At the start of 2020, many companies viewed telecommuting as the death toll of productivity and accountability, reserving the practice only for high-level staffers with temporary circumstances. Times have certainly changed. An April 2020 survey showed that due to COVID-19, 88% of organizations have encouraged or required their employees to work from home, with 74% expecting the situation to be permanent or long-lasting. If the current health crisis has taught corporate America anything, it’s that working from home can work. It works a whole lot better, however, if you have the right technology.
One of the biggest obstacles to seamless connectivity and workflow is an outdated data system. While companies have scrambled to add a little punch to their infrastructure and link employees to generic apps, it takes more than a good teleconferencing app and a secure VPN to achieve superior productivity. Let’s face it, if you can’t bring file cabinets and pallets of product home with you, how can you be expected to do your job accurately and comprehensively?
Enter FileMaker 19, released in May 2020, and now boasting new features like add on modules (with Kanban boards, photo galleries, barcode generators, etc., coming soon), Linux server hosting, and smoother integration of JavaScript. The most important benefit, however, is that it’s secure and readily available from various platforms. Compatible with MAC, Windows, and IOS as well as via the web.
FileMaker empowers remote staff to easily log onto mobile devices or desktops to review company data and update records in real-time. FileMaker’s mobility also benefits workers who must remain on company premises, as your data can be taken anywhere via tablet to support social distancing.
Having immediate, portable access to crucial data can mean more than just turning in a report on time. Brad Freitag, CEO of Claris says that “There is a massive opportunity for low code [software like FileMaker] to help in the Covid-19 situation.” This is particularly true in the health-care industry, where quick decision-making and data-tracking can be lifesaving.
For companies whose profitability has been hit hard by the pandemic, they have found that FileMaker provides another much-needed benefit; cost-cutting. It’s intuitive design and ease of use allow staffers to accomplish more in less time, thus increasing productivity. Additionally, with the data accessible through a “free” web browser, companies will not have the cost of installing expensive software on every computer.
A subsidiary of Apple Inc., Claris’ FileMaker has been providing custom data solutions for global organizations like American Express, Jet Blue, and Nike, as well as smaller to medium-sized companies, since its launch in 1985. Its capability has continued to grow over the years, evolving to meet user’s needs with leading technology. If 2020 has been any indication of how doing business will trend going forward, FileMaker’s agile design makes it an essential choice for companies who want to adapt successfully.
