FileMaker Pro Server Hosting
FileMaker Pro has earned a reputation as tool which can quickly and easily share data over a local network; however, with an infusion from the cloud FileMaker can empower users from all
across the globe. The paradox that many FileMaker users find themselves is that they build a database, and maybe share it with a few colleges; but when it is time to share in a real production environment, they hit a wall.
The cost of a quality server with a fast, fault tolerant drive system, a static IP address on a publicly accessible network, a fast reliable internet connection, an off-site backup, and the license cost of Microsoft Windows Server and FileMaker Server can often reach over $5,000 without including on-going costs like maintenance, electricity, internet connection, security patch installation, etc. We have seen many small businesses spend $10,000 in the first year on FileMaker Pro related hosting expenses.
The reality is that we get discounts from FileMaker, Inc. and Microsoft, we use modern 'cloud computing' principles to increase the utilization of our hardware, and we have economies of scale to help bring maintenance costs down. As for internet connectivity, we don't waste money to local telephone providers to bring high speed internet access to our offices, but instead we lease space in hardened datacenters which are already sitting on large internet trunk lines. Likely, the most important aspect of our service, is that we can provide you will your own 'slice' of a FileMaker Server. If you only have a single file solution, why pay for FileMaker Server, which can be as much as $2,500, just for the FileMaker license, when you can have service from worldcloud for as low as $10/ month*.
Security
As we speak with new clients and/or prospects, security is one of the largest concerns. Many of the databases we host may be small compared to the huge databases maintained by Goggle, but they are no less important to our clients. FileMaker is such a flexible tool to create business solutions that many businesses rely of their FileMaker solutions for mission critical day to day operations- they can not afford to compromise security by utilizing a hosted service- no matter the savings.
The reality is that we take security more seriously than most privately owned server owners do, but before we discuss our safeguards- let take a very FileMaker specific look at security. Unlike mySQL, msSQL and/or many other database environments; the admin does not automatically have full access to all the files on his/her server. In the same way that you might put a password-protected Word document on a USB thumb drive, the person which physically holds the drive does not automatically have access to that file because it still requires a password. In the same way, when you upload one of your FileMaker Pro databases to our servers, you are not giving us access to all your data. FileMaker solutions have the ability to manage their own security settings. Likewise, if you choose to utilize FileMaker's ability to utilize Active Directory, we can give you a unique instance of Active Directory which no one else can access- you control all the access to your own files. FileMaker also has the ability to encrypt all traffic over the network, so even your network traffic is protected by prying eyes. The truth is, we offer hosting services, including mySQL and msSQL database hosting, and in our opinion FileMaker hosting is natively more secure that any other environment we support.
Although FileMaker Pro is designed to be secure, we do not rest on the merits of FileMaker security alone. We use power hardware based firewalls to protect our FileMaker Servers, and unlike a Small Business Server you may manage yourself, our FileMaker Servers only run FileMaker services, so we can completely turn off all both just a handfull of ports thus greatly reducing the types of attacks that may be able to effect our machines. Even in cases where you need web hosting, e-mail hosting, mySQL hosting, etc.- we use unique machines to provide these services, so that the risk to each system is held to a minimum.
Our hardware is also geared for security. It is housed in locked cages in datacenters with technicians present 24 hours a day. They have battery and generator backups, and robust air conditioning systems. Unlike many small businesses which utilize an old storage room as a 'server room', we are serious about are physical security. Our primary drive storage is a 15,000 RPM, SAS based RAID system- which means that instead of using 'normal' SATA hard drives like you find in machines at Best Buy, we use a more expensive, faster, and more reliable type of drive. In addition, we place a large number of these drives into a cabinet and we format them in such a way so that your data is always saved twice, so if a drive fails (which all drive can fail), your data is not lost. As soon as the hot swappable drive is replaced, the data is restored without any downtime. We keep several drives on hand at all times.
Our servers are also grouped together in High Availability clusters using vmWare technology, so if the physical server you are using fails, the system is automatically booted from another system in the cluster. Since all the systems share the same drive system, the 'switch-over' to another server done automatically, and in most cases without any lose of data. In a case where a user was in the midst of entering data during such a failure, they would receive an error message. We also keep several spare BladeServers to assure that the capacity of the cluster always is prepared for whatever may happen.
