Looking Ahead: Tools, Systems, and Intentional Growth in the Year Ahead
As we close out the year, these 2025 reflections and 2026 goals capture what our team learned, built, and plans to carry forward. From technical advancements to business systems and professional growth, these reflections share a common theme: small, intentional improvements compound into meaningful progress. We hope these perspectives spark ideas you can carry into the year ahead.
James
As part of my year-end review, I’ve been reflecting on some of the newer tools I’ve adopted this year—especially the FileMaker 2025 features like GetRecordIDsFromFoundSet and Go to List of Records. I’ve already put these to use in a Marketing Groups example from my sample file in the blog post Claris FileMaker Pro 2025 – GetRecordIDsFromFoundSet / Go to List of Records, where they simplified record handling and navigation without relying on extra relationships and fields, resulting in cleaner and more maintainable scripts.
I’ve also started using OData in place of the FileMaker Data API for certain use cases, which has significantly simplified how data is queried and created. If you’re looking to streamline your own solutions in the coming year, consider incorporating these tools into your workflows—they’ve made a noticeable difference in how efficiently I build and maintain FileMaker solutions.
Beth
One of my biggest highlights this year was our decision to fully commit to EOS® (Traction by Gino Wickman) at The Scarpetta Group. After more than two decades of growing a successful software development company, EOS gave us something we didn’t realize we were missing: shared language, clearer accountability, and a more disciplined way to run the business. The changes haven’t always been easy, but they’ve been meaningful—and the impact on focus, alignment, and decision-making has been undeniable.
We documented our experience in a six-part blog series on our website for anyone curious about what the journey really looks like. More importantly, I’d strongly encourage any small business owner not already using Traction to consider making it a goal in the year ahead. Whether you adopt EOS on your own or with an implementer, it’s a powerful framework for building a healthier, more scalable business. And while The Scarpetta Group’s core focus remains software development, I’m always happy to share lessons learned or act as a sounding board for teams navigating EOS along the way.
Mandi
This year, I intentionally made space to step away from my everyday work and invest time in professional learning and community-based events. I attended several conferences—Claris Engage, Build.Grow.Learn, and Elevate FM—where many sessions focused on building better systems, not just better features. I was reminded that small improvements in structure can create a large impact over time, and that understanding how tools, processes, and people interact is essential to building systems that truly meet user needs.
As we move into the year ahead, I encourage you to join me in being more intentional about learning and reflection. Challenge how you think about your work, make practical improvements in day-to-day tasks, and focus on strengthening not just technical skills but also strategic thinking. Taking time to step back, learn from others, and apply small, practical changes can make a meaningful difference.
Check out Elevate FM
Check out Engage
Check out BGL
Paul
A Smarter Year: Claris FileMaker Pro 2025 in Review
Claris FileMaker Pro 2025 introduces powerful new AI tools that make apps smarter and easier to use. With natural language features, users can ask questions in plain English, and FileMaker turns them into searches or database queries automatically. The release also adds AI responses inside apps, smarter search based on meaning rather than keywords, and tools that extract text from PDF files. Together, these features help users find answers faster without writing complex code, while still keeping sensitive data secure.
As you plan for the year ahead, consider exploring how these AI-driven capabilities can improve how your users interact with data. Even small experiments with these tools can lead to smarter apps and more intuitive solutions over time.
Janella
My don’t-miss feature of 2025 is Claris’s AI Fundamentals training and the practical AI capabilities now available inside FileMaker. Like past shifts in technology, AI expands what’s possible and quickly becomes something we adapt to. Features like automatically extracting text from PDFs and running LLM models to categorize and interpret data already provide immense value as a first pass—even knowing the technology isn’t perfect.
While AI may change or eliminate some existing tasks, it also opens the door to entirely new workflows, refinements, and problem-solving approaches. As you look toward the year ahead, I encourage you to explore these tools thoughtfully—using AI to augment your work while continuing to lean on FileMaker’s flexibility for handling edge cases and custom logic.
Taken together, these reflections point to a shared mindset for the year ahead: stay curious, invest in systems that scale, and embrace tools that simplify and strengthen how we work. Whether your focus is technical innovation, business operations, or professional growth, even small, intentional steps can create lasting impact. We hope these insights inspire you to set meaningful goals and carry them forward into a productive and thoughtful year ahead.
