Is Microsoft Access being phased out?

Is Microsoft Access still available?

Yes! MS Access is still included in all business plans with Office 365. Access is a proven product that has been around for over 25 years and is the most widely used desktop, team and small/medium sized business database product.

Microsoft also released a new retail/perpetual licence version late in 2021 that is fully supported until late 2026.

Thousands of users and businesses continue to rely on Microsoft Access for their day-to-day operation.

Are Microsoft adding new features to Access?

Microsoft regularly add new features to Access that Office 365 users get automatically, and there is a development schedule to add more features in the future.

Is Microsoft Access Free?

To develop or change the design of an Access database you need a licensed version which is paid for. You can either buy a perpetual license version or have it as part of a monthly Office 365 plan.

To run an Access database that has already been designed and developed you can use the free Microsoft Access runtime. This is a free version of Access that lets users run a database but not make changes to the design of the database. This can be deployed to as many users as you wish at zero cost.

What can I do with a Microsoft Access database?

You can do all sorts of things with a MS Access database. In particular it is very good at replacing cumbersome spreadsheets and bits of paper. Some examples include:

• Cloud/Internet solutions with MS Azure
• Customer and contact management systems
• Applications and databases for commercial resale
• Diary and scheduling systems
• Document automation and generation
• Integration with other systems
• Management and customer reporting
• Order, invoice and purchase order management
• People and process management systems
• Project management and tracking
• Sales, prospect and pipeline management
• Working from home with Microsoft Access

What about mobile, phone and table applications with MS Access?

Access is not suitable for building mobile or tablet applications. However, if you use SQL Server as the back-end of your Access solution, you can use Access for your core office functionality and then develop a mobile or tablet application for specific tasks or groups of users.

For example one of our clients has an Access front-end for producing quotes and logging jobs but then has a dedicated mobile app for site engineers to record details of jobs which are fed back into the main database to job progress can be monitored and documents can get set out to customers quickly.

What type of business use Microsoft Access?

Microsoft Access ranks in the top 10 of database management systems worldwide, but among SMEs it is by far the most popular product.

SMEs will often use to it to run a large chunk of their operation (e.g. quoting, ordering, job/production management, CRM, invoicing, reporting, deliveries). Larger companies will often use it at the team/workgroup level to help streamline a particular set of tasks or a report process. They may also it to extract data from their ERP system and process it locally as doing this in Access is often much quicker and cheaper than getting their ERP support team to build something into the ERP system.

What are the limitations of a Microsoft Access database?

There are some physical limitations of a standard Access database file, but combining Access with a SQL Server back-end generally alleviates these concerns. There are limits to users and security – again alleviated with SQL Server but there is still a place for standard Microsoft Access database solutions.

There are some limitations in terms of how you can design screens but these are not generally a problem for day-to-day business applications. The main limitations are

1. You cannot run it on MAC
2. It’s not suited to browser based application
3. You cannot run it on an Android or iPhone phone/tablet

To alleviate (a) you can use Parallels on a MAC to run Windows and then you can run Access.

To alleviate (b) we would normally suggest migrating the data to SQL Server, use your Access front-end as needed and then develop a specific web application, using different tools.

To alleviate (c) we would normally suggest migrating the data to SQL Server, use your Access front-end as needed and then develop a specific mobile/tablet application using different tools.

Why use Microsoft Access in 2022?

1. Development with MS Access is generally much quicker and therefore cost effective compared with other development tools/environments.
2. A proven product with a pedigree of 25+ years helping business run more efficiently and a development plan/strategy within Microsoft to take it forward.
3. Being an “industry standard” means there is a lot of skill out in the marketplace and development companies and resources that can help you – you are not tied into a proprietary product with an unproven framework.
4. Access is very flexible – you can do a huge amount with it across a range of industries.
5. Access integrates very well with Office Products (e.g. Word, Excel and Outlook) and 3^rd party systems and data sources.
6. If you outgrow Access there are multiple upgrade paths available.

We are continuing to build new solutions and make upgrades to existing Microsoft Access databases. If you are looking for help building the right database solution for your business. Contact us or check out our FAQs to see how we can help.