An innovative option for fast

iPad and iPhone development

Meeting the need to improve business processes
with custom solutions for iPad/iPhone

Executive Summary improved customer service, and help reduce costs.

• Organizations must be more responsive and Many individuals, business units, and companies are
improve operations and services. already using their own or company-issued iPads and
• To accomplish this, many business units hope iPhones for personal and some work-related tasks. And
the growing use of Apple’s iOS platform is leading many
to leverage the iPad and iPhone.
businesses to imagine changes in the way departments
• When planning iPad/iPhone projects, there are and individuals work.
several development and deployment issues
to consider. For example, a sales representative at a customer’s site has
a better chance of closing a deal if he or she can provide
• FileMaker offers a rapid development specific answers on product specs, pricing, and availability
environment to take immediate advantage of while sitting with the client. Staff in the warehouse track
the iPad/iPhone revolution. assets with greater efficiency when using iPads connected
to the central inventory database instead of using paper
clipboards. And mobile sales and service workers save time
Today, organizations need to be more and money -- and impress customers -- when they manage
responsive to changing business conditions, improve routes and generate customer-quotes on site, transmitting
efficiency, and deliver innovative customer service. updates to a central database in real time.

To accomplish these objectives, many business units In short, the iPad/iPhone platform allows companies to
and IT departments hope to leverage mobile computing streamline existing data-driven tasks and to develop
devices in general, and the iPad and iPhone in particular. many new and innovative processes. This, in turn, can
help organizations gain a competitive advantage.
A recent CIO Insight survey of 188 IT executives put this
interest level in perspective. Tablet devices rated at the top
of the list of technologies the executives expected would How to approach iPad/iPhone solutions
help their company achieve its business goals this year. When creating custom data-driven solutions for iPad/
In particular, executives expected tablets to help improve iPhone, consider this checklist of critical considerations:
business processes, generate increased revenue through

1 “Emerging Technology Adoption Trends,” CIO Insight, 4th Quarter 2010 Issue
 R Speed of prototyping and development: Organiza- R Ability to distribute updates to the solution: You
tions want to prototype and test mobile solutions will need a method to distribute updates to the
quickly, as opposed to planning a development and solution to mobile devices. Ideally, updates will be
deployment timeline for the next year. For example, automatic, or at least very easy for users to apply.
a department might aim to extend a customer
relationship management (CRM) system to five R Online/offline access: Depending on how the iPad/
employees’ iPads, quickly assess the benefits, and iPhone solution is used, there may be a need to
then expand the system to more users. provide offline access to information. Commonly,
an order-entry system might be designed to allow a
R Easy integration of corporate data from multiple sales team to enter orders when there is no Internet
data sources: Mobile users, like office workers, connectivity (such as on an airplane or in an office with
need relevant data (customer and inventory data, poor wireless signal strength). Once a connection
for example) to make intelligent business decisions. is established, the solution would automatically
Solutions for iPads and iPhones must aggregate update the company’s database.
data from SQL databases, spreadsheets, and other
sources, and flexibly present the data as lists, charts,
graphs, or forms on mobile devices. FileMaker - A unique platform for developing
custom iOS solutions
R iOS-optimized interface: iOS solutions require The FileMaker product line, including FileMaker Go,
interfaces that support gestures (swipe, pinch to meets the full checklist of needs for creating custom iOS
zoom, tap to enter fields, etc.) and are optimized for solutions. FileMaker is especially strong when developing
iPad/iPhone screens. The interface should be clean data-driven solutions, such as for managing a business’
and uncluttered with controls that appear and hide custom information, workflow, forms, and business
as needed and automatically fit to iPad and iPhone processes, and when publishing information to mobile
screens. workers.

