A Comparison of FileMaker Pro 5, FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited, and Microsoft Access 2000

This document compares the costs of deploying database solutions in FileMaker Pro 5 and FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited with Microsoft Access 2000 on the Internet and intranet. It presents two methods for publishing databases over the Web: Instant Web Publishing and Custom Web Publishing. The term "Instant Web Publishing" refers to technology that allows end users to create a database solution and make it available over the Web with no additional programming required. "Custom Web Publishing" refers to Web solutions that have customized web front ends and use middleware applications that interact between the Web browser and database.

This document focuses on the initial expense needed to deploy web enabled database solutions. In fact, the cost of creating and maintaining solutions can sometimes be far greater than the initial development cost. According to leading industry analysts, for every $1 of discretionary spending (new projects and major enhancements), approximately $5 is spent on support, maintenance, and infrastructure. Dramatic time and money savings are possible with easy to use tools like FileMaker Pro, which let end users support and maintain workgroup applications, rather than requiring experienced and costly consultants or resource-constrained IT departments.

Please see the Feature Comparison Chart for a quick overview of the differences between FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited and Microsoft Access 2000.

Four Usage Scenarios

The four scenarios below detail the costs that can be incurred when deploying a database solution over the Internet or intranet.

1. Instant Web publishing over an intranet

A small corporate workgroup of 10 users wants to deploy a project tracking and contacts database over a corporate intranet to share and update project information. The group consists of business professionals who do not have programming skills, but instead are experts in their own domain. They simply want to get the information already stored in a database onto the corporate intranet.

The easiest solution is to use Instant Web publishing technology. The customer has the option of choosing between FileMaker Pro 5 and Microsoft Access 2000.

Necessary components and costs

1 Estimated Retail Price
2 Included with the purchase of Windows 95/98/NT
3 Included with the purchase of Windows NT
4 Number is based on 10 Web users with Microsoft Office 2000 Premium ($799) installed on each machine. Microsoft requires a license for each client machine to use Microsoft's Data Access Pages.

Important Points:

Microsoft Access 2000 requires a large amount (30MB) of code to be installed on the client machine to use Data Access Pages (Microsoft’s version of Instant Web Publishing). The components are 25MB of MDAC 2.1 and 5MB of Data Access Page components. Office 2000 is also required to use Access 2000 Data Access Pages since the components listed above can only be obtained with the installation of Office 2000. Data Access Pages in Access 2000 are only useful for intranet publishing because the packets sent are very large and frequent. Additionally, not all Internet users have Office 2000 installed. This Web deployment model eliminates Mac OS and UNIX clients since Office 2000 does not run on these platforms.

Note: FileMaker Pro 5 only requires a web browser to access FileMaker databases, which can be published over an intranet or the Internet with just one click.

Instant Web Publishing Example:

Below is a sample contact database created in both FileMaker Pro and Microsoft Access 2000. Both of the screens shown below are data entry forms for entering contact information.

Click Images to Enlarge
FileMaker Pro Application		Microsoft Access 2000 Application

Below are the Web interfaces to FileMaker Pro 5 and Microsoft Access 2000 using each of the product’s Instant Web Publishing features. Note how FileMaker Pro renders the fields, text, and graphics, including correct positioning of elements whereas Microsoft Access 2000 provides a rather simplistic view of the fields along with the field names. In addition, FileMaker includes three built-in views to examine the data: table view, form view, and search view.

Click Images to Enlarge
FileMaker Pro Application		Microsoft Access 2000 Application

In order to recreate the original form design that was built in Microsoft Access 2000, it is necessary to customize and program the Data Access Page for Web usage.

2. Instant Web Publishing over the Internet

The same small workgroup now needs to conduct a survey over the Internet. The group has not acquired any programming skills and would like to deploy the new solution using Instant Web publishing over the Internet for access by a large number of users both within their corporation and on the Internet. Since Internet users run on a variety of platforms and all do not have Office 2000 installed on their machines, the low-end Access 2000 Data Access Page solution is no longer an option for this workgroup because it does not support these clients. In addition, the packets sent via Data Access Pages are very large and frequent and not usable over the Internet where most users have slow Internet connections.

