FileMaker is a great software application – we all know that. As with all great applications – to keep making it better means they need to come out with different versions which in turn means that you do need to upgrade from time to time and FileMaker are committed to release a new version every 12 – 15 months. FileMaker recognized early on that upgrading can be a costly venture and have come up with a number of ways to make it as cost effective as possible to stay on the most current version so let’s look at two of those here.
Maintenance Program
The maintenance program is a fairly cost effective method of staying current with FileMaker. You pay an annual fee – based on the number of licenses you have and when FileMaker releases a new version you receive an email and can then download the latest and greatest.
All of that looks good on paper – but how does it stack up in the real world? Here is a rough guideline (all prices in US Dollars):
20 New FileMaker Pro licenses are (20 x $285) = $5,700
20 Upgrades to FileMaker Pro (20 x $171) = $3,420
20 Maintenance Licenses on FileMaker Pro (20 x $57) = $1,140
So if you do not stay current and let your upgrade path lapse you would be paying $4,560 more to get back up to date than if you had paid the ongoing maintenance each year. That certainly makes sense (or cents… ahem!) to me.
Annual Volume Licensing
Another great thing which FileMaker have introduced is an AVLA or Annual Volume Licensing Agreement. I am certainly no expert on this – but here is what I do know. It’s kind of like a magazine subscription service – but not exactly. Let me expand on that. With a magazine subscription you pay a yearly fee to receive your magazine but at the end of the year if you don’t pay the subscription then you don’t get the magazine any more. With the AVLA you get the software and if you don’t pay for the next year – you don’t use the software. I know what you are thinking. With the magazine subscription even if I don’t pay for the next year I can still read last year’s magazines! Okay – I did say it was not exactly like a magazine subscription. Think of it more like a Mission Impossible subscription where it self-destructs after 1 year unless you pay for the following year does that make it easier?
It’s still a great deal.
How great a deal? Here are the figures (again in US dollars):
Standard Volume Licensing Annual Volume Licensing
20 FileMaker Pro Licenses = $5,700 20 FileMaker Pro Licenses = $1,900
1 FileMaker Server = $879 1 FileMaker Server = $293
Maintenance Renewals = $1,316 Maintenance Renewals = $2,193
1 Year Cost = $6,579 1 Year Cost = $2,193
3 Year Cost = $9,211 3 Year Cost = $6,579
5 Year Cost = $11,843 5 Year Cost = $10,965
So the AVLA offers you a much lower startup cost and it allows you to budget accordingly as the cost is the same every year – just like a magazine subscription (one that self destructs after one year!)
Don’t forget that as Platinum FileMaker Business Alliance members we can also extend a discount to you that you will not find if you purchase retail. Feel free to contact us for more information.
You can find all the information I have referred to above on FileMaker’s website but here are some quick links.
FileMaker Maintenance Information
FileMaker Volume Licensing Information
FileMaker Annual Volume Licensing Information
I hope this has been of interest to you – as always – you know how to contact us if you need more information.
Until next time – Happy FileMaking!
This blog will self destruct in 5…4…3…2
- Carl Hughes
