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FileMaker experts, FileMaker enthusiasts

Call us FileMaker experts, or FileMaker enthusiasts; we’ll always go out of our way to provide you a software solution that meets your exact needs.

The core FileMaker crew comprises:

Steven Barer
Peter Cross
Steve Cooper
Doug Hilton
David Wikström

Steven Barer
You might expect the founder and leader of a software company to be a bit of a propeller-head, but that's not what you get with Steven.

"I'm not the whizziest technical guy, my strength is in understanding and resolving problems that businesses face," he says.

Steven describes himself as: "a person who listens, understands business, identifies issues, and manages a team of highly competent specialists who create solutions that work." He assesses the business proposition up front, ensuring members of the team always work on solutions that deliver true value. He thrives on business issues, process and workflow. He's the guy who makes sense of chaos.

Of all his business achievements, Steven is most proud of building a tight, intelligent team – that truly works collaboratively, and oozes of integrity and honesty. "There's no glitz or overstatement here,” he says, “We work closely together with our clients, bringing real value to their business. What you see is what you get."

Peter Cross
Peter's unofficial title is director of development. We're not big on titles at Oak Bay Softrends, but what this means in the trenches is Peter plays the technical supporting role on a host of projects, as well as the lead FileMaker developer on a handful.

Whether spending time with clients, developing solutions, or helping other team members, Peter's got a knack for mulling over complex problems and coming up with tidy solutions that make a positive difference for clients.

"To me, the biggest charge I get from my work is when I can automate a time-consuming task for a client,” he says. “I think computers should be doing the boring work. People have more important stuff to do."

If Peter weren't doing FileMaker development, he'd be a full-time DJ and music re-mixer. Peter could very easily take over a club with his infectious dance mixes and is always looking for the next great tune. Have a staff party coming up or just looking for some killer mixes? Peter's the man!

Steve Cooper
Some of our clients see a lot of Steve. He gets involved early in a project, when the focus is on understanding the business and conducting a needs analysis. He then takes this information and designs and programs the right FileMaker solutions. "I enjoy getting to know how the client's business operates,” he says, “plus having the creativity to come up with a solution that meets their needs.”

Steve spent a long time in project management before becoming a FileMaker developer. “I think this is the ideal career for me,” he says. “I can't think of anything else I'd rather do -- unless someone wants to pay me to ski."

Doug Hilton
Following a 10-year gig consulting large corporations like BC Hydro and Motorola, Doug craved a lifestyle change and joined Oak Bay. He now enjoys the intimacy and camaraderie of a small team, and the chance to have close personal contact with small business clients.

For Doug, change is good. So good that he does it for fun -- in his own improv theatre troupe! "Software development means you have to plan, anticipate, be thorough and meticulous,” he says. “In improv theatre, you don't know what will happen. You have to learn to trust your own deep intuition, and you have to trust other people. Learning to be playful, flexible and interacting outside your normal persona is liberating!"

David Wikström
“FileMaker is a very personal thing -- every developer has his accent,” says David. Of course, David knows accents -- he was born in southern Sweden, and comes to Vancouver by way of Paris, France.

“I’m a very curious person,” he says. “I could live anywhere.” But it’s good news for Oak Bay that he moved to Vancouver, BC, in 2008, and discovered that our FileMaker consulting business was a hand-in-glove fit for his experience and philosophy.

David has the résumé of a classic FileMaker developer: he started out dabbling, improving a local FileMaker project while working on a Ph.D. in 1996, and has honed and broadened his skills ever since. He’s now a firm believer in best practices, and always ensures his data is well structured and his entities well defined.

When developing FileMaker solutions, our beloved Swede relentlessly strives to anticipate clients’ problems and future growth. He explains: “You have to leave possibilities open for the future, and ensure the software can continually embrace the inevitable changes.”

If you’d like to discuss your FileMaker questions, contact us.

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