Do you own a smart phone?  Do you use it at work?  What about a tablet?  Is your personal iPad becoming an indespensible business tool?

This marks a new trend in buisness, often refered to "BYOD" or Bring Your Own Device.  According to tech blogger Matt McLarty, the movement is unstoppable.

McLarty's article is particularly interesting because FileMaker Inc. announced last week that its mobile database client - FileMaker Go 12 - is now free for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.  Although one cannot create a database application in FileMaker Go, a company can build one (or have one built) and distribute it to their employees to run on a server or locally on the device.

How are you accessing your data?

FileMaker Inc., recently announced the release of FileMaker Pro 12, FileMaker Server 12, and FileMaker Go 12.  This is a significant version in their product line.

And to acknowledge the growing trend of iOS devices in the workplace (iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch), FileMaker Go 12 is now FREE.  That's right, you can download the app at no cost.  FileMaker Pro for the PC/Mac is not required.  FileMaker Server is not required.

Sometimes we need to put our FileMaker data on the web.  However, it doesn't always require user interaction.  For those times that read-only data will do, there is a quick and easy way: Export as an HTML file.  While this works, it is not very attractive, nor is it intuitive, particularly with searching.  Enter DataTables, a jQuery plugin.  See the screencasts at http://youtu.be/aONyT6Ggq4Y

FileMaker Pro makes it easy to restrict a user's access based on her/his privilege set.  Once a user has limited access to the database, the next step is to modify the user interface in order to restrict navigation. This video series demonstrates a dynamic navigation bar that changes with the user login.  Video 1: http://youtu.be/mJloUbVNTXQ  Video 2: http://youtu.be/hoa550t7f8w

Are you using the iPad in your business?  If you are, then you are in good company.  In a recent survey by ChangeWave Research, 84% of the companies planning on purchasing tablets will go with the iPad.  

Before you get too excited about playing Angry Birds or Cut the Rope on the company's dime, consider the many apps in categories such as business, productivity, finanical, educational, and utilities.  Use your iPad to log into a server, draw flow charts, take notes during a meeting, or keep track of futures on the exchange.

Of course, the iPad is an excellent tool for accessing your database.  FileMaker Inc. makes a dynamic app called FileMaker Go, which is a full client database that can interact with FileMaker Server.

How are you using the iPad in your business?

A few days ago my internet went out.  Not just mine but everyone in this area (northwest Ohio).  A few years ago this may have simply been an inconvenience.  However, cloud computing is all the rage so when the internet is down, your data is inaccessible.  Cloud computing certainly has its place and I subscribe to several SasS (software as a service).  

But machines fail.  Connections break.  And occassionally, the internet goes down.  For these reasons (and others) it is imperative to have a backup plan.  If you rely on your data 24/7 you need to consider different disaster scenrios and plan accordingly.

Web privacy is all the rage right now.  Google is at the forefront since millions of people user their (mostly free ) services.  What internet companies (not just Google) are doing is gathering data and using that to hone its marketing.  Shopping for socks online?  Then maybe you'd like to know about upcoming shoe sales.  Are you reading about world events?  Advertisers want to ask you if you would like a subscription to a weekly news magazine.

While you may or may not like what is happening to your online data, there is one thing that is certain: these companies know how to use the data they have.

Every non-profit organization has data.  If you are keeping that data in a database then you are ahead of the game.  But having data in a database is not enough.  

Looking through your data (or "data mining" in geek speak) can provide your organization with powerful information that can help you grow.  Who are your constituents?  How old are they?  Where do they live?  How often do they give?  What other organizations are important to them?  Asking questions like these can have the potential to create exponential growth.  Don't take my word for it - just ask Google!

Need help asking questions of your data on a regular basis?  New Leaf Data can help.  Call me.

Data dashboards are common place in database applications.  They present a quick overview of your data.  Here are three tips on how to better utilize your dashboard:

1. Hide it.  Not every user needs to see an overview of the data.  This may be especially true for non-profits and higher education organizations where volunteers and student workers may need access to the database.

2. Customize it.  Data may carry different significance, depending on the receiver.  The organizations CEO may want an overview of financials, new recruits, turnover, etc. while a department manager may want to know the project and task status for her team.

3. Make it mobile.  Since dashboards are graphical aggregates, it is pretty simple to display them on a mobile device.  This is especially great for those who are frequently on the road.

Does your database have a dashboard?  How are you utilizing it?

Most Pproject Management Software (PMS) is written for developers/software companies.  They are essetial tools for helping these companies meet deadlines and produce a product or service.  However, what if you are not a software company?  What if you are a non-profit that needs to organize a golf outing or a celebrity dinner or a recurring event like a newsletter?  You can use traditional project management software, of course, though you will probably need to make some modifications.

Two interesting project management tools seem to break away from the multitude of PMS available on the web: Asana and Trello.

These two are unique in three ways:

1. They are both free (Asana is free for up to 30 users).
2. They do not have a dashboard, common to almost all other PMS.
3. They are easily adaptable.
   
   
   How are you managing your projects and tasks?

In the last couple of months I have worked on projects that have requested limiting the view of users in FileMaker Pro.  I made a screencast demonstrating the principle of how to do that.