbye, FileMaker

Writing this blog post is somewhat surreal. It might seem less surreal
if I had won the lottery (which is unlikely, because I don't play the
lottery) or if I were about to retire (which I'm not).

Instead, I'm writing this because it's time for a change. That change
(as if the title of this post didn't give it away) is that I'll no
longer be "doing FileMaker work." In other words, no new FileMaker
projects, and no new FileMaker clients.

I'm done.

A Difficult Decision

"I'm done" makes it sound like this was an easy decision to make. But it
wasn't.

I've been using FileMaker, in one form or another, for more than 20
years. I've bet my career and business on the platform, and for years it
has been a good bet. I've had a lot of success in providing FileMaker
solutions to all sorts of clients. I've had the honor of meeting and
working with some talented people, including clients, other FileMaker
developers, and some of the team at FileMaker Inc.

So, why stop now?

To put it simply, I am concerned about and frustrated with FileMaker, in
terms of both the platform and the business.

Theories and Rumors, But No Roadmap

It appears that the FileMaker platform is moving to - or trying to move
to - a SaaS model. The recent rumors about the much anticipated
"FileMaker Lite," coupled with the equally intriguing rumors that
FileMaker Inc will be providing database hosting services in the future,
do lend some credence to this theory.

But that's a theory based on rumors. I have yet to see any authoritative
proof of this. And FileMaker will not, for whatever reason, provide us
with a clear roadmap. So we're left to our theories, our rumors, and
best guesses.

As a FileMaker consultant, it has become increasing difficult to advise
my clients. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens" is a
lame answer to the questions that they ask about the future of the
platform.

Frustrations With the Platform

In terms of technology, the FileMaker platform has certainly continued
to mature. Despite its shortcomings (its inability to generate output,
for example), I'm still impressed by WebDirect and how far it has come
since its release as part of the FileMaker 13 platform. And the changes
and enhancements found in FileMaker Go 14 are equally impressive. Spend
some time developing native apps for iOS, and I think you'll agree that
all of the underlying complexity that Go hides from us is spectacular.

Despite the progress made on WebDirect and Go, I still have concerns
about the platform in general. There are key features that have gone
unchanged for far too long. Look at the UI for importing records. It's a
mess, and it has been for years now. There's the insanely poor support
for sending email. The recent FileMaker Server SSL certificate debacle.
And, my favorite, the ExecuteSQL function, which still only supports
SELECT statements. I could go on and on.

The constant need to use work-arounds, plug-ins, and (let's just call
them what they really are) hacks, to compensate for FileMaker's
shortcomings, is extremely frustrating. And yet, to develop the types of
solutions that clients are asking for, these techniques are necessary.
But they shouldn't be, especially when you consider that FileMaker is a
30 year old platform. And while working with FileMaker's limitations is
challenging, these aren't the types of challenges that I like working
on.

If there was some indication that FileMaker's shortcomings will be
resolved in the near future, then I might be able to hold on to a
glimmer of hope. But with the 12 to 18 month release cycle, that seems
unlikely. It's frustrating to think that it might be another year or
more before we might see progress made in these areas. Technology, the
industry in general, and our clients' needs are moving much too fast to
wait that long.

Business Concerns

In terms of FileMaker as a business, I have a number of concerns. The
big one, of course, is the significant increase in pricing that we've
seen over the last two releases. Those prices have made FileMaker too
expensive for many budget-constrained smaller businesses and non-profit
organizations. FileMaker isn't as "small business friendly" as it once
was, and selling solutions to those types of organizations has become
increasingly difficult.

If you've ever attended DevCon, then you know that the company has been
profitable every quarter that it has been in existence. However, it's
difficult to tell if that streak has continued. With the recent layoffs,
aggressive marketing for longer-term licensing agreements and renewals,
and staff that have left (and whose positions haven't been back-filled),
things don't look good.