FileMaker Pro is a widely used development environment

The iPad/iPhone platform allows companies to that empowers organizations to quickly build custom
develop many new and innovative processes database solutions. It allows fast and affordable solution
development because:

• It combines user interface design, business logic

R Mobile data security: With many millions of mobile and automation, and database services into one
devices in use at businesses, organizations are con- platform. FileMaker Pro uses a graphical user
cerned with mobile data security. One option is for interface (GUI) with support for drag-and-drop
the iPad/iPhone solution to connect to data stored solution creation.
only on secure central servers. The information is
then fully accessible by mobile users, but the data is • Functional prototypes of workflow can be completed
never stored on the devices. in hours or days versus weeks or months. No iOS
application programming or design experience is
R Run on desktops as well as mobile devices: A required.
custom solution for iOS devices often must also run
on desktop computers. For example, survey data • It is easy to integrate with existing databases and
may be captured on a mobile device and analyzed data warehouses, offers fast development time,
on the desktop. Choose tools that let you develop low solution costs, and opens up iOS develop-
a solution once and run on mobile and desktop ment to institutions and departments of all sizes.
platforms, avoiding the need to duplicate your work.

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 The full power of desktop databases on iOS Databases can be hosted using FileMaker Server, so data
FileMaker databases are developed on Windows or Mac OS and the solution remain on the server while FileMaker
PCs using FileMaker Pro, and run on iOS devices using the Go remotely opens and runs the databases. Mobile data
FileMaker Go App. is always current and any mobile updates are instantly
written back to the server. Data connects to the server
FileMaker Go uses the same database engine as FileMaker via the internet, virtual private network (VPN), or local
Pro, thus bringing the full power of a desktop database wireless network.
to iOS. The full set of FileMaker automation tools, such
as scripting, conditional formatting, complex relation- Another option is to distribute the solution and data to
ships, and calculations work on iOS just as on the desk- the iOS devices so they are available when offline. This
top. FileMaker can be used to implement sophisticated simple alternative is well-suited for sharing content like
workflow and business processes for mobile devices. product catalogs and price lists on iOS devices. Databas-
es can be copied locally onto an iPad, iPhone, or iPod
Users benefit from the easy-to-use FileMaker interface. touch using iTunes, emailed to users, or simply posted
Comprehensive sorting, searching, and record naviga- to a web site for downloading. Users can copy updated
tion tools are available for all solutions. A “Save as data using iTunes or emailed it back for merging.
PDF” option lets a user create reports, invoices, or forms
as a PDF and email or print them from FileMaker Go. Finally, it is possible, using scripts, to implement a
Enhanced photo support allows users to take a photo synchronization solution on top of FileMaker Server. So-
with an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and add it directly to lutions can be simple, involving a “check in-check out”
a database on FileMaker Go. scheme for records, or full two-way sync with conflict
resolution.

FileMaker offers a rapid development envi- The iOS solutions created with FileMaker Pro are secure
because FileMaker Pro supports privilege set-based
ronment to take immediate advantage of the
security and integration with authentication systems
smart phone and tablet revolutions like Active Directory and Open Directory. Communica-
tions with the server or a remote desktop are encrypted
using standards-based SSL connections. When con-
The FileMaker Go app runs FileMaker databases with necting to FileMaker Server all data remains on the
built-in full gesture support: swipe, pinch to zoom, and server so if the mobile device is lost or stolen no data is
tap work without any effort by the developer. FileMaker lost with it.
Go makes it easy to optimize the interface for iPad/
iPhone in other ways: The interface is clean and unclut- FileMaker Pro solutions can incorporate data from
tered, with minimal controls that appear and hide as multiple sources, including SQL sources such as Oracle,
needed. MS SQL Server and MySQL. FileMaker Server connects
to SQL databases using FileMaker’s built-in external SQL
Organizations can easily add charts and graphs into sources (ESS) integration or via xDBC or XML. Once the
mobile solutions, enabling both real-time and off-line vi- connection is established, data from SQL sources can be
sualization of business information. Businesses can build easily published to mobile users as part of the workflow
mobile dashboards from disparate institutional data. that drives your business processes.

Users also can capture signatures directly on their devices Solutions created with FileMaker Pro automatically run
and add them to their solutions via FileMaker Go. Signa- on iOS devices, and on Windows and Mac platforms,
tures can be exported back to the desktop or uploaded with no modifications required. There is no need to cre-
instantly to databases hosted on FileMaker Server. ate separate solutions for each environment. Screens
can be easily customized for various devices and input
There are several options for easy deployment of solutions methods, but data structures, relationships, business
to FileMaker Go. logic, and the majority of the user interface is fully
reused.

