Jeff Moore, the City of Austin database administrator, was responsible for maintaining information about more than 170 events at the Austin Convention Center with just a three-ring binder, according to the TabTimes, a website devoted to news about tablet computers. In a building that spans six city blocks, it was nearly impossible for Moore and his team to organize and manage an event when the only form of data storage was paper.

At the MacIT Conference in San Francisco on January 26, Moore made a presentation called "Quick iPad Apps Developed with Innovative Software Tools" that outlined how he was able to gain an estimated 200 percent return on investment after he switched to a custom database program optimized for iPads.

Using a main FileMaker database as a single point of access, Moore had four complementing FileMaker Go-based apps developed to keep track of event documents, utility workorders, technical workorders and floor audits, according to the website. 

"About 10 percent of all orders take place on the show floor, and we estimate saving $12,000 annually because we don't have to travel back to the service desk to fulfill them," Joe Gonzalez, IT Services Manager for the center told the FileMaker website. "We also save about five hours per event by having booth diagrams right on hand. That translates to another $10,000 in annual savings, conservatively."

Looking forward, TabTimes reports that Moore intends to equip 90 percent of the event staff with iPads by the fourth quarter of 2012, and develop four more apps customized for room configuration lists, security incident reports, purchase manager receiving and credit card transactions for on-the-spot orders.

Businesses that operate in a single office or countries worldwide alike can benefit from custom application development. Discuss your business's needs with a FileMaker developer who can build a program using database software that can save your company money and increase productivity.