Resources
The FileMaker Refresh Program
An initiative to help organisations refresh their secondary business systems - namely those developed in FileMaker - by identifying them and offering IT departments a controlled, disciplined path for ongoing application support, maintenance and hosting.
The scope of the program is to identify all current FileMaker business systems within an organisation and offer IT departments assistance in providing their clients with ongoing application, support and maintenance in a controlled, disciplined and hosted environment.
The problem
Traditionally, FileMaker has not sat comfortably within IT departments, because it isn't an enterprise development platform and is generally considered unsuitable within their standard operating environment. The business, however, takes a very different view: it lends itself to budget-friendly, rapid application development without having to rely on IT for a solution.
As a consequence, there is often a proliferation of FileMaker development within the business by people who will inevitably call upon IT - or certified FileMaker professionals - for help. These key people are often the single point of failure for many business units as they come to be relied upon. They become the in-house systems developer, administrator and subject-matter expert, leaving the unit exposed when they move on or change role.
Over the years, and under the radar of IT, many of these FileMaker systems grow and are depended upon by different work groups collaborating through them. Often there are upstream and downstream dependencies that can affect critical enterprise systems - or become critical systems themselves. Because they're developed and supported internally by a few individuals, important IT procedures and governance issues are frequently overlooked: system backup regimes, business continuity planning, disaster recovery and documentation. IT has little control over this predicament, even though these systems rely heavily on the infrastructure IT provides.
What the program covers
The Refresh Program includes the registration of FileMaker systems and the identification of those systems for possible consolidation, decommissioning, remediation, upgrading and/or migration to IT's mainstream strategic platforms and standard operating environment infrastructure.
Organisations that have invited us to execute and implement the FileMaker Refresh Program include Optus Communications, Screen Australia, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the Australian Copyright Council, Demeter Laboratories, Oslo University Hospital, OzHarvest and The Music Network.