Author: Justin Hesser

When you think about athletics, databases are likely the furthest thing from your mind. However, analytical may soon be as big a part of sports as the swish of a basketball net or the arc of a perfectly thrown football pass. 

Sports are about performance, endurance and grace, but they are also in many ways about information. When competing at the highest levels, it's critical to be able to identify strengths and weaknesses, and think about them in a way that minimizes the latter and spotlights the former. With the sort of databases that are currently available, any athlete or team that does not seriously consider how structured analysis can improve their chances of winning is doing themselves a disservice. 

However, simply investing in data is not very helpful if the organization has no context for, or ability to understand it. Drawing the correct conclusions from information can be an intricate process, so it's critical to have the proper support in place to ensure that the process is as worthwhile as possible. 

One of the epicenters for analytics in sports is MIT's Sloane Conference, where interested parties the world over come to discuss the latest and best in the field. Writing for its website, Professor Benjamin Alamar highlighted the need for careful consideration with sports databases.

"The push in sports—as in business—to use analytic tools comes from advances in computing power and the availability of massive amounts of data to both teams and the public, which create an opportunity for competitive advantage. Having access to information that competitors do not has a long history of providing teams and businesses with advantage," Alamar explains.

By consulting with reputable FileMaker developers, any athlete or organization can improve performance. 

When most people think about using the latest technology to improve overall operations, they picture a company that is based in technology. While that may include older computer systems, there is some hint of tech already being deployed. What doesn't come to mind is a farm, restaurant and cheesemaker that uses a tablet and the latest databasing systems to improve overall operations.

FileMaker is such a flexible solution that is can be used by a number of different organizations to take operations to a new level. One of the company's recent profiles focused on Sea Breeze Farm, a grass-based animal farm known for world-class wine, a restaurant, charcuterie, butcher and cheese shops. It is located outside of Seattle and used the motto "Green is Good."

This is the type of business that would seem to shy away from technology, but instead has embraced the latest technology and is thriving because of this decision.

According to owner George Page, the farm used FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Go to create an integrated business system that links the numerous operations that the farm conducts into a single platform. It has elevated the farm's overall efficiency and profits.

In the dairy operations, Page and his team are able to manage cow productivity and update information in real-time on the server for all to see. For the cheese, employees keep records of which kind of milk is being used during the process and track of aging times. This is also used in the wine cellar to monitor every batch. In the butcher shop, orders and delivery of every cut of meat is tracked. Aside from having all of this information at their fingertips at any time through an iPad, iPhone or iPod, caring for these devices is also much simpler in the cramped quarters of some of the farm's rooms.

"We have to track production for internal and regulatory purposes, constantly logging temperatures, refrigeration times, ingredients, recipes and weights," says Page. "We need to do it in a tiny space and on a system that we can keep clean instead of running the risk of getting food stuck in a keyboard."

The restaurant, which is much roomier, is also included in the FileMaker solution as a custom point-of-sale solution.

With all of these systems tracked through a single platform in real-time, the farm is able to make sure that everyone is on the same page and master inventory numbers are accurate.

With the help of a FileMaker developer, any company will be able to create a custom solution that improves the bottom line.

One of the hottest trends in the educational landscape is mobile devices. From school boards deploying tablets in every classroom to improving wireless networking so students can use their personal devices to using specialty applications to help special needs students, tablets and smartphones are finding a home in the education system. However, the learning institutes need to make sure that they are doing everything possible to optimize the mobile platform.

Recently, FileMaker profiled Cheltenham College Junior School, which has been educating young people between the ages of three and 18 since 1841. It is considered one of the foremost co-educational public boarding schools in the country with a sterling reputation for academic achievement, breadth of extracurricular opportunities and a strong community.

The organization has been a FileMaker customer for the past 15 years and has been active in how it uses the system. Over the time period, the solution, which started as a simple contact management system, has evolved to include everything from pupil assessments to e-registration. The College has taken full advantage of everything that FileMaker has to offer and continues to look for new ways to optimize how it runs with new systems.

The most recent evolution of the system that the school administration has spearheaded include a deploying a mobile system through FileMaker Go to better meet the demands of current trends.

