Azul Platform Prime vs. Claris FileMaker

If you want some low cost JDK provider where you need the frequent updates as well, you can go ahead for Azul Zing instead of OpenJDK. But if budget is not a concern, I would recommend going for some well known company such as Oracle. Also if you are using Azul for production, make sure to use it for Dev ENV too so as to reproduce issues.

Incentivized

If your company is really small, I can understand the need for a product like this. However, I would go for MS Access... FileMaker Pro can not be integrated with other systems (like MS Access can at least be handled by C# for instance, and can be integrated with MS Excel or even SQL server). I'm really not sure in what scenario one would choose for FileMaker Pro. If your application or company grows bigger, you're going to have a problem to move to another environment. Also, the fact that only one person can work with the backend at any given time is a problem in a somewhat larger company.

Incentivized

• Improved real-time JVM
• Cost effective
• product support

Incentivized

• The relational database management system makes the program highly customizable to fit the needs of any product. You can add a ton of information to each record and update your inventory on a regular basis with an Excel import or manually inside of the record. It has the capability to incorporate barcoding, which can manage your available inventory with ease.
• The scripting language allows FileMaker to automatically calculate complex algorithms automatically or generate report outs with the click of a button. This allows for greater UI, especially with active users who are not familiar with writing code. Almost all of our internal data is linked to the FileMaker database
• The server license allows many users to update the database in real time, which is handy if your inventory is constantly changing. We have users with Macs, PCs, iPhones and handheld tablets linked to our FileMaker database and they are updating the information constantly throughout the day.
• If you invest some time into formatting and scripting the database, there is a high ease of use for users without knowledge of any programming or FileMaker itself.

Incentivized

• Support
• GC logging

Incentivized

• Developer features need to be beefed up - namely adding the ability to search code for a phrase or keyword and the ability to do the same in the "relationship graph" in the database.
• Add ability for users to edit the same table record at the same time by version control.
• Allow Filemaker Server to use more than 1 core; currently multi-processing is not supported and it can be tricky to find just the right server to support the application you've built to the fullest capacity.

Incentivized

It it not really up to me but my opinion does have some weight in the decision and the reason I would renew my use FileMaker Pro 8.5 is because I am finally getting used to it! Now that I have been working with the program, tasks have become quicker and projects are getting done faster. File Maker Pro 8.5 really is a versatile tool and I think we are just scratching the surface with it's abilities.

Incentivized

The usability rating I'm providing is for the development interface - the usability of the application you build is relative to how much effort is put into the application. Filemaker needs to roll out some features that are "modern" sooner rather than later. They do roll out new features every year, but at a slow pace. We generally get 1 new TRULY useful feature every year. They need to step it up some!

Incentivized

Azul has better JVM garbage collection on machines with huge amounts of memory that the OSS version of Java doesn't handle

Prime support has been responsive in helping us tune our JVM parameters and diagnose any lingering Java resource issues.

The forums are great with lots of helpful experts and the staff monitor them to provide help where needed. There have been a couple of unique technical issues I've had to deal with that I haven't been able to get resolved so I chose to score this a 9 instead of a 10.

Incentivized

Suggest you use an iterative R.A.D. or AGILE development approach. (i.e. rather than writing a gigantic spec for a system, then building it). FileMaker facilitates quick prototypes. Developing an example, then allowing users to "try it out" is a snap.

Incentivized

Oracle was costlier whereas OpenJDK had less frequent updates. Azul was average of both of them, so it was choosen.

Incentivized

FileMaker is still the quickest way to go from zero to having a minimum viable working solution. Simple solutions can be built in as little as a afternoon of development. It is the only tool I am aware of which allows tech savy end users with domain knowledge to build bespoke apps for their businesses without undertaking professional software development training.

• A lot of OPEX savings
• Easy annual license renewal subscription
• Standard product usage since it is compatible across different Operating Systems.

Incentivized

• We are a more agile company because of FileMaker. A few of us who are tech-savvy enough to manage the database (but are not professional developers) can make needed adjustments to our database without having to employ an in-house developer or contract with a 3rd party. As our business processes evolve and change, it's easy to update the database to accommodate those changes.

Incentivized