Sign in
Categories
Your Saved List Become a Channel Partner Sell in AWS Marketplace Amazon Web Services Home Help

FileMaker Cloud for AWS (BYOL)

Fourteen33 - FileMaker | 1.18.1.209

Linux/Unix, CentOS 7.6.1805 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

Reviews from AWS Marketplace

9 AWS reviews

4-star reviews ( Show all reviews )

    Marnik Braeckevelt

Simplified setup and hosting of Filemaker

  • April 12, 2017
  • Review verified by AWS Marketplace

Filemaker Cloud makes it really easy to host your own Filemaker files without the need to know everything of how to run a server and make people access it. Additionally maintenance is the easiest way possible and you never have to worry about upgrades. The setup process is pretty much seamless and works straight out of the box.


    RC

Good effort in a good direction.

  • April 04, 2017
  • Review verified by AWS Marketplace

I understand FileMaker to be a product intended to simplify the process of creating custom apps for non-professional programmers. Having a way to host those custom apps, without needing to manage hardware and server software, and without relying on a third -party provider, is an attractive option to a non-professional programmer. So as a concept, I think FileMaker Cloud is a solid idea, and I'm glad to see FileMaker moving in this direction.

That said, navigating the setup process involves a lot of research and complicated processes. I suppose it's simpler than some of the alternatives (short of paying somebody else to do it) but it does not feel like an optimized process, nor a simple thing to understand before diving in.

For example, I had a few issues figuring out billing. The variety of purchasing options is a bit overwhelming, and I first chose an hourly subscription. It took my first bill to learn that hourly billing equals all of the hours my instance was active, not all of the hours I used my hosted file. I tried to figure out where I had overlooked an explanation of how hourly billing worked, and, to my defense, concluded that it was all but impossible for a non-expert to anticipate.

I also found the number of new products and new accounts to be a hassle. Comodo SSL certificates, instances, instance types, AWS accounts, key pairs... there are probably a few more I am forgetting. These are things that may be familiar territory for an expert, but if FileMaker is supposed to be a tool for non-professionals... it is a bit much.

But my overall experience was positive, and that was for two reasons. The first, is that the product works. Once I got setup, it's been smooth sailing. The Admin console is well-designed and I have had no issues. And the second reason is that customer support has been excellent. FileMaker, AWS and Orbitera offered prompt and intelligent support and it leaves me with the impression that everybody is trying hard to put customers first, and to make this new offering better.

So overall, I think it's a good first effort in a good direction. Once the setup process is simplified, it will deserve 5 stars.


showing 1 - 2