Claris FileMaker vs. Progress Kendo UI

I think FileMaker [Pro] is a great solution for a small business wanting to take the next step from managing data with Excel spreadsheets to actually using a database. It is very intuitive to use and manage. A tech-savvy user can learn to use FileMaker [Pro] very easily without advanced skills as a developer.

Incentivized

Kendo UI works well if developing web UI applications which have simple layout designs. - Good A scenario where there are a lot of Kendo widgets on a single UI page, and each has a complex initialization. - Not so good

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

• Kendo Grid for presenting a timeline of research grants as they are being approved. Our users love the ability to export the data to various mime formats.
• Kendo Scheduler for presenting the upcoming calendar events in the available conference rooms in a building. This is used together with a 3rd party vendor API for appointment booking.
• Kendo Treeview is used to present a hierarchy of topics that our users can navigate through easily.

• I had some big complaints about how to edit calculations and scripts, and not being able to print/export PDF from server but with the last 2 versions I can't complain any more. Those got added.
• Syncing records between iOS and Filemaker Server still requires a developer to accomplish. Although I make money doing it for others I wish there was some "central" method of syncing that everyone can follow.

• Kendo UI is always moving forward and staying current with latest development trends. While that is beneficial, that can cause some issues when supporting customers (particularly government) that don't move their IT infrastructure along nearly as fast. A prime example is web font icons. Great and easy to use, but where Kendo UI utilizes web font icons as the sole means of displaying an icon, not all organizations (again, especially government) allow the use of these. There have been times where Kendo UI became unusable and we had to downgrade to a version a few years old. Makes continued payment for licenses sometimes feel wasted as we may not be able to always use the new releases
• Kendo UI has a wonderful feedback system and they do indeed listen to the community. However, there do seem to be some instances where there is large support for a new feature/component and it never gets addressed. It is easy to understand that not all ideas are easy or even prudent to implement, but would be nice to see a better follow-up on ideas with a current status
• Refreshing Kendo UI grids is simple, yet the standard API method causes the grid to return to the default state. We have many use cases where we would love to update the grid data but need current grid state (such as expanded detail rows, sorts, filters, etc) preserved after the grid is updated so that users do not have to perform grid actions again to return to the desired state.

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

Since we are using Kendo on a legacy product, there is likely a time when we will no longer support it. We are evaluating Kendo for our future product, in which case we may continue to use Kendo for an extended period of time.

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It's almost what it should be after so may years and with Apple's longevity and strength behind it. For people who earn their living based on efficiency I think there are too many developer obstacles that waste time and therefore money.

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My initial score would be 10, but I am aware of the high price for its implementation. Therefore, I would recommend it only in large projects where a large profit margin can be obtained. But in general, I recommend it. I am currently using it without problems.

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mostly never issues and if there are they are resolved fast

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The errors that we have detected were not of great importance and the online support provided a temporary solution until the next release.

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for the most part but lots of error messages if you type something h correctly

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Reports sometimes take a bit of time to load

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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

Overall, we are satisfied with the support offered by the Progress Kendo UI team. We had raised few helpline incidents in the past and they have been resolved timely by the team. Also, we were satisfied with the level of information and support provided by the team.

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easy to follow along and was able to jump in right away

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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

I think the main thing is to get into a Kendo mindset. Components that I've used in the past had a much different mindset and I think it got in my way. Sometimes I would use something different if I felt that the Kendo component was being too obstinate. I would go back later and replace that with the Kendo component when I had time to work with it further.

Incentivized

FileMaker Pro is the chaotic, cumbersome and non-integratable little sibling of MS Access. And even MS Access can't be taken serious in a medium sized company. FileMaker Pro can not even be compared to serious products like OutSystems and Sitecore. It's also not free... whereas at least MS Access can be used free, even if your company is (really) small.

Incentivized

I did not experience the other product that has such an integrated and user-friendly feature. It works more like an everyday query with the UI element in a totally aesthetic and attractive view. With the Kendo library, we don't need to develop every UI component from the beginning. It was one of the faster development of applications.

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it's most definitely does as we are a unique business to use this for scholarship awarding

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Never faced a problem even when we threw a large amount of data at it

Incentivized

• Positive impact for my company is that we have designed a solution that meets the needs of our very custom processes.
• My company is in the process of expanding rapidly and with that the need for new tools are need quickly. With most languages (like Java or .Net), it could take weeks to develop the same tool it takes us 3 days to make in Filemaker.
• The most negative impact however is that at times Filemaker will just become overwhelmed and we have no choice but to restart the server which hosts the application.

Incentivized

• Positive impact is that it helps development team to focus on business logic rather than developing UI control and that resulted in good productivity savings. productivity saving is significant (like 30% of product development cost).
• No Negative impact from my experience.

Incentivized