FileMaker has announced that they will be discontinuing FileMaker Server Transition (formerly FileMaker Server Advanced) on December 3, 2014, resulting in a price increase. If you have FileMaker Server Transition, it is because you had FileMaker Server Advanced. So you may be asking yourself, “Do I need to renew early so that I can lock in the savings?” There are different actions to take to answer this question and to find out what you need.

To begin with, FileMaker no longer makes Server Advanced as of FileMaker Server 13. The differences in Server’s are solely on the number of FileMaker Go and WebDirect Connections you need (Concurrent Connections). In the past, Server Advanced had extra features like more Instant Web Publishing Users, no sharing limits, and more CWP connections, but this is no longer the case.

Back to the question if you are needing to renew your FileMaker Server Transition, and the answer is simply the number of Concurrent Connections you need for FileMaker Go and WebDirect. FileMaker Server Transition includes 25 Concurrent Connections. If you find yourself not needing that many connections, then there is the next step of determining how many connections you need and what to do to get the correct licensing. If you need 25 Concurrent Connections for FileMaker Go and WebDirect, by all means, renew your licenses by December 3rd to save 50%!

If you are under annual volume licensing, FileMaker last month came out with Decrease connection packs for the server. So, if you find that you only need +5 Concurrent Connections, there is a new SKU that brings you to the correct licensing and save you money by not paying for the extra 20 Connections.

If you are under standard volume licensing, things are a little bit different. For instance, if you are only needing +5 Concurrent Connections you would renew maintenance for FileMaker Server +5 connections and resulting in the correct licensing and saving you money. But, in this circumstance, you would not be receiving a new License Key at point of purchase, but retaining your old key for Server Transition, resulting in +25 connections. This change down to 5 connections would come when the newest version of FileMaker is released, resulting in a new License Key.

Conclusion

Before renewing your FileMaker Server Transition, make sure you know the difference. Knowing the difference could result in saving you money and getting you on the correct licensing. FileMaker today has 371 different licensing SKU’s so there are a lot of different options out there. Feel free to contact us to ensure that you get the best licensing for your situation.