Nicky Fortune, the Curriculum Director at Cheltenham Junior College, told the news source that by partnering with its FileMaker development firm, the school was able to create fill mobile access with the FileMaker databases that are already set up within the school network. This includes a significant amount of information that is now able to be accessed while on the go.

With the new system, professors are able to access the grade book, for example, and update grades and assessments during the actual lesson in real-time instead of making notes that need to be transferred at a later date. The success here has the administration considering expanding the programs to including management of extracurricular activities and sports teams.

The school also has a backend overhaul that included a major contact database for parents of students. With a simple search of the database, the school is able to find all the important and contact information for a student and make the call to a parent or guardian with the click of a button.

Fortune laid out an example where a an emergency arises and a student needs to be found and the parent contacted. By using the new FileMaker database, a quick search brings up all contact information, as well as the students schedule. Now, the administrator knows right where the student should be and can press the phone number to start a call.

He went to on talk about the security features, multiple standalone uses and plans for continued expansion of FileMaker in the coming years into curriculum systems and more.

"We're extremely proud of the system that we've created here at Cheltenham College, and even fifteen years on there's a real feeling that there's so much left for us to get from FileMaker," Fortune said. "With the addition of FileMaker Go, it's a very exciting time to be using the software."

With the help of a custom FileMaker development firm, any company can improve how it operates through the use of FileMaker and its many features.

There are multiple software solutions in the business landscape that companies are adopting as a way to improve overall operations. One of the more popular is customer relationship management (CRM). This system allows companies to keep track of current and future customers by organizing, automating and synchronizing sales, marketing, customer service and technical support.

There are many ways that a CRM can be customized to meet the specific needs of a company. There are also countless features and tools that can be used to craft a customized solution.

A recent article from Productive Computing makes the case that the most effective form of CRM software is FileMaker Pro. It is a database program that integrates its powerful engine with a easy-to-use graphic user interface. There are several specific reasons why FileMaker Pro is such an important part of a CRM solution.

First off is the fact that FileMaker 13 is user friendly. If your company is switching to a system like this for the first time, it can be overwhelming. That is only compounded if the new solution is complicated to learn.

"FileMaker Pro is a completely user-friendly application that is easy to use regardless of your computer prowess," the article reads. "You don't have to develop databases for a living to use FileMaker, and teaching your team won't require many precious hours of training. All it takes is a few minutes to become a pro thanks to the clean, easy-to-understand user interface."

The database is easy to start using for any modern business, regardless of size if it is looking to store, organize, change or recall information. From a CRM standpoint, the relational database helps business owners record customer information like products purchased, time of purchase and personal customer information to help customize a marketing strategy. 

Powerful data analytics tool

In the hands of the right FileMaker developer, the system can be a dream because of the robust capacities. Organizations can create a database by importing a Bento library or through an Excel spreadsheet. Even companies that try to run the system themselves have the option to use several layouts and themes from 30 starter databases that can handle a wide array of applications.

Through FileMaker Pro, companies can create dynamic summary reports that create records and offer subtotals based on the sort order. The system can also be connected to the company's website, allowing for better email blasts and sharing of information. Through the cloud hosting services, organizations are able to manage customer information and better communicate it with the rest of the team.

"Getting into the nitty-gritty of FileMaker Pro helps you realize just how much control you have over the program, primarily in the scripts you can write to perform all sorts of actions with data," the article reads. "Scripts can be simple—send a report to a printer—or highly complex."

FileMaker Pro provides small businesses with a powerful tool for a fraction of the cost. With the help of a FileMaker development firm any company will be able to improve how they harness their data and take operations to the next level.

For every new technology, one of the biggest challenges is security. Because an increasing number of business critical systems are transitioning to a digital platform, the need to keep this information safe is a growing priority.

A recent post from FileMaker's internal blog focuses on the security features that the platform has. While most operating systems provide their own security features, the FileMaker Pro access privileges are a fundamental way to control who has access to the database, which is security 101.

"It's especially important to protect FileMaker Pro files that are shared with other FileMaker Pro users via the FileMaker Network, with web users via Instant Web Publishing, and with ODBC/JDBC clients," the article reads. "These shared files are more vulnerable because they may be more widely available over your network."

