FileMaker 14 Support Ending

Other things will happen, you will no longer be able to buy a license for 14 and you will not be able to downgrade to 14. Although these likely won't effect the vast majority of our clients, there are times when we come across old versions of databases that need assistance.

What should you do if you're currently using 14 still?

The simple answer is that you should be upgrading, preferably to FileMaker 17, the current version available.

The benefits of upgrade are well worth the costs (if any), you will experience greater speeds, you will take advantage of superior security, and you get to add features to your solution such as connecting external apps using the data API.

While there is no change of format — a FileMaker 14 database can be hosted on and accessed by FileMaker 17 without modification — you may need to make the jump to having your own dedicated server. That's because if you've got your databases hosted on a shared server, it will be no newer than FileMaker 14, and FileMaker 17 can not access files on 14 server. The reason for this change is that for security and licensing reasons FileMaker Inc. disallowed shared hosting from FileMaker 15 onwards. Moving to your own server is probably going to cost more and we're happy to advise on the options such as:

• Your own server on premise
• A dedicated server in the cloud (e.g. Amazon Web Services)
• FileMaker Cloud

Moving to a dedicated server is not a bad thing, in the security of your database will be greatly enhanced.

If you are still on FileMaker 14 and below, do get in touch with us and we can build a plan to get you upgraded. We are happy to offer advice on whats needed, including what FileMaker licensing best suits your organisation.