Good bye Bento. FileMaker announced this week that it is stopping development and support for its Bento 
application. As of Sept. 30, 2013 it will no longer be sold. Technical support will be provided for 1 year period following this giving users enough time to migrate to a new solution.
From a FileMaker (a subsidiary of Apple, Inc.) business standpoint this makes a lot of sense.
Bento has always been a confusing product choice from FileMaker for consumers.
It was the kind of product that could get people interested in a database tool, but quickly saw its limits forcing people to a more complete solution like FileMaker. Now FileMaker can focus its development resources on its flagship product. The features of Bento that made it unique can be incorporated into FileMaker over time.
So what are your options if you’re using Bento today?
Switch to FileMaker. Comparatively, it is more expensive and requires more of an investment in learning how to use it, but it has many more features and a strong user community. FileMaker is cross platform (Bento only worked on the Mac), scalable (it can support sharing by hundreds of users), and can connect/integrate with many other applications and resources (like QuickBooks/AccountEdge, external databases, web services, etc.). FileMaker is also a great tool for creating powerful applications for the iPad and iPhone.
FileMaker provides a utility to convert your Bento data into a FileMaker format. You’ll still need to do some custom development to make a truly usable solution, but at least your information is safe.
We also provide a free conversion utility to move contact and calendar information from Bento into FileMaker.
Tim Cimbura – CEO and Software Engineer
Tim is an expert in creating custom business solutions that make businesses more effective, productive, and profitable. He specializes in rapid application development with the Claris platform including FileMaker and WordPress. He also knows Apple macOS technology inside and out.