Wow—Claris Engage 2025 was unforgettable!

From the moment I arrived, I could feel it: this wasn’t the same Claris I’ve known over the years. It was bolder, faster, and more focused. Under Ryan McCann’s leadership—even just six months in—the company is moving at a pace I haven’t seen before. The energy was electric, and the direction feels purposeful. There’s a real momentum behind Claris now, and it’s incredibly exciting to witness firsthand.

I saw a platform that’s finally operating as one cohesive ecosystem. Claris FileMaker, Claris Studio, and Claris Connect are syncing like never before. The product updates over the last year have been impressive—not just incremental changes, but true innovation. Seamless workflows, powerful AI tools, and a clear strategy for what’s ahead. It’s obvious that a ton of thoughtful work has gone into where this platform is going.

And let’s be real—this is the moment for custom software. That message came through loud and clear, and I couldn’t agree more.

I had the pleasure of attending alongside two of our amazing team members—Beth Murillo, our Managing Director, and Mandi Sutton, our Project Manager and Developer. They’ll be sharing their own thoughts and takeaways in follow-up posts, and trust me, they have great perspectives to share.

Now for one of the most incredible highlights…

During the opening session, they started announcing the Claris Excellence Awards. As they described the Design Excellence category, it started to sound oddly familiar… and then, bam—we won! I was completely blown away. It’s our second time receiving this honor (our first was in 2018), and it means the world to us. Our team pours so much passion and precision into building stunning, intuitive interfaces, all guided by the exceptional creative direction of James Scarpetta. This recognition validates every pixel, every decision, every late-night design tweak. I couldn’t be prouder of the team.

This year’s conference somehow topped last year’s—which I didn’t think was possible. Huge shoutout to Julie Signifrinius for pulling off another incredible event (even in your second—or is it third?—attempt at retirement!). And yes, we finally got to see official Claris merch in the wild. That was a fun surprise.

A major theme this year was AI—and for good reason. It’s here, it’s integrated, and it’s powerful. The sessions went deep into real-world applications, new tools, and practical use cases. One of the standout moments for me was the Fireside Chat with Claris engineers and product managers. They pulled back the curtain and answered so many questions about how everything works under the hood.

But the session that really stuck with me?

Chris Ippolite’s presentation on how he helped 3M’s marketing team save serious money using AI. It was smart, actionable, and just plain inspiring. That’s the kind of insight that makes Claris Engage so special—you leave with your head buzzing, full of new ideas you’re dying to bring back to your team.

Some other standout sessions I attended included:

  • Semantic Search
  • Claris Studio Deep Dive
  • Building the Business Case for AI
  • Soup into Structure

And I have to say—between the sessions, the conversations, and the setting, it was an unforgettable experience. The food was fantastic. The Apple campus? Absolutely iconic. And reconnecting with friends and colleagues? That was the best part. I had so many deep, meaningful conversations that reminded me why I love this community. I really hope we return to a resort setting in future years—there’s something magical about those shared moments outside the conference rooms.

A bittersweet moment was saying farewell to Andrew LeCates. Andrew, you’re a legend in this space. You’ve shaped so much of what makes Claris special, and you’ll be deeply missed.

Also, a huge congratulations to Codence and FullCity on their merger—well done, Adam Aaronson and Danny Mack. Big moves and big things ahead for both of you!

So what’s next for us?

At The Scarpetta Group, we’re diving into R&D around AI—figuring out how to apply it meaningfully for our customers and within our flagship product, Jarvis CRM. There’s a lot of potential, and we’re just getting started.

And of course—we’re raising a glass (or two) to FileMaker Pro’s 40 amazing years. From humble beginnings to a powerful, modern platform—it’s been quite the journey. Here’s to the next 40 years of building, innovating, and creating custom software that makes a difference.

Until next time, Claris Engage. You left us inspired, energized, and ready to build.