MS Access is not dead, it’s not living its best life either, however. Some would even suggest it doesn’t even meet the qualifying round! While the 2020 Olympics are in full swing let’s shed some light on one of the database contenders MS Access, who just won’t quit!

Microsoft’s Office as you probably know it today has become a shortlist of user preference applications.

Those defeated applications now removed from the core Office package were once powerhouses of their time but are no longer seen fit for Microsoft’s changing demographic.

While the favorites made it through the first round of application selection, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, other powerful and often misunderstood applications were removed from the core Office package and put on the bench.

Access, the little Database that could

Of those somewhat shunned applications, one stands out above the others. Often seen with its hand raised in the background repeating the same question of “why me?” is MS Access.

Small and incredibly powerful, MS Access database application has, despite being removed from the core Office package, managed to cling to life as a background application.

It’s a little-known fact but as of the writing of this article, more than 12% of the world’s databases are MS Access Databases. There are an estimated 97,000 companies using MS Access databases worldwide.

Now ranked 10^th in popularity amongst the top database solutions and again here. Access is still a major player in the database Olympics.

This means that a huge amount of business data, worldwide, is stored and maintained using, at least in part, by Microsoft’s MS Access.

This is a good indicator as to why MS Access has not been thrown out with the bathwater but instead lifted to the more expensive Office Packages.

The Rise of MS Access

While MS Access is no longer a core application, it is still an important one that can not be easily replaced.

MS Access is being upgraded.

Yes upgraded. Rising like a phoenix from the flames.

The Access Developer Team is still active and is working to bring more connectivity to Access. The idea being that if data can be easily read-writable to other more mainstream applications that Access will breathe yet another lifesaving breath and be brought back into the fold. Maybe even go up a rank or two.

This update along with other long-awaited updates are scheduled to be rolled out June – July – August… this year(2021).

See here for the Access Upgrade Road map.

• So, MS Access was once used everywhere.
• It stores a huge amount of data to this day.
• MS Access isn’t typically your day-to-day application so was quietly shelved.
• It hangs around because there are so many people still using the application and there is a need for a support structure.
• It’s being upgraded to allow more use cases.
• It looks and sounds like Access is not dead.

But why use it if there are newer more mainstream systems available?

The Price of an Access Database

It’s cheap. That’s the nitty-gritty reality. Access is cheap as chips compared to these other bigger, higher ranked, newer systems. This means you can build a complex system that does what many other more expensive systems will do for half the price, even less on occasion.

Ease of use

MS Access just works out of the box and those that know its acute details can leverage an amazing amount of potential.

Access User Support

There is plenty of user support. It’s very easy to find forums of like-minded Access Developers all striving to build intricate fast and sturdy MS Access Systems.

Some of the larger forums include:

https://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/

https://www.accessforums.net/

https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/home?forum=accessdev

Access has a huge active fan base that helps each other to develop their systems.

Development Speed

It is great for designing mockup user interfaces rapidly which is great for customers that want to see changes quickly.

Upgradable

Access can directly connect to Microsoft SQL Server for a more powerful experience if needed.

Write custom business logic

It can also have custom code procedures to grant almost any business logic.

Connects to everything Office

Can directly access data from other Microsoft applications such as Outlook and Excel workbooks.

Access is very much still alive and well but needs to keep innovating if it wants to stay in the top ranks.

We use MS Access

We often use Access as a user interface with data connections to SQL databases for heavy compute or higher levels of security. There just isn’t a faster way to produce front-end UI that just works out of the box. Nothing even comes close. While we do wish it had some of the newer controls available in other platforms sometimes being limited in your options actually helps to speed development.

The fact that Access still remains top 10 is a testament to its strengths and popularity. Never underestimate the underdog. This Database Olympics, 2021, saw the return of the king of databases.

Contact ProcessIT here if you would like to speak with a professional Access Database Developer.