MaJic and W&D

Some years ago I decided that I wanted to learn to use database software. This was a recreational interest rather than job related. My day to day job activities are managerial and not software related The interest was therefore purely ‘hobby’ curiosity with an IT slant.

In order to ‘play’ with the software I decided to try to solve work place related frustrations where the Company still relied on book based record keeping.

Having investigated numerous database packages I found that only one suited my level of ability at programming and this was FileMaker. This package appeared to allow me to create quite simple but functional databases in very little time. One by one these became adopted as standalone FileMaker solutions throughout the Company. These stored serial number tracking, fault recording, documentation logging etc.

While I could readily create new standalone FileMaker solutions, I found a new frustration in that much of the data inter-related and it was also crying out for a wider audience to have access.

In the course of my thirst for knowledge I came across MaJic Solutions on a FileMaker user forum.

Harry and Mike from MaJic visited, looked at my creations, assessed our business needs and proposed a development road map that would provide a flexible integrated solution for W&D needs into the future.

The current implementation takes an overnight import of data from our accounts / manufacturing software suite and presents this data in a more user friendly and accessible form to a wider audience within the Company. The imported data is integrated with other primary data entry modules within the FileMaker solution. This mix of data fills the gaps that the corporate package fails to cover and saves on expensive licencing costs.

Mike has been our main developer contact from MaJic and has patiently got to grips with what we do and how we do it. He has successfully taken my early raw efforts and integrated them into the overall solution. While these are now unrecognisable in their presentation, the invaluable data accumulated in them over the years is now a powerful source of knowledge for the Company’s decision making process.

Mike seems to have got ‘under the skin’ of W&D and his views ‘from the outside’ have often given us a fresh slant on the ways we do things and how we might do things better.

In the early days Mike and myself were the lone champions of what we were trying to do but fairly quickly we found the more visionary users realised the potential in what we had created.

Today the Company is 100% committed to MaJic and any interruption to its access is met with universal moans and frustrations. The users are also now the driving force in expanding and adding to its capabilities. It has therefore ‘arrived’.

None of this would be possible without the excellent support, invaluable advice and resolute commitment from Mike and his MaJic team.

Alan Wood

Managing Director

Wood & Douglas Ltd