FileMaker Design & Development

The Support Group is one of the largest and most successful FileMaker consultants in the world. With offices in Boston, Los Angeles, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, we service FileMaker users throughout the U.S. and Canada.

We are among a small group of companies selected by FileMaker to be Platinum level members of the FileMaker Business Alliance consultants program.

What we do

With our staff of expert FileMaker Certified Developers, we build new solutions and modify existing FileMaker databases to add functionality, improve performance, increase security, integrate databases with websites, and convert older systems to FileMaker Pro 10. We can also provide an Onsite FileMaker Systems Audit to analyze and assess your current FileMaker applications and make written recommendations on improvements.

Because of your expertise and support, we were able to impress my bosses by coming in under budget and ahead of schedule. We are ecstatic with the results of the new system. Thanks for all your help!”

M. Halliday
Database Administrator
Maryland-based fine arts service company

Our Expertise

We're one of the largest and most successful FileMaker consultants in the U.S. We've built over 800 new database systems and added new features and functionality to thousands more. We've serviced clients in business from Fortune 500 companies such as Chevron to small start-ups in many different industries including retail, manufacturing, high tech, life sciences, financial services and entertainment. We provide FileMaker design, development and training to numerous departments within well-known and highly respected private and public universities such as Dartmouth, Penn State and Duke University, as well as K-12 school systems like the Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the largest in the country.

These organizations all turned to The Support Group's staff of expert, FileMaker Certified Developers for easy-to-use FileMaker-based tools to help them better run their organizations, provide improved products and services, reach more people, grow their revenues, control their expenses and make better decisions. Learn more about our customers.

Our Experience

We've delivered FileMaker solutions to our clients and made modifications to existing database systems in a wide variety of functional areas. For example:

• We streamlined a major online retailer's production of their catalogs.

• We allowed customers of a small restaurant to place catering orders over the web.

• We helped a small practice within a major hospital analyze the data from hundreds of patients to determine which treatments were most effective.

• We improved the scheduling of production equipment maintenance at a large manufacturer.

• We provided more effective job tracking and reporting for an in-house testing lab.

This list represents a small sampling of the many types of projects we've completed. Some of our client successes have been published as case studies by FileMaker. Learn more.

How we do it

Our experience has taught us that the key to a successful project is communication. From your first contact with The Support Group, you'll know that you are dealing with a group of true professionals who are responsive, experienced and knowledgeable.

Choosing The Support Group - We generally meet several times with prospective clients to discuss your needs, learn a bit about your business and have a clear understanding of where your FileMaker systems are now and where you would like them to go. From there we will tell you how we can help, how we would approach development of a solution and the estimated time and cost. These initial consultations are free: we do not charge for any of this up-front work.

Defining the work - Because of the informal nature of FileMaker, few clients have written specifications for the work they need done. When a client makes a decision to have us work on their database, we start with a "discovery" meeting. We meet with you and your team to develop a written specification of the work that is to be done. It is vitally important that all of us are on the same page and that we have clearly defined the scope of the project.

Walk before you run - We're big believers in that. We strive to keep the scope of your project focused and within bounds. Often, we recommend an initial phase of work that will give you the greatest benefit for the least time and cost. Additional features and functions can then be implemented later in second or third phases. After the initial delivery, the overwhelming majority of our clients call us back for further improvements.

Iterative development We subscribe to a rapid application development (RAD) approach to FileMaker development. We will assign a developer to you who will stay in close touch throughout the project. He/she will work on your solution, regularly demonstrate what's been done, get feedback, and if necessary, make adjustments. This process keeps your project on course, on time, and on budget. We often work on-site at customers' offices and meet regularly with customers to review progress on solutions, but when these options are not feasible, our developers employ phone, email and Web conferencing to give regular updates, allowing customers to keep close tabs on their solution as it takes shape.

Thorough testing - Developers perform initial testing during development. As part of the Rapid Application Development process, at defined junctures, we turn the system over to you so that key people within your organization can begin testing sections to ensure that the solution works properly in your environment and with your business practice. By the time development and testing has been completed, you'll be intimately familiar with the system. The solution will meet your needs because you will have helped guide its development.

Smooth implementation We begin planning for implementation from the first discovery meeting. We will discuss and prepare for any required data migration and integration with other systems so there are no surprises. We will ensure that your FileMaker environment is robust, secure and properly configured. User training will prove greatly simplified since members of your staff will have worked with the system during development.

Our customers have told us repeatedly that our efficient, professional approach is the reason they chose us for outsourcing their FileMaker database development.

Why we're different

Most FileMaker consultants are one-person shops. Others run "virtual offices" and hire temporary contractors in remote locations to help with their projects. The four offices of the Support Group are staffed with committed and loyal employees who are provided with up-to-date hardware and software tools, management oversight and office support staff. Our developers receive ongoing technical training and professional development. They each benefit from being a member of a team of other experienced FileMaker developers.

If having a well-respected professional services company with a multitude of committed FileMaker Certified Developers, real offices and a 20+ year track record of success is important to you, then talk with us.

What about training?

We are one of a handful of companies chosen by FileMaker to be an Authorized training provider. We offer Intro, Intermediate and Advanced classes in all four of our locations. By attending any of our classes, we'll enable you or a member of your staff to make changes to your database to create new fields, layouts and reports. Our customers appreciate our ability to teach them to do much of the ongoing maintenance, while knowing they can call us when they need to add major new functions such as integrating their FileMaker solution with the Web. In addition to our regularly scheduled classes, we also offer onsite training at our clients' offices. Learn more about our FileMaker training classes.

Interested?

For a free initial consultation, or to learn more about our database design, development and training services, contact the office closest to you, or fill out our online form to get a rapid response from one of our FileMaker experts.