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We recently celebrated the success of three of our FileMaker developers becoming FileMaker 11 Certified Developers. We always knew they were certifiable but now they have a certificate to prove it!
It got me to thinking about what that certification actually means to us as a business and to our clients. Let’s face it – before FileMaker introduced Certification back in 2004 with version 7; pretty much anyone could hang their shingle out as a FileMaker Developer – and still can (now there’s a scary thought!) You wouldn’t know you had a charlatan for a developer until the final invoice was twice the size of the estimate and the system didn’t even bear a remote resemblance to what you had originally discussed.
Let’s start with a simple definition of what FileMaker Certification is…
FileMaker Certification is an industry-recognized credential that proves technical expertise with the entire FileMaker product line and is the only credential recognized by FileMaker Inc.
What does it mean to the developer?
Not being FileMaker certified myself (the only certification I have is for swimming 4 lengths of the local pool back in 1975) I can only guess what it means to our developers – I guess I could ask them but their time is precious and they only come out at night (kidding – I have seen them during the day too). I would imagine they would say it gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that they have demonstrated excellent technical knowledge. It probably helps them in their development – making them smarter developers and gives them pride in the solutions they create. It serves as a testimonial to their dedication and hard work. While it isn’t complete (there are many other factors that can affect your skill as a developer) it does prove your knowledge of the tool itself.
What does it mean to CoreSolutions?
Commitment to the FileMaker product line. We are one of only 15 certified development companies in all of Canada. Only 7 of those 15 (at time of writing this) are FileMaker 11 Certified and only 3 of those 7 are Platinum FileMaker Business Alliance members. We are committed to doing the best we can with the tools that are available to us through FileMaker Inc. We have been developing in FileMaker for 21 years which shows our investment and commitment to our clients. We know our onions as my old Granny used to say.
Most importantly – what does it mean to our clients?
You can trust that we know what we are doing and that we will do it well. That certification means we possess the knowledge of a FileMaker industry expert. We can leverage the entire FileMaker product line to ensure you get the most out of your investment in FileMaker. We build our solutions according to FileMaker Developer Conventions so you can be sure we are using best practices with our development (in fact our very own Steve Hearn contributed to those conventions!)
In an age where doing the job better is taking precedence over doing the job cheaper you should be asking the question – are you FileMaker certified? You’ll be glad you did.
Happy FileMaking!
