Microsoft Access

What is Microsoft Access?

Microsoft Access in it's simplest form is a Database Management System generally used for small to medium sized database projects. With Access, users can create tables to store data, design forms for data entry, generate reports for analysis and create queries to retrieve specific information from the database. That being said, many organisations are choosing to move away from Access because it quite simply cannot compete with the more modern alternatives out there. It has limited scalability capabilities, poor multi user support and lack of cloud integration capabilities all of which are crucial to many businesses today.

Why is it used?

There are a variety of reasons as to why businesses may choose to use Microsoft Access as a tool for their database requirements, here are some of the core features that make Access attractive (or at least did make it attractive...) -

Database creation

First and foremost, Access allows users to create databases from scratch or by using a ready built template. These databases can be used to store and organise different types of information including customer data, inventory records and employee information - a database in it's simplest form.

Data management

One of it's main features - Access allows users to manage and store their data in a structured manner that makes sense to them. Users can create tables, define relationships between said tables and ensure data integrity by using validation rules and referential integrity.

Analysis and reporting

Access also provides (somewhat) basic tools for analysing data and generating reports from the data contained within. Users can create queries to retrieve specific data, design custom reports with relevant formatting and calculations and generate summary statistics for analysis or presentation.

Forms for data entry

Through Access, users are able to design custom forms for data entry, making it easier for users to input data into the database. Forms can include various types of controls such as text boxes, drop down lists, checkboxes and buttons for navigation.

Automation with Macros and VBA

Whilst Access is indeed an older technology, it does in fact support automation through he use of macros and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). Users can create macros that allows them to automate certain tasks and perform actions based on predefined conditions. Advanced users can use VBA to develop custom functionality and integrate Access with other applications

Inventory management

Historically, Access was widely used for inventory management purposes as it allows businesses to track stock levels, monitor sales, manage suppliers and generate reports on inventory related metrics. However, there are more advanced options out there today for inventory management.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Finally, it can be used to build custom CRM systems for managing customer interactions, tracking sales leads, storing contact information and analysing customer data. Again, there are more modern CRM alternatives out there today that are a lot easier to manage.

What are the pros and cons of Access?

There are many reasons as to why a company or individual may choose (or have chosen in the past) to use Microsoft Access however, there are also reasons as to why it may not be a good choice. Let's take a look at them:

Characteristic	Advantages	Limitations
User experience	Relatively straight forward to learn with an intuitive interface, this makes it accessible to 'non techy'. It's great for quickly building functional databases for small teams or projects.	Mastering some of the more advanced features such as complex queries, macros and VBA programming does require technical expertise meaning these features are not accessible to 'non techy' folk.
Deployment and setup	Access databases don't need a dedicated server and can be created and deployed quickly as standalone files.	File based storage does however increase the risk of corruption, particularly in multi user environments where simultaneous edits tend to happen.
Cost	Included as standard with many Microsoft Office packages, it's a cost effective option for those already immersed in the Microsoft ecosystem.	It has very limited scalability which means it's unsuitable for very large datasets or organisations with many concurrent users.
Functionality for small projects	Well suited for small to medium sized databases, providing tables, forms, queries and reports all in one tool.	Performance can degrade significantly as the database grows in size and/or complexity, requiring manual optimisation and continuous maintenance.
Collaboration	Supports multi user access within a local network, allowing small teams to share a single database.	These collaboration features are basic compared to cloud based or enterprise solutions with restrictive limits on concurrent users.
Integration	Works well with other Microsoft Office applications such as Excel and Outlook. Particularly beneficial for those who need to create reports and send mail merges.	It has limited compatibility with web applications which are increasingly popular today - building web based tools or integrating with modern cloud platforms is challenging if not impossible.
Security	Offers basic password protection and encryption suitable for non sensitive data.	Lacks any sort of advanced security features making it unsuitable for storing highly confidential or regulated information.

Best projects for Microsoft Access

As a classic tool for building simple, data driven applications, Microsoft Access can still be a useful option for small businesses with uncomplicated operations. Outside of that, we would probably suggest a more modern alternative.

How can we help?

We once used Access for our databases too! We know them inside and out - the tasks it performs well and those it really fails to deliver on. As technologists, over time we have transitioned to more modern, scalable and indeed reliable alternatives including SQL Server, PostgreSQL and of course - cloud based database solutions all of which offer better performance and more modern security features. We can do the same for you!

With that being said, if you're still running business critical systems on Access, we can keep them stable whilst also helping you plan and a migration to a more modern platform. Our team can optimise existing databases, design secure cloud ready solutions and ensure your data remains reliable and accessible throughout the process.