About Mark Richman

Mark Richman is a FileMaker Certified Developer at Skeleton Key in St. Louis, MO.

Entries by Mark Richman

Custom Application Development Costs: Pricing the Right Problem

Whenever we begin a conversation with a business owner about developing custom applications, the question of cost is often raised—as in, “This sounds nice, but what is this going to cost me?” These business owners are presumably looking for a ballpark price. They want to know if the custom system we envision is even within […]

Why We Created Gloss for PDF Viewing, Search and Annotation in FileMaker

Here’s an obvious statement: PDFs are indispensable for modern work. Think of what gets stored this way: plans, manuscripts, legal documents, contracts, invoices…the list goes on. Some industries and fields generate a high volume of PDFs, and the more PDFs an organization has, the harder it is to organize those PDFs in a meaningful way. […]

Do You Love Your ERP?

When most people think about custom-built software for business, they think of a single application with a single purpose, like a CRM or an email client. We can understand why most businesses would not look for custom software solutions for such applications—why spend that money when there are so many options from which to choose […]

Mac, PC, Web or Mobile…Are Cross-platform Solutions the Answer?

Why Businesses Need Cross-platform Solutions If there is a hallmark of the progress technology has made in the past few decades, it’s the abundance of devices found in the average workplace. Not only does every office and cubicle have a computer, but they are all connected to each other, and to the cloud. Teams in […]

Higher Engagement and Better Security for Leading EAP Provider: Personal Assistance Services

For years, Skeleton Key has worked closely with Personal Assistance Services (PAS), a highly regarded employee assistance program (EAP) provider with national and even international reach. This client provides turnkey mental health and wellness solutions for companies throughout the country and the region. EAPs like PAS provide “bridge programs” not covered by most common insurance […]

What FileMaker Can Offer Your Organization

There are plenty of tools out there that help make a business more productive. But few applications can truly be “one size fits all” solutions, and many businesses end up having to resort to workarounds and manual processes to make their software solutions work together—or work at all. Sometimes, when the need is unique, businesses […]

Should You Rebuild or Remodel Your Database?

How is improving your database like remodeling your home? Imagine you’re standing in a kitchen. The appliances are all 15 years out of date, the countertops are in need of some love and the cabinetry is from a different century altogether. In that situation, remodeling the kitchen would be the way to go—not only to […]

What is Rapid Application Development, and Is It Right for My Business?

At Skeleton Key, we often use an approach called Rapid Application Development (Rap App Dev, or RAD). It’s a simple concept, but the process requires some getting used to. Those who are open to RAD, however, can reap the benefits of having a more innovative and ultimately more useful application. What is Rapid Application Development? […]

How Skeleton Key Helped a Medical Center Streamline and Expand Its Research

The Spokane Joint Replacement Center (hereafter “the center”) is an orthopedic surgical center specializing in hip and knee replacements. One of the things that makes this place unique is its frequent involvement in joint replacement research; David F. Scott, MD, who leads the center, feels that physician-driven research is indispensable in finding new and better […]