Customer stories


Waves In Motion

Wizards and Dragons Save Educators Time and Money

Today's schools need solutions, not just tools, to solve their information management problems. And the Arizona-based development firm of Waves In Motion provides those solutions with potent, versatile products built on the solid foundation of FileMaker Pro -- the award-winning database software application from FileMaker, Inc.

Waves In Motion got its start in Canada where founder Vincenzo Menanno honed his interest in designing innovative FileMaker Pro applications while working such projects as a system for generating online report cards for the Ontario Ministry of Education. This in turn inspired the creation of a new business.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to build plugins for FileMaker Pro and started the product division of Waves In Motion," Vincenzo explains. "I eventually relocated to Phoenix where I partnered with Marcus Silving, who was then running a FileMaker-oriented consulting and developing firm under the name of WorqSmart. With the merger of our two companies as oAzium LLC, under the Waves In Motion brand name, we now offer a full range of consulting services and product development."

But the firm hasn't forgotten its roots, continuing to build useful, time-and-money-saving applications for use in education. One of its most popular products for teachers is CourseWizard, a solution using FileMaker Pro's data-management power to streamline the process of keeping abreast of required professional development courses and staff development programs. "CourseWizard helps teachers stay current with their professional development, allowing them to research courses, keep track of schedules and course announcements, and manage the registration process," Vincenzo explains. "Keeping up with professional development is going to be even more important in the years to come, in view of requirements specified in the federal government's ‘No Child Left Behind' program -- and CourseWizard helps keep teachers up to date."

Another education-oriented product from Waves In Motion allows administrators of schools and colleges to keep up to speed on student and staff opinions. "Dragon Web Surveys allows anyone to use FileMaker Pro to build, manage, and analyze web-based surveys," notes Vincenzo. "No web programming skills are needed. Just install the application and you're ready to go, ready to build your first survey. And its built-in standard web server even simplifies hosting. The product is very popular with colleges. Any sort of survey or questionnaire is easy to create, easy to manage, easy to tabulate, easy to interpret."

Small wonder, then, that Waves In Motion products are widely used in academia. You'll find them at such prominent schools as Dartmouth College, Wayne State University, and the University of Oregon. The products also have a following in industry, with satisfied users including such Fortune 500 companies as Apple Computer and Adobe Systems.

And why does Waves In Motion build its applications around FileMaker Pro? "It's the flexibility and rapid development capabilities that make FileMaker Pro so important for us," Vincenzo enthuses. "We've looked at using more complex applications and systems like Java, but FileMaker Pro lets us put our ideas into reality a lot quicker. The flexibility is unparalleled and so is the rapidity of application development."

The results aren't just a boon to colleges and schools, they have a long-term impact that goes beyond the world of information technology. "I think the biggest benefit we give our clients is that our products don't just try to solve problems, they try to make things better," Vincenzo observes. "CourseWizard helps teachers keep up with their professional training, ensuring a better learning experience for students. Dragon Web Surveys helps schools keep in close touch with how people are thinking, what students and teachers need. Helping people like that -- that's what really drives us."



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:

Vincenzo Menanno
President
Azium LLC/Waves In Motion
602-956-7080
vince@wmotion.com


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Building applications that solve problems for schools and colleges. Building solutions that make things better. That's the mission at Waves In Motion, where FileMaker Pro is the foundation for a full range of innovative products.
Industry
  • Higher Education
  • K-12 Education
  • Small Business