Apple's FileMaker Cloud launches with AWS in Australia, Japan, Canada
Apple subsidiary FileMaker has extended its presence down under, launching its FileMaker Cloud platform in Australia as part of its international availability rollout.
FileMaker Cloud gives users with minimal development experience the ability to deploy apps in the cloud using a subscription model and no on-premises infrastructure. Before garnering a local presence, FileMaker Cloud was only available to Australian customers via its US-based datacentre.
Speaking with ZDNet ahead of the launch, Ann Monroe, vice president of customer success at FileMaker, said the company aims to assist people undertaking business change in creating custom apps without the need for heavy software development skills.
"We've worked hard to make our technology accessible for everyone," she explained. "We're really excited to make FileMaker cloud available in the regional detacentres."
FileMaker Cloud runs on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud and is offered through the AWS Marketplace.
The expanded international availability of FileMaker Cloud comes with support for two further AWS regional datacentres in Tokyo and Canada, in addition to Australia.
Monroe said FileMaker has a lot of customers coming to its cloud platform with an interest in mobility.
With over 1 million users under active subscription, Monroe said FileMaker is used by businesses from varying sectors and industries. Its Australian customers include not-for-profit Youth With a Mission (YWAM), which among other initiatives operates medical ships that deliver aid in Papua New Guinea.
Monroe explained that YWAM uses FileMaker to host information about caregivers, immunisation, medical information, and many others, in the one app.
"It's really great because they're doing that all onboard a ship," she explained. "Instead of doing manual data entry by hand, paper, and spreadsheets, they can save a tonne of time with custom apps, which means they have more time to spend diagnosing patients and treating them."
Other global customers of the company include The Gorilla Foundation, Hallmark Cards, Coca-Cola Andina, and Ingram Micro.
"It is really exciting to see how people are able to transform the way they work using mobile devices, which has been a huge trend over the past several years," Monroe explained. "To make that happen for businesses of any size ... it's huge to see that happen."
FileMaker was formed in 1998 following a restructure of software firm Claris, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary Apple created in 1987.