FileMaker would allow the database to reside on my website so I could use one database for all the territories of Elite Leads and be able to analyze each person’s progress.
Then I was informed that I needed to convert to Microsoft Access because I anticipate that within five years my database will exceed 100,000. The consultant I was working with said that for the type of in depth application I was working with, I needed to work with Access or Oracle. The only reason I choose Access is because it is more widely used than others and I assumed because of that, it will be upgraded and be around longer.
One of the reasons FileMaker and Access are preferred is that their structure allows you to add fields at will. You’re not stuck with the first version you create or what an engineer thought you should be satisfied with.
If you anticipate having more than a million records in your database, you might want to move to MySQL, Oracle and CRS packages. Larger companies that have Management Information Services (M.I.S.) departments use these systems. If you don’t have the luxury of working with a regular database consultant, a prepackaged database will be easier to develop for your needs.