Lastly, we offer a number of backup services which include the option of storing your backup of Amazon S3 cloud servers and/or we also have an option that makes an off-site backup which can automatically sync with a machine on your own network. We have little doubt in the integrity of our backups, but if some drunk hits the telephone pole in front of your office, our backups do little to get your employees working until internet access to restored. By utilizing a local worldcloud backup, you can host up to 9 users with the most recent data using a normal copy of FileMaker Pro- so not only are we secure, but we deliver your backups back to your machine and/or network so that you have redundant backup support to handle most any emergency.
The government has near limitless budgets for IT security, and yet they have had breaches. We are not arrogant enough to promise that nothing will ever happen to your server; but we can assure you that we follow all the best practices for hosting providers, and to our knowledge,we have never had a FileMaker database which has been compromised. Certainly, we can say that our security is far superior that 98% of the small businesses which host their own FileMaker solutions, and since this is our profession we will continue to adopt the latest technologies to protect your data and our business.
Cloud Computing is seems to have a different meaning to most everyone who uses the term, but in regards to FileMaker-centric hosting, it allows you to buy only what you need. When traveling, no one buys a car to get from place to place- they simply get a cab or a rental car to get from place to place. Why should your hosting be any different?
Scalability
We have a client which has a FileMaker Pro solution which is used for parent-teacher conferences for a large school system. Normally, the system sees very low volumes; however, after mid-term grades are released the system sees a huge spike for a week or two. Utilizing modern 'Cloud' technology, we can scale the servers to have up to 16 times their 'normal' CPU power for those two weeks. Many client will buy expensive servers to meet the needs they think they are going to have. This is almost an impossible task, because no two database solutions are the same. Unlike e-mail servers, where the law of averages work very well, two database servers with the same number of users and/or files can have significantly different loads.
We have the ability scale your network, CPU, and drive resources. We also have advanced options for load balancing and other tools to optimize your experience. We have to means to watch your server and objectively add resources, as opposed to simply guessing.
Accessible
If there is one criteria for 'Cloud Computing' which is most common, this has to be it. Most people think of the internet as 'in the cloud' when in reality there numerous ways for us to connect your users. Not only do we have a choice in clients: web, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker, ODBC, XML Web Services; but we have choices in physical location and network topology. We have 8 datacenters worldwide, plus we have multiple options to create private networks with secure VPN connections. We also offer the latest offerings from Microsoft, Citrix, vmWare and others. In many cases, the users do not even need to install FileMaker Pro. In the case of our thin client hardware, they don't even need a computer.
Affordable
All this technology is no relevant if you have a to have a budget the size of NASA to purchase and maintain it. The promise of 'Cloud' services is that resources are 'pooled' in the cloud and you have the option to 'rent' a very small part of a larger cloud. We offer both fixed rate and metered plans. We also handle all the maintenance and licensing of your servers. The reality is that you can start moving towards the cloud for as little as $10/month.
FileMaker Go
Apple has sold over 50 million iPhones, and the iPad currently owns the tablet market, but for many the promise of these devices is to provide access to 'real' office data in 'real' time- not some scaled down mobile version.
FileMaker Go is the solution that many users had in mind when they purchased there iOS device- it's just a matter of them coming to that realization. The fact is that many users use databases everyday, and since FileMaker Server can connect to these database via ESS and other means, thus allowing FileMaker Go to access millions of business solutions with only a few hours of development.
FileMaker Go solutions hosted by worldcloud allow their mobile users to access full and complete database solutions. Worldcloud provides the means to inexpensively deliver FileMaker, msSQL, mySQL, or Oracle based solutions without the huge up-front expense associated with many of the other iOS solutions. FileMaker also allows the freedom to deploy custom functionality without the need to submit your solution to the Apple App Store for approval.
worldcloud delivers the iPhone/ iPad you always wanted.
External SQL Services
Have a mySQL Open Source PHP solution, or a corporate msSQL database? Use FileMaker to add new features to these solutions without dealing with synchronization. FileMaker can connect to msSQL, mySQL, or Oracle.
PHP Site Builder
Need to add database interaction to your website? FileMaker Server has a PHP Site Assistant which will help you incorporate FileMaker data into your website and/or allow users to create data direct into your database solution.
FileMaker Server or Server Advanced
We offer both FileMaker Pro 11 Server and FileMaker Pro 11 Server Advanced services. We also support deployment options from one to three machines. We offer IWP,PHP, and Open Remote support. check out our hosting and product pages for more details.
We also offer server plug-ins like Zulu and SuperContainer. In addition, we are working with several FileMaker solutions providers to offer pre-configured versions of their solutions.