If the format is not FM19 and exported in a manner that includes all relational elements, links, lookups, option lists, etc – it will not be easy to re-instantiate in FileMaker Pro in a timely fashion.
Given that your current Airtable solution likely uses formula fields, linked fields, lookup fields, views with grouping, filters and sorts - all of these configuration aspects will be lost in the event of a catastrophic failure. And this list doesn’t even include Airtable automations or glue-factory processes like you may be using from Zapier or Integromat.
I suspect that your definition of “minimal downtime” probably doesn’t include weeks or months to recover. This event - should it ever occur - would be devastating to most businesses.
These are the risks that accompany a platform that tends to fragment your business logic spreading it around a very shallow gene pool. I wrote about this challenge in “Airtable Backup & Recovery Strategies: Simply, a Nightmare”.
Sorry for a relatively downbeat Saturday rant, but there’s nothing positive I can say about this topic unless the backup process reflects the true footprint of a solution.
I was asking specifically about the FM19 export format to see if you had considered all of these backup and recovery nuances. FileMaker Pro can, of course, do everything Airtable does, but transforming an Airtable solution into a FileMaker solution is a very big lift.
One last comment. I built a custom backup/recovery system for an Airtable client in Europe but I would never do it again. It is difficult, costly, prone to errors, and unlikely to ever meet the true requirements. This is why – in my view – you might want to consider Pro Backup; it will get you as close as possible in a financially practical manner.