Note: Using FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited, the group could proceed as needed on their own without having programming expertise. To take full advantage of Instant Web Publishing, the browsers accessing the FileMaker Pro solution must support Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Currently Internet Explorer (IE) 4 or later on Mac and Windows supports CSS. The estimated retail price for FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited is $999. No additional licensing fees are necessary.

3. Custom Web Publishing over an intranet

An individual from the group has taken an interest in building and deploying custom Web applications for large groups of people in the company. This individual has acquired some familiarity with various CGI’s and application servers. Based on this interest, this person has been asked to build a company-wide event registration database to track all the information related to the corporation’s events and attendees. This database must be accessible over the corporate intranet to all of the employees in the company.

Necessary components and costs:

1 A custom Active Server Page solution could be programmed in lieu of using an out-of-box CGI or application server. This solution would require the expertise and involvement from members of the IS staff with programming skills. Cold Fusion is an example of an application server. Users can choose from a number of different application servers ranging in price from $1K to greater than $10K.
2 Included with the purchase of Windows 95/98/NT.
3 Included with the purchase of Windows NT
4 See the text under the important points section on deployment with Microsoft SQL Server.

Important Points:

Microsoft encourages Access 2000 customers to deploy higher end Web solutions with SQL Server via the OLE DB technology included in Access 2000 (essentially using Access 2000 as a front-end to SQL Server). Microsoft requires a Client Access License (CAL) for every seat that accesses the SQL Server database on an intranet under Microsoft’s per seat licensing program. If more than 50 users are accessing the same SQL Server database, Microsoft requires that their Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Edition Unlimited Clients license be purchased for a total of $28,999.

Note: FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited can be deployed to an unlimited number of Internet or intranet users for only $999. If scalability and fault-tolerance is necessary for this solution, an additional copy of FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited can be licensed to set up a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Computers (RAIC) structure using the FileMaker Web Server Connector which is included with FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited.

4. Custom Web Publishing over the Internet

In this final scenario, the employee who created the events system for the company has been asked to produce a product catalog for the company’s external web site. The catalog will allow customers to view all of the company’s products.

Necessary components and costs:

1 A custom Active Server Page solution could be programmed in lieu of using an out-of-box CGI or application server. This solution would require the expertise and involvement from members of the IS staff with programming skills. Cold Fusion is an example of an application server. Users can choose from a number of different application servers ranging in price from $1K to greater than $10K. Please note that Active Server Page solutions can not be deployed using a Mac.
2 Included with the purchase of Windows 95/98/NT
3 Included with the purchase of Windows NT
4 See the text under the important points section on deployment with Microsoft SQL Server.

Note: If scalability and fault-tolerance are necessary for this solution, an additional copy of FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited can be purchased to set up a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Computers (RAIC) structure using the FileMaker Web Server Connector which is included with FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited.

Important Points:

If this solution was built around OLE DB technology using Access 2000 as a front-end to a back-end SQL Server database, there is a prohibitive license fee associated with Internet users viewing SQL Server databases. Microsoft requires that a $3,000 per processor Internet Connector license be purchased as well as the purchase of the SQL Server database. This deployment option is now extremely expensive and beyond the ability of this workgroup to handle. The corporate IT department must now be included in the project because programming expertise must be obtained.

Conclusion

FileMaker Pro is distinctly more affordable than Microsoft Access 2000 when purchasing a tool for web database publishing via either Instant or Custom Web Publishing. It is an easy to use database that helps you get your organization organized. FileMaker Pro is also dramatically cheaper to support and maintain after deployment when compared to Microsoft Access 2000. In addition to a greater initial expense, Microsoft Access 2000 often requires professional IT attention from every stage of deployment from creation to maintenance. Simply put, FileMaker Pro 5 and FileMaker Pro 5 Unlimited allow ordinary people to exchange information over the Web in a simple and inexpensive manner.

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