What are the main features and advantages of Claris FileMaker Licensing Perpetual Concurrencies Corporate?
Concurrent Access – Supports shared app usage across active teams.
Custom Workflows – Builds tailored business apps for specific operations.
Cross Platform – Works across desktop, mobile, and web access.
Rapid Development – Speeds app creation with flexible low-code tools.
Scalable Deployment – Adapts to growing teams and database demands.
Workflow Excellence – Supports stable long-term custom app efficiency.
Custom app platform – Build and run relational business apps.
Server hosting – Host shared apps on one server.
WebDirect access – Open apps in a browser, no install.
API access – Data API and OData for integrations.
Core Capacity – Shared pool of simultaneous connections per server.
Important – FileMaker Go is iPhone and iPad only.
Claris FileMaker is a low-code platform for building and hosting custom relational business apps that run on desktop, mobile, and the web. This licensing covers a shared pool of simultaneous connections to one FileMaker Server, sold as a perpetual purchase for business use.
One-time purchase – Own this version without yearly renewal.
Shared connections – Many occasional web users share one pool.
Browser access – WebDirect runs apps without client installs.
API ready – Data API and OData connect external systems.
Cross-platform clients – Works on macOS, Windows, iPhone, iPad.
Business continuity – 2026 adds remote backup and failover.
It licenses a shared pool of simultaneous connections to a single FileMaker Server instead of a seat for each named person. Connections opened through FileMaker WebDirect, FileMaker Go, the FileMaker Data API, and OData all draw from that pool, and FileMaker Server refuses new connections once it is full until one is released. The package includes one FileMaker Server license, compared with three servers under user licensing. This model fits apps where many people connect occasionally rather than all day.
User licensing assigns a named seat to each individual and bundles three FileMaker Server licenses; concurrent licensing instead shares one connection pool and bundles a single server. A FileMaker Pro client used under concurrent licensing counts against the connection limit, while named users on user licensing never consume concurrency. Concurrent connections have historically cost around three times a single user license, so the model only saves money when usage is genuinely occasional. The table below summarizes the practical differences.
| Feature | Concurrent Connections | User Licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Connection model | Shared pool | Named seats |
| FileMaker Servers | 1 | 3 |
| Best for | Web / API | Daily named |
| Anonymous web users | ✓ | ✕ |
| Claris platform add-ons | ✕ | ✓ |
Concurrent licensing is the better fit when most people reach your app through a browser with FileMaker WebDirect or through the Data API, rather than signing in daily with a named account. A public customer portal, a seasonal event check-in screen, or a supplier-facing form are typical cases, because total users are high but simultaneous users stay low. For a team of staff who all use the app every working day, named user licensing is almost always cheaper. Size the pool to your expected peak of concurrent sessions, not your total user count.
There is no native FileMaker client for Android. FileMaker Go, the native mobile app, runs only on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 16.7 or later. Android, Windows tablet, and ChromeOS users open the same hosted app through FileMaker WebDirect in a browser, which reproduces the layout but lacks the offline use, camera, and barcode features of the native iOS app. If field staff carry Android devices, design the app around WebDirect rather than expecting a native client.
FileMaker Server runs scheduled backups of the hosted files on a timetable you define in the Admin Console. FileMaker 2026 (version 26.0.1) adds two server features for resilience: Remote Backup, which copies backups to a separate location, and Standby Server, which keeps a synchronized failover server ready to take over. Used together, they reduce downtime if the primary server hardware fails. For a corporate deployment holding live business records, configuring these before go-live is the difference between a quick restore and lost work.
A perpetual license is a one-time purchase that lets you keep running the version you bought, rather than a subscription that lapses unless it is renewed. Claris offers an optional Maintenance program with perpetual licenses that delivers new releases and updates while it is active; without it, the purchased version keeps working but stops receiving new feature releases. For a stable corporate deployment that does not need the newest features every cycle, this avoids recurring renewal costs. Add Maintenance only if staying current with each release matters to you.
FileMaker Server 2026 is supported on Windows Server 2022 and 2019 (Standard and Datacenter), macOS, and Ubuntu Linux (22.04 and 20.04). Choose the host OS your IT team already maintains, since all three run the same hosted apps and the same concurrent connection pool.
No. Since FileMaker 19 the former Advanced developer tools are built into FileMaker Pro and enabled in its preferences, so there is no separate Advanced product to buy. Developers and standard users install the same FileMaker Pro client.
| Operating Systems | Windows 11: Pro / Enterprise Windows 10: Pro / Enterprise |
| Processor | Intel or AMD processor, 2 GHz or faster. |
| Memory RAM | 2 GB RAM minimum. 4 GB RAM or more recommended. |
| Hard Disk | 6 GB free storage. |
| Display | Standard display compatible with the respective operating system. |
| Special Features | Native FileMaker Pro client. ActiveX Automation Windows only. ODBC data source single sign-on Windows only. JavaScript in web viewers supported. |
| Note | Internet connection required for installation and licensing. Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 are not supported in the current FileMaker Pro 2025 release. |
| Operating Systems | macOS Tahoe 26.0 macOS Sequoia 15.0 macOS Sonoma 14.0 |
| Processor | Intel processor or Apple Silicon processor |
| Memory RAM | 4 GB RAM minimum. 8 GB RAM or more recommended. |
| Hard Disk | 6 GB free storage. |
| Display | Standard display compatible with the respective operating system. |
| Special Features | Native FileMaker Pro client. Apple events and Perform AppleScript macOS only. JavaScript in web viewers supported. |
| Note | Internet connection required for installation and licensing. |
| Operating Systems | Android 7.x or later |
| Processor | 2.1 GHz quad-core processor or greater |
| Memory RAM | Requirements met by any device running the supported OS version. |
| Hard Disk | No native Android app installer size specified. Access is browser-based through WebDirect. |
| Display | Standard display compatible with the respective operating system |
| Special Features | Claris WebDirect access in a supported mobile browser. Mobile keyboard input supported. No native FileMaker Go app for Android. |
| Note | Requires a hosted solution on FileMaker Server or FileMaker Cloud. Android access is through WebDirect, not through a native FileMaker Go application. |
| Operating Systems | iOS 17.0 or later iPadOS 17.0 or later |
| Processor | 2.39 GHz hexa-core 64-bit processor or greater |
| Memory RAM | Requirements met by any device running the supported OS version. |
| Hard Disk | 208.3 MB app size |
| Display | Standard display compatible with the respective operating system |
| Special Features | Claris FileMaker Go universal app for iPhone and iPad. Runs FileMaker custom apps on supported iPhone and iPad devices. Custom app creation and modification require FileMaker Pro. |
| Note | Requires Claris FileMaker Go 2025 from the App Store. Current compatibility includes newer supported iOS and iPadOS releases within the FileMaker 2025 line. |
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