BACKGROUND
Please describe your organization and the role that you play there.
CampSoftware is an independent software development company. We offer our services to people who need software developed. Our customers could be a small mom-and-pop store or plastic surgeon – anyone who needs to manipulate data or needs an app.
What was your role in the app development process?
I'm the owner. We have a team of three other developers besides myself. We also have my wife, who owns the business side of the database.
Give a brief overview of how you use Xojo at your company.
The first thing we do is write apps. Xojo had some prior names and I've been using it since the beginning – since 1998. In time, I built several solutions – my first big one was for my employer. My employer offered CD-ROM training, and they needed an interface for the CDs. So, Xojo was just perfect for that. I was able to create a Mac app and a Windows app, which ran all the training materials. It played movies and checklists of what was completed. Most recently, we have built an app on iOS, which is can be found on the Apple Store. The app is a FileMaker reference tool, which happens to be another development tool that we've built small business databases with. Everything else we have built has been external solutions for customers of ours.
OPPORTUNITY/CHALLENGE
What app platforms do you use this development platform to develop apps for, such as iOS or Android? Are these hybrid, native, or Web apps?
Xojo is perfect for creating real apps that run on Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, and iOS.
SOLUTION
Did your company have a formal selection process for deciding on a mobile app development platform? Was your company considering other platforms? Why this platform?
I also use FileMaker. I use both tools in parallel. We deliver solutions to customers that we use FileMaker for and we have customers that we use Xojo. We're in the process right now of transitioning some of our products from FileMaker to Xojo due to some changes at FileMaker. I've also looked into LiveCode, which is another environment to build apps. But, I always tend to keep coming back to Xojo because the interface is good and there's an expectation of how everything works. I know I can go in there and things are going to work.
What pricing does your company utilize?
It was less than $10,000 per year. That would be with licensing and a conference once a year.
FEATURES
Were there any software features or tools that really impressed you or of which potential buyers should be aware?
There's some pluses and minuses with any language or tool. The Xojo team really thinks things out. I'll have a question in my head about why is this wrong? Once we communicate, they have a perfectly reasonable explanation that makes complete sense. It's rare when I have a problem, but they think things through very well. Things happen in time. All in all, everything they do seems to make sense. They have reasons for it. It's very well thought out. I wish things would go faster, but they don't have a super large team. But, what they do with their team is amazing.
Looking back were there any areas of the software that you feel are not intuitive or upon which you feel could be improved?
There's a couple things that I would like to see. Right now, when we build applications, you have to choose what you're building for. If I'm building for a Macintosh, I have to build it as a desktop app. If I'm going to build it for a Web app, I have to build it as a Web app. If I want it for an iPhone, I have to build an iOS app. I would really like to see all those brought together so that I could easily build all three. I understand it wouldn't be that easy but right now, I feel that with separate project types, it's a little trickier to develop on multiple platforms at one time. But, I actually asked them about that. This is one of the great things about them. They had a good answer for it. I didn't get the details of it, but there was a good answer for it.
Have you found it necessary to consult any of the company's available support resources? Was the support useful and accessible?
Xojo's team is amazing. They have one major way of communicating with their staff and other developers at that same time. It's their forums. I've communicated directly with many of their team members and they usually get back to you really quick. At the conference, it's even better because we have a way to talk to them in person. One of their engineers sat down with me. We had about 30 minutes between events that we had to do and he spent two-thirds of that time with me going over something I needed. I was appreciative. They're very outgoing.
OVERVIEW
We have a few quick questions and, for each question, we ask you to rate the software on a scale of one to five, with five being the top score. What would you give the software for ease of use and implementation?
Four. Some things could be easier, but things are generally easy.
What would you give the software for desired functionality of the features available?
Five. They do a great job.
For support as in responsiveness and resources available?
Five. They're amazing. I could open a window now and chat something and probably get an answer within 30 minutes.
For overall usability and satisfaction with the platform?
Five.
How likely are you to recommend the software to a colleague or similar business?
Five. I recommend it all the time. I'm starting a blog series tomorrow on how people that use FileMaker can start using Xojo.