Does MS Access Have a Future?

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Hello: 
 
I watched the video interview (April 28, 2017 - FMS Software Development Team Blog) with Mr Chung regarding at the Access DevCon 2017 and found it very interesting. 
 
I have some fundamental questions regarding Access that perhaps only Mr  Chung might be able to answer hence my email.  These questions are not product support related in that I'm not asking about FMS products related to Access, rather, my questions are related to the future of Access.  I was advised to post this to the Community hence you see it here now.  And while posting it on the Community