For many companies, FileMaker has long been the backbone of their operations. Whether it was meticulously maintained or left to age without updates, businesses often find themselves at a crossroads when the original developer moves on, the system feels sluggish, the interface feels dated, technical debt has been piling up for years, or due to lack of investment it has not kept pace with the business needs and workflows. If this sounds familiar, LuminFire is here to help.
Why Companies Struggle with Aging FileMaker Systems
Many organizations fall into the trap of using FileMaker for everything—whether it’s the best fit or not. Over time, this type of unmaintained monolithic system becomes bloated, outdated, and difficult to scale.
Common issues include:
- Lack of Documentation & Support: The original developer may no longer be available, leaving teams scrambling to understand and maintain the system.
- Lack of Updates: Many FileMaker solutions are running multiple-year-old, unsupported versions, leading to security, compatibility, and performance issues.
- Performance Slowdowns: Large datasets that have grown over time and inefficient coding can bog down your system.
- Security Concerns: Legacy systems may not meet modern security standards and do not support modern encryption and authorization best practices.
- Lack of Integration: Modern businesses require seamless data flow between FileMaker and their other critical systems, such as CRM, ticketing, and cloud platforms. However, legacy developers often struggle to achieve this integration, leading to operational inefficiencies. Older FileMaker applications often require upgrading to support web integrations and enable data exchange via APIs.
- Uncertain Future: Companies using FileMaker face a strategic decision: continue development on their current FileMaker solution, migrate to a SaaS software, or adopt a hybrid approach. While concerns may exist, FileMaker’s rapid development capabilities, established custom solutions, and deep integration within existing workflows often justify maintaining or blending it with newer technologies.
At LuminFire, we specialize in taking over existing FileMaker solutions, optimizing them for performance, and integrating them with modern business systems.
How LuminFire Can Help
Our approach is not just about fixing what’s broken—we work with you to determine the best path forward, whether that means optimizing your current FileMaker setup, integrating it with other tools, or migrating to a more scalable architecture.
Augment Existing Staff / Ensure Business Continuity
Strengthen your team and mitigate critical risks by augmenting your existing developer. Even if your current developer is highly skilled, relying on a single individual creates a vulnerable point of failure. Should they leave, retire, or become unavailable, your business could face severe disruptions, including system inaccessibility. Proactively engage LuminFire to ensure business continuity, establish robust support, and safeguard your operations.
Solution Checkup
Before making any recommendations, we conduct a thorough solution checkup to assess your FileMaker environment. This process includes:
- Discovery calls with your team to understand how FileMaker is used in your business.
- Identifying pain points such as inefficiencies, data silos, and slow processes.
- Evaluating security vulnerabilities, backups, and licensing status.
- Running technical diagnostics to uncover database structure issues and potential risks.
This checkup typically involves 2-3 one-hour discovery sessions and takes about two to four weeks to complete, depending on system complexity and team availability.
For larger or more complex systems, more comprehensive solution audits are also available.
Review Recommendations
After the solution checkup, we provide a detailed report outlining:
- Critical risks (e.g., outdated software, security gaps, fragile processes).
- Quick wins (e.g., automation opportunities, performance optimizations).
- Long-term solutions (e.g., integrating APIs, phasing out FileMaker where needed).
- Cost estimates and engagement options based on your business priorities.
This step ensures that your investment in technology aligns with your overall business goals.
Managed Cloud Hosting
- Managed hosting offers a range of benefits that can significantly improve your FileMaker solution’s performance, security, and overall reliability.
- While on-premise servers were once considered the most secure hosting option, modern cloud-based solutions, hosted in highly secure data centers, now offer superior protection against cyberattacks, power outages, internet interruptions, and natural disasters. By hosting your solution in a data center fortified against these threats, you can safeguard your data and ensure continuous uptime, even in the face of unexpected disruptions.
- LuminFire provides affordable and reliable managed FileMaker server hosting. Our hosting service is more reliable and easier to use than either Claris’ FileMaker Cloud offering or setting up your own hosting with AWS or another public cloud provider.
- With 30+ secure data centers around the globe, we can handle everything for you from start to finish, including optimizing your database solution files if needed. We take care of all the details so you can focus on your business.
Letting our experts handle the complexities of your IT frees you to focus on your core business.
Agile Development
We leverage an agile development process that allows for flexibility and iterative improvements:
- Biweekly meetings to review progress, discuss next steps, and refine priorities.
- Regular enhancements to streamline workflows and boost efficiency.
- Integration with best-of-breed tools (where applicable) to ensure FileMaker is used for what it does best—while offloading other tasks to specialized systems.
- Security and compliance updates to meet business goals or regulatory requirements.
Ongoing Support
With immediate challenges resolved, secure your investment through proactive, long-term support and maintenance. LuminFire’s managed services provide ongoing development and expert support, allowing your team to concentrate on core business objectives.
Beyond FileMaker
We recognize that migrating away from FileMaker can be a strategic necessity for some businesses, and we approach these transitions with sensitivity. We are platform agnostic in that respect as we want the best solution for the business. We understand that long-tenured employees often have deep connections to the system. If a migration is the right move for your business, we approach it with empathy and professionalism. Our team can help ensure a respectful and seamless migration to a new custom web app or SaaS tools, prioritizing the preservation of valuable institutional knowledge and valuable business data.
Let’s Talk About Your FileMaker Challenges
If your business is struggling with an aging FileMaker system, now is the perfect time to evaluate your options. LuminFire is ready to help—whether you need a short-term fix or a long-term strategy.
Get in touch today to schedule your FileMaker System Checkup or Audit.
Tim Cimbura – CEO, CFO 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 Claris FileMaker, Laravel, and WordPress. He also knows Apple macOS technology inside and out.