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 Thanks to the built-in web publishing features, FileMaker the estimate process faster and more accurate.
Pro solutions can be accessed via a browser as well as
on the desktop and on mobile devices. For example, There are many other processes well-suited for custom
customers might enter web-based orders on an e-com- iPad/iPhone solutions:
merce site, and the orders can be distributed to mobile
service workers with iPhones. • Solutions to check and update warehouse inventory:
The portable nature of the iPad/iPhone makes them
ideal for such operations. These solutions eliminate
Types of Supported Processes the need for a proprietary system or specialty hand-
The business processes that can be supported using held device.
FileMaker Pro to develop iPad and iPhone solutions are
limited only by the imagination. Because of the easy- • Generating sales orders at customer sites and provid-
to-use yet powerful development environment, the ing mobile sales teams with up-to-date information
capabilities are within reach for organizations of all sizes about stock and pricing through the iPad and iPhone.
and all degrees of technical sophistication. In particular,
the FileMaker Pro GUI and drag-and-drop capabilities • Mobile updating of a project’s status: Employees
enable even one- or two-person operations to develop can enter updates, which then sync with a com-
powerful solutions. pany database so all project members know the
current status.

When evaluating development choices, it is • Workflow solutions to move electronic documents

important to consider development, deploy- along an approval chain. A user can amend or edit a
ment, and application maintenance issues document using the iPad/iPhone. Solutions such as
these are accessed locally, on wireless networks, and
while remote, using direct internet access or VPNs.
Here are some examples of home-grown applications
using FileMaker Pro that are improving some aspect of
a business’ operations: FileMaker as Your Technology Partner
FileMaker, Inc. is a database software leader offering
• Improved employee productivity: Pharmaceutical a best-selling and easy-to-use environment for the devel-
giant Merck & Co. developed a dictionary of thou- opment of data driven solutions. FileMaker is a wholly
sands of commonly used terms for employee iPads owned subsidiary of Apple.
and iPhones. Given the complexity of the company’s
drug development work and the specialization by The company’s software is widely used with more than 16
various departments, the dictionary of terms and million units shipped worldwide, and offers a complete
acronyms improves communications across depart- platform for rapid database and application develop-
ments and helps whenever an employee needs to ment. FileMaker solutions scale to meet the needs of
clarify the meaning of a term. small and large workgroups, as well as of individuals.

• Inventory access on the go: Orca Books in Olympia, FileMaker Pro is available for Microsoft Windows and
WA, had its inventory, customer data, ordering, buy- Mac OS. It is also available in desktop, server, iOS and
ing, cataloging, and other information in a FileMaker Web-delivery configurations.
Pro database. Using FileMaker Go for iPhone, the
store owner now checks inventory data remotely Because FileMaker Pro is easy to use, it is common for
while shopping for new titles. organizations to create their own solutions. However,
companies that want expert help can turn to the FileMaker
• Fast, accurate estimates: Johnson Controls, the Business Alliance, a network of more than 1,000 firms
industrial lighting leader, is collecting factory/office with authorized FileMaker consulting practices focused
lighting estimate info with FileMaker Go for iPad, on rapid database development projects.
integrating with its central database, and making

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 Conclusion
The popularity and usefulness of the iPad and iPhone make
them an ideal platform for improving business processes.
Many organizations are already creating innovative solutions
that improve customer service, sharpen operational efficien-
cy, and make business information available to mobile users.

Companies that want to take advantage of the iOS

platform need a cost-effective, quick and easy way to
develop, prototype, deploy, and update iPad/iPhone
solutions.

FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server are ideal technolo-

gies for developing and securely hosting databases at
the heart of such solutions. And the FileMaker Go app
gives companies an effortless way to run these diverse
solutions on iOS devices.

For more information about developing custom solutions for the iPad/iPhone, visit:
http://www.filemakertrial.com/ioskit/