FileMaker Reportedly Lays Off 20 Employees Following Announcement of Bento Discontinuation

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, Apple subsidiary FileMaker Inc. announced that it was discontinuing its consumer-friendly Bento database software to focus on its flagship FileMaker line. Now, AppleInsider is claiming that the company has laid off 20 employees and is undergoing the process of restructuring, according to sources from within the company.

Sources say Thursday's rumored job cuts are associated to Bento's demise, adding California-based external representatives, sales engineers, and technical support staff were let go. The layoffs may extend further, however, as at least one person responsible for sales of the flagship FileMaker software is said to no longer be with the company.

The latest version of the company's flagship software, FileMaker Pro 12, was released in April 2012. The latest version of the company's Bento software however, was released more than two years ago, with an iPad version appearing in June 2012. FileMaker will stop offering Bento in both the Mac and iPhone/iPad App Stores as of September 30 of this year, although it will continue to support the apps until the end of July 2014, according to a post on FileMaker's technical support page.

FileMaker Pro 12 is currently priced at $299 for new users and $179 for upgrade users. An advanced version of the software, FileMaker Pro 12 Advanced, is $499 and $299 respectively. Both versions of the software are available for purchase on the company's website.

Article Link: FileMaker Reportedly Lays Off 20 Employees Following Announcement of Bento Discontinuation

 

[CReimer]

Bento is priced right but has limited features. Filemaker Pro is too expensive but has powerful features. Is there a database program that falls in the middle here?

 

[iDuel]

Although I really had no use for Bento, I hope each employee is able to find a new job somewhere else.

 

[MRU]

Sad news... Bento was great, but the difference in cost to jump upto FileMaker is just not worth the difference for those users who were fine with Bento's feature set - which now leaves them somewhat in a limbo.

If Apple had any gumption they would have taken Bento out of the FileMaker portfolio and actually 'added' it to its iWork suite of apps as the missing database application....

 

[Plutonius]

If Apple had any gumption they would have taken Bento out of the FileMaker portfolio and actually 'added' it to its iWork suite of apps as the missing database application....

They still may.

 

[MRU]

They still may.

Sadly since we havent had any meaningful update since 09 (excluding the . updates) and since iWork in the cloud is essentially the same again - there is little evidence to indicate a real 'new' version of iWork is going to be available anytime soon or even in the future....

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Pro Advanced?

Are they trying to rival Microsoft's ability to create confusing product names?

Also, is a sales engineer actually an engineer, or is someone misusing the word?

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Sadly since we havent had any meaningful update since 09 (excluding the . updates) and since iWork in the cloud is essentially the same again - there is little evidence to indicate a real 'new' version of iWork is going to be available anytime soon or even in the future....

During WWDC Keynote they said this fall

 

[MRU]

During WWDC Keynote they said this fall

I thought that was more for the full proper release of iWork in the cloud, not an actual new iWork ?

 

[SILen(e]

They still may.

Yup!

We have a statement that they will release new versions of iWork for Mac and iOS in addition to iWork for iCloud in the Fall - and Bento is no more.

That either means - well, Bento is no more - or that Bento will become part of the iWork suite.

 

[bushido]

Way too expensive, my limit of software prices is 2,99 but i guess this is targeted at companies?

 

[Bonte]

Way too expensive, my limit of software prices is 2,99 but i guess this is targeted at companies?

The advanced version of FMP is used to create standalone database-apps for Mac and PC, its more a developer platform than anything else.

 

[j13funk]

Can anyone recommend a comparable product if it doesn't end up being part of iWork?

 

[phalseHUD]

Can anyone recommend a comparable product

You should have ended your question there! I bet there are a number of people who'll take the next part too literally:

if it doesn't end up being part of iWork?

Meaning you might never find out!
I purchased Bento on the iPad and regretted it almost immediately. I couldn't export my data so I didn't bother creating anything... I should have asked for a refund but didn't.

Anyway, I'd like to echo some of the other posts. Anyone know of a comparable product? Now!?



Cheers folks!

 

[SimonTheSoundMa]

Bento as I'm aware is quite well used. Perhaps just my circle of friends.

Some have Filemaker, but that's only if they have larger businesses.

Another death in Apple's ecosystem. Pro's moving to Windows in their droves. Video editors already dumping their Mac Pro machines for Windows workstations leaving FCP for Premier, audio going the same direction with lack of newer Mac Pro machines, photography just hanging on but lack of CUDA support with Apple only offering AMD may kill them off.

Never looks right when you walk in to a creative business, you see lots of Apple desktops then you look at the admin department and they're all on crappy looking Dell desktops.

 

[mrmac007]

We live In hope

Only time will tell,since I switched to macs in 2007 time and time again over the last few years apple have fallen short and thrown the baby out with the bath water. I've hoped apple would accommodate the small business user since . Mac and migrated to Mobile me they got rid of .Mac groups which I used a lot, then they did away with iWeb and Moileme and hosting making me have to use another web designer again and web hosting site. Now my beloved data base program is under attack. I'm seriously thinking about switching to Windows. Apple love to cut things and leave people high and dry with no options. Being self employed Apple was a god send but over the last few years. Things have got difficult to cope with. With all these changes.