What I do know is that the support that FileMaker has been giving to
consultants, and especially those who are FileMaker Business Alliance
(FBA) members, has been disappointing. And I know that because I've been
in the FBA for years now, and I've seen the level of support decline.
There was a time when we had regular communication with our Business
Account Manager (BAM), but those days are gone. We used to have a
dedicated Consulting Engineer that we could turn to for help - but those
positions have, as far as I can tell, been reduced or eliminated.

I don't participate in selling FileMaker licenses, so I can't say much
about that. But from what I've heard from other FBA members who do sell
licenses, I question whether it is worth the effort. Apparently, to
become an "FBA Reseller" you have to participate in the training that
consists of three sessions totaling more than 4 hours. If it takes 4
hours for you to explain how your licensing program works, then
something is wrong.

Moving On

In a recent post on the FileMaker Community site, I wrote, "In the 20+
years that I've been developing with FileMaker, I've never felt quite
like I do right now. I'm torn, confused, and growing weary."

It's time to move on. It saddens me to say that, but it's true.

I've been looking at other areas that I'm interested in, and one that
has piqued my curiosity is "mobile." By that, I mean developing mobile,
database-driven (n-tier), business applications. Over the past few
months, I've been spending quite a bit of time getting familiar with
development tools such as Xojo and Swift, and developing a few native
iOS apps. It's challenging and enjoyable work, and the demand for this
type of service is insane. Mobile is clearly where the action is.

I'm working on a few other things as well. The "big one" is a startup
that I am hoping to launch, which has the potential to fundamentally
change the way that we get things done. It's not just another "to do" or
productivity app, and yet it's not quite another service, either. I'm in
talks with potential investors about the concept, and we'll see what
happens...

As far as my existing clients go, I will continue to provide support to
them for their existing solutions. However, I won't be taking on any new
FileMaker projects or clients. I've already started to refer prospects
to other developers that I know and trust.

I've also started to shut down Open Remote, the FileMaker database
hosting service that I provide. I'm evaluating a few FileMaker hosting
companies so that I can make good recommendations to my clients. My goal
is to shut down my hosting service by year's end.

So, that's my story. I'm closing this chapter, and moving on to the
next..." 

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#2347

On 6/12/2015 11:23 AM, Christoph Kaufmann wrote:
> Tim Dietrich, author of FM EasySync and various other freeware tools,
> stops "doing filemaker". I copy the text from his blog for the benefit
> of offline readers.
>
> http://timdietrich.me/blog/goodbye-filemaker/
>
> "Goodbye, FileMaker

Thanks for posting that, Christoph.  I hadn't had a chance to read it 
prior.  I must say that I agree with most of Tim's points, but I just 
haven't found another database that has better captured the market or 
mastered the combination of technologies.

Howard

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#2348

In article <mllkst$g0f$1@news.motzarella.org>, Howard Schlossberg
<howard@nospam.fmprosolutions.com> wrote:
> On 6/12/2015 11:23 AM, Christoph Kaufmann wrote:
> >
> > Tim Dietrich, author of FM EasySync and various other freeware tools,
> > stops "doing filemaker". I copy the text from his blog for the benefit
> > of offline readers.
> >
> > http://timdietrich.me/blog/goodbye-filemaker/
> >
> > "Goodbye, FileMaker
> 
> Thanks for posting that, Christoph.  I hadn't had a chance to read it 
> prior.  I must say that I agree with most of Tim's points, 

I skimmed it, but it seemed like a lot of whining and someone who has
probably simply become bored with FileMaker developing. I can't say
I've really come across any of the problems he talks about.

Basically all software is going to move to "cloud" based versions at
some stage - it's far easier and cheaper for the developer to update it
and keep everyone using the same version.



> but I just haven't found another database that has better captured the
> market or mastered the combination of technologies.

The most widely used database is of course the over-complicate mess
Microsoft Access, but there's no Mac version of that (thank goodness!).

I did play around with Omnis and 4D many years ago, which wasn't bad,
but not that great either. I'm not even sure what is actually still
around these days.

Helpful Harry  :o)

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