There are other ways that FileMaker's built in security can be beneficial. This includes:

• App development – With fine grain access control for data, script execution and meta-data, organizations will be able to protect the integrity of an application while allowing end-users to perform expected changes like adding a use or making small improvements.
• System administration – With a database on a FileMaker Server, businesses can leverage infrastructure for authenticating users and protecting network resources. Companies can also set up accounts for specific users based on a centralized server.
• Ease of use – Transparency is crucial and FileMaker has this as a priority.

With the help of a FileMaker support service, any company can improve how they manage their database and improve security across the board.

For every organization, there is a growing need to collect and organize information in a timely manner. Many companies turn toward spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel or Apple's Numbers, and while these work for basic data, it is not enough for more complex solutions.

A recent article from the Worthing Herald features an in-depth interview with Heather Godfrey, a software developer at CM Databases. In the course of the conversation, the biggest takeaway is that every company needs to have a database and not rely solely on spreadsheets.

According to Godfrey, spreadsheets can be useful, but they are also limited. For instance, a spreadsheet is not the right tool for handling contact-management. While it will provide a way to get the task done, it is by no means the most effective tool for the job. In this example, exporting this information from a spreadsheet requires human interaction with the data, which opens the door for mistakes.

"Spreadsheets are bad news for business management, because inconsistency equals mess, and mess equals inefficiency," Godfrey said. "A good CRM system will allow the entry of a name only once, and then feed this through to wherever else it is needed."

By using a system like FileMaker, it becomes much easier to not only compile this kind of data but also use it in an effective way like for automatic email lists, labels and data sharing. With the right database solution, any company can find a way to improve the working environment and run more smoothly.

According to an article from the Wall Street Journal, Bank of America has announced that it is using a custom software database that has been created by a top financial regulator. The goal is to flag any potential payday lenders that could violate New York state laws.

One of the challenges that Bank of America and other financial institutes run into is the possibility of working with a merchant customer that may be engaged in illegal lending. By using this database, the bank will be able to identify any lenders that have issued illegal loans to customers in New York and notify other financial institutes of this. This will prevent them from taking an unnecessary risk.

Andrew Plepler, the Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Consumer Policy executive for Bank of America, told the news source that this tool will help protect customers from "predatory lending practices."

"In the past, merchants have been responsible for their own compliance with laws and regulations specific to their industry," said Marsha Jones, president of the Third Party Payment Processors Association, which represents processing firms. "Recently there's been an expectation that banks and processors should know every law in every state for every industry, and that becomes problematic. It's impossible to keep track of all of that, and be able to process efficiently."

With the use of custom database software, any organization can find a better way to deploy information. While not every company is trying to stop crime, there are plenty of better practices that can be had by using this idea.

There are some members of the IT department that will tell you a good database can dramatically change a business. While some may think this is a bit of an exaggeration, nothing could be further from the truth – just ask Google and Autism Speaks.

According to an article from the Verge, these two groups have partnered to start creating the largest database of sequenced genomes in existence when it comes to people with autism and members of their families. It will include genomes from 10,000 people, 1,000 have already been mapped. The goal is that this "open source" database will be able to facilitate research into the causes of the autism spectrum and possible treatments and diagnosis.

"The [Autism Speaks Ten Thousand Genomes Program] holds the potential to radically transform our understanding of autism and redefine the future of medical care for those affected by the disorder," Rob Ring, Autism Speaks' chief science officer, said in a statement. "Working with Google is a game-changer in this story."

According to David Glazer, the director of Google Genomics' engineering, there are similar genetics databases in existence, but none of them are close to this scale with regard to information specifically about autism. He added that modern biology has become a data-limited science, but that is changing as the limits are being removed by modern computing.

It is clear that organizations will be able to do great things when information is brought together. With the use of custom database software, any organization will be able to take this idea to and start changing the world.

Over the last six months, there have been several high profile security breaches. These include Target, Michaels, Neiman Marcus and eBay. While the tactics used to breach the networks all vary slightly, it is believed that the use of constant database monitoring could have helped prevent this.

