In the age of digital transformation, companies need to be able to quickly build custom applications to solve the problems they face. Creating programs the traditional way often requires hundreds of hours of programming, as well as developers to do the necessary coding. However, the rise of low code has allowed organizations to build custom applications to meet their needs without sacrificing time or money. With the release of FileMaker 19, Claris released its first open platform that allows developers to build rich custom applications leveraging direct JavaScript integrations, drag-and-drop plugins, AI using Apple Core ML, and more. To learn more about the company's latest release and how low-code can help developers and businesses be more productive, TechRadar Pro spoke with Claris CEO Brad Freitag.
Can you give us some information about Claris and how the company parted ways with Apple?
We bring a legacy of creativity in solving software problems. Claris began as a subsidiary of Apple in 1986 with the goal of differentiating Apple's software services from its hardware and operating systems. In 1998, the company was renamed FileMaker, Inc. after its flagship product. Last year, in parallel with a move toward multi-product offerings thanks to the acquisition of Italian startup Stamplay (renamed Claris Connect), FileMaker was renamed Claris.
What are the benefits of low code development and why is low code becoming more popular with businesses?
Low code allows anyone to build powerful business software to transform the way they work. Today, there is a huge gap in the requirements for digital transformation and supply of CS graduates across the globe. Low code makes digital transformation available to companies without an IT department. A low-code integration tool like Claris Connect can help companies automate their workflows and integrate their existing applications. If they don't have an app, they can create one using a low-code tool like Claris FileMaker. The best low-code platforms not only offer accessible and scalable technology, but an ecosystem that includes free training, an active community of developers, and certified partners if you choose to outsource.
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(Image credit: Pixabay)
Why did you decide to add JavaScript integration to FileMaker 19, and how will it benefit developers?
More than ever, companies must innovate quickly. By opening the Claris platform to the most popular programming language on the planet, we are saving developers hundreds of hours of programming time. We're excited to see what our 50,000 customers will do with a growing set of plugins and the ability to integrate one of the millions of existing JavaScript packages into their custom applications. Claris developers can also create the next plugin or main feature using their own code.
How does the latest version of FileMaker take advantage of Apple's ML kernel?
We want to offer customers the power of AI as quickly as possible. With FileMaker 19, anyone can take advantage of Apple's Core ML to integrate machine learning into their custom applications. Now, quick sentiment analysis, image classification, object detection, face detection, text prediction, and more are available.
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(Image credit: Claris)
Do many of your users end up selling the app, extensions, and templates they create on Claris Marketplace?
Claris Marketplace offers hundreds of apps, extensions, and templates created by Claris Certified Partners and Claris. We also anticipate a rapid growth of our plugin library. While the Marketplace highlights the best deals from Claris experts, the deals themselves are available for free or can be purchased from partner sites.
How can companies use Claris Connect to automate their workflows?
Today, the world is made up of business systems and productivity software. Business takes place between these spaces. Claris Connect, for the first time, allows companies to combine their tools in a personalized way that works best for them. The product provides customers with an intuitive interface to connect applications and automate workflows, eliminating the need to build custom back-end integrations. Key benefits include eliminating the need for custom coding while automatically managing authentication, authorization, monitoring, version control, and error handling. Developers can also create workflows simply by assembling third-party services. Here's an example of workflow automation across four apps: A signed contract is received via DocuSign, then a payment is automatically updated in Salesforce, while the contract is instantly uploaded to Box, and a completion notice is sent the agreement to your team in Slack.
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(Image credit: Claris)
What is the next step for Claris and do you have exciting projects in the works?
The world used to be divided between people who understood problems and people who could solve them. Claris bridges this gap. To that end, we recently released Claris Connect, which helps businesses go from idea to workflow in minutes, and now FileMaker 19, our first open platform release that enables people to use a combination of existing resources across of JavaScript, as well as his own ingenuity. We truly believe in the power of low code to advance digital transformation, and today our R&D investments are at a record level.