 

[mw360]

Way too expensive, my limit of software prices is 2,99 but i guess this is targeted at companies?

Yes, companies or grown-ups.

 

[MRU]

Way too expensive, my limit of software prices is 2,99 but i guess this is targeted at companies?

Your limit is 2.99 ?

I paid more for ZX81 cassettes !!!

----------

Yes, companies or grown-ups.

Or folks who haven't superglued their wallets shut

 

[ValSalva]

I thought that was more for the full proper release of iWork in the cloud, not an actual new iWork ?

It was my understanding that iWork is due for a proper update from what was said in the keynote. But since iWork has been abandoned for so long it may be that all Apple sees fit to mainly only change it its iCould integration.

 

[pubwvj]

When companies drop software like this they destroy user access to their own user data. It should be illegal for a large company to do this and keep existing. Even in bankruptcy should not allow this. Continued support for the product is a liability that the company should be required to keep up with just like warranties and tax debt. If the company goes out of business then money from the sale of the company assets should be set aside to continue maintenance and the software/hardware should go into the public domain. The same holds for operating systems. Apple should not have been allowed to abandon MacOS Classic, PPC support, 68K support, etc. They can easily emulate all that - as they have proven - and they are so huge they should maintain those so that users can continue to access their data. Life lasts more than just five years. We need a Data Life Guarantee Law since companies are not willing to do this themselves.

 

[nealibob]

Pro Advanced?

Are they trying to rival Microsoft's ability to create confusing product names?

Also, is a sales engineer actually an engineer, or is someone misusing the word?

The name is dumb, but they've been using it for a long time, so at least it's consistent.

I agree that "sales engineer" is a suspect title. It sounds to me like your job is to engineer sales, i.e. lie in a technical way. However, my experience with the sales engineers at FileMaker has been excellent: competent and helpful folks.

 

[smithrh]

I agree that "sales engineer" is a suspect title. It sounds to me like your job is to engineer sales, i.e. lie in a technical way. However, my experience with the sales engineers at FileMaker has been excellent: competent and helpful folks.

Sales Engineer is a very common title throughout the entire software industry; it has nothing to do with Apple specifically.

In B2B software sales, the sales rep is responsible for (surprisingly enough) getting the sale. This means they're the main point of contact, getting the prospect the information they need, working on the sales contract and terms, working out a price and in general looking to understand what the customer truly needs on a business level, and so on. They're there to get the sale.

However, they're not expected to be technical. Sure, they may know the product fairly well at a high level, but not the details or specifics.

This is where the Sales Engineer comes in. They may not know the business specifics of the deal, but they understand the technical aspects extremely well. Typically, they demo the product for the customer and handle the technical questions about the product, and also understand the technical environment the product may be placed into. In addition, the Sales Engineer also takes feedback from demos and installations back to development for possible product fixes and enhancements.

Again, Sales Engineer is a well-known term in B2B software sales and has nothing to do with Apple; it's not a sketchy title in any way, nor does it imply that someone is trying to "engineer" the sale. If the product/customer is/are technical enough, yes, they'll also be engineers, but probably not for less technical products and situations.

 

[solamar]

Bento is priced right but has limited features. Filemaker Pro is too expensive but has powerful features. Is there a database program that falls in the middle here?

Since it's Apple, I'm betting they take the high end version and do to it what they did with Final Cut Pro and drop the price dramatically.. I wouldn't be surprised if it WAS added to iWorks..

They tend to provide software cheep .. this is one of the applications that stands out and we might be in for an alignment with the rest of their software.

 

[Casiotone]

This is sad news, but for those who might be worried, Filemaker Pro (the product) is doing quite well. And unlike Bento, FMP exist for Windows. (BTW I'm not trying to justify Bento's discontinuation by saying that).

Sure it's not as used as MS Access, but it has quite a large following. Filemaker Go on iOS makes it a very powerful and easy to use tool to create custom business apps for the iPhone and iPad. As far as I know there's nothing even remotely close on Android or Win RT, and may account in part to the iPad large acceptance in the business world.

For those who'd like to see HyperCard on the iPad, Filemaker is similar in many ways.

 

[iHateMacs]

When companies drop software like this they destroy user access to their own user data. It should be illegal for a large company to do this and keep existing. Even in bankruptcy should not allow this. Continued support for the product is a liability that the company should be required to keep up with just like warranties and tax debt. If the company goes out of business then money from the sale of the company assets should be set aside to continue maintenance and the software/hardware should go into the public domain. The same holds for operating systems. Apple should not have been allowed to abandon MacOS Classic, PPC support, 68K support, etc. They can easily emulate all that - as they have proven - and they are so huge they should maintain those so that users can continue to access their data. Life lasts more than just five years. We need a Data Life Guarantee Law since companies are not willing to do this themselves.

So if Charles Babbage ever sold one of his difference Engines, then you'd expect it to be posthumously supported still?

I don't get your point.

Once Bento is stopped being produced, the hardware and software that customers are currently using to create/access their data will not cease working.

If people upgrade their hardware and it stops them from using the Bento they paid for, who's fault is that?