Recently, the Ponemon Institute released the results of a poll of 595 U.S. technology experts. Nearly two thirds of respondents ranked monitoring as the best form of database protection. Second on the list, being mentioned in 56 percent of responses, was advanced database activity monitoring. Database encryption rounded out the top three with 49 percent.

Using a database activity monitoring solution allows users to capture and record activity related to the use of Structured Query Language (SQL). It is used by administrators for several tasks and alerts can be set up that will trigger whenever an activity run with the data violates protocols. While there have been tools similar to this in the past, they are often expensive and unreliable, causing more harm than good. In recent years this has changed and the tools used to keep a database safe are more mature and will not break the bank.

These new tools can be used to locate active databases that the company may not be aware are being used and they are better at catching rogue software that could have been installed by a hacker to gather data and store it before sending off to a remote server where it is used for nefarious purposes.

"Continuous monitoring, looking for unusual or anomalous type of behavior, becomes very important," Larry Ponemon, chairman of the Ponemon Institute, said. "The more you monitor, the more things you can see and the more things you can stop."

According to a recent article from CSO, there are some that are questioning the conclusions that were reached.

Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Secure Ideas, said that database monitoring will not detect SQL attacks. The reason for this is that by the time a monitoring program sees it, it will look just like another query from any other application. This kind of solution is reactionary, but if you do not know that a problem is there, how will you be able to prevent it?

This is why the best practice in this situation is to have more security.

"I believe in a layered approach that perhaps should include a database firewall to mitigate the risk of SQL injection, combined with continuous monitoring of the database along with continuous monitoring of normalized network traffic flows," Paul Henry, a senior instructor at the SANS Institute, 

This not only helps fight SQL attacks but also many other tools of the cyber criminal trade. This is needed because the study found that 60 percent of respondents believed SQL injection was only a component of an attack they suffered.

Businesses in every sector are building databases at an increasing rate. With more systems going digital, this is becoming easier than ever before. It also makes it more important that custom database software is secure and constantly checked to ensure that the tools used to keep the information safe are up-to-date.

The data warehouse is something that many organizations are looking to take advantage of. With the growing amount of digital data that is being created, businesses need to harness this infomration if they want to be relevant.

Customers are gaining insights with big data from multiple sources and analysts need to draw conclusions from that information as fast as it is coming through the door. But this is easier said than done.

A recent article from TechRepublic features an in depth interview with BitYota CEO Dev Patel. According to him, for companies to better understand their business, they need to analyze the interactivity with customers at a granular level. The problem is that traditional systems will not allow that at an aggregated level because companies are going to lose some features in the data that you need to get better insights.

"And you need to be able to get better insights from data from multiple sources, and your traditional systems will not allow you to take data from multiple sources to get your insights," Patel said. "Traditional systems don't let you obtain detailed insights on raw data, or very granular data, or get insights from data from multiple sources, where the velocity of the data could be very different from each source. That is something they don't do very well."

Patel goes on to talk about three major trends that are impacting the business database marketplace. These include:

Data speeds/variety – Organizations find themselves dealing with data coming at different speeds as the solution becomes more popular. Because of the digital age, data is being created with every click of the mouse and from every device that is connected to the internet. On top of that, it is being created in real-time.

All of this new data, is also creating a need to combine the new streams with the older, static data sources. This, in and of itself, can become quite the challenge.

Direct access to data – One of the problems with traditional analytic solutions, is that data needs to travel through multiple layers from the time it is collected until it is able to be analyzed. Engineers need to transform or translate the data to make it consumable by an analyst.

The latest trend involves cutting out the middle man and speed up a process that has been slowed down by what is not considered unnecessary formatting and language changes.

Velocity of analytics – Finding the temporal value of data is now becoming more critical. This means that organizations need to figure out a way to not only collect the information that is being gathers at a breakneck speed, but also look for ways analyze just as quickly. Some businesses are looking to acquire hourly reports which would require a company to analyze the data as soon as it comes into the system.

Many organizations are currently looking for ways to optimize their incoming data. One of the best ways to do this is by partnering with an solution provider that can help create the custom database that is designed to work with their a companies specific business needs.