More than 30 years ago, Vincenzo Menanno started using Claris FileMaker to manage his door chime business. And that experience was the beginning of a lifelong career as a FileMaker developer and a longtime pillar of our developer community.
Earlier this year, Vincenzo was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the 2023 Claris Excellence Awards. This achievement is a celebration of his contributions as a technical innovator, developer advocate, and Claris Community leader.
Vincenzo, the chief innovation officer at Beezwax, has been a vital resource for Claris product management teams and other Claris developers. By actively participating in product testing, organizing technical collaboration, and gathering feedback in the Claris Community, he helps everyone become better.
Over the course of his career, Vincenzo has racked up more accomplishments than we could list here. But one thing hasn’t changed in all that time — his passion for sharing ideas and helping others improve their understanding of Claris technology.
We recently spoke with Vincenzo to learn a little more about his experiences with FileMaker and the developer community.
Congratulations on your well-deserved award! What does winning the Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?
Vincenzo: Being recognized by Claris and the community is a great honor. I’m really grateful for this award.
It’s been a long journey for me because I’ve been involved in the FileMaker platform for many, many years. In the early days, I found FileMaker quite approachable and applicable to my own business. From there, training and consulting opportunities came up, which led to my transition into a full-time developer. For someone who doesn’t have a formal computer science degree, I’ve built a satisfying and rewarding career by creating custom software.
What changes have you seen within Claris over the years?
Vincenzo: Of course, there have been countless product enhancements over the years. However, one thing I appreciate is Claris has been listening more and more to the developer community the past few years. Sometimes, the Claris team decides to take a different course with product enhancements to adapt to the developer feedback they’re getting.
It’s great to see that Claris is approachable and that developers can have an effect on the actual end product. That, to me, is amazing, and to have an influence on the end product is also incredible.
FileMaker has this balance where it can be very powerful to use, but the Claris engineers find a way to simplify capabilities so developers don’t have to be burdened with the complexity. It helps developers stay high-level so they can build some powerful functionality without needing to get too down in the weeds.
What motivates you to help other developers in the Claris Community?
Vincenzo: I cherish the developer community because it’s the resource that brings me my inspiration.
The Claris Community is a great place where sometimes your points of view are challenged and you think, “Oh. Okay. Well, maybe I should try this in a different approach, or maybe I should learn something different.”
Working with other developers from around the world keeps my fire going, and I find inspiration from my peers who suggest creative ways to use something new.
This developer community includes an exceptional bunch of people who are always willing to share ideas and help each other. It’s just very humbling and an honor to be around individuals who are very thoughtful and caring in what they share or say.
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