Macy’s Parade Ditches MS Access for FileMaker Pro

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Macyis Parade & Entertainment Group, the arm that manages the retaileris annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, has given up on Microsoft Access and is moving its databases to FileMaker Pro 9. The company plans to use its new databases to manage every aspect of the popular parade from organizing volunteers to keeping floats and balloons on schedule.

According to Robin Hall, Macyis Parade & Entertainment Group senior vice president, Microsoftis database offerings were too complex and often required days to extract important information in a usable form. For many tasks, the parade organizers found it was easier to export data into Excel spreadsheets instead.

"With our new FileMaker database system, time-consuming tasks such as assigning volunteers parade responsibilities have been reduced from about 10 days to just one or two days, and more important, we can better meet the needs and specifications of each individual, group and staff member," Mr. Hall said.

The group plans to expand its reliance on FileMaker pro with Web-based content that includes online volunteer registration.

Macyis move to FileMaker Pro shows that big companies are starting to rethink their "always Microsoft" choices from the past and are more willing to consider software options that may better suit their needs.

Jeff Gamet

Jeff Gamet

Jeff is the Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of "The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X" from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also co-hosts the We Have Communicators podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other podcasts, too. Jeff dreams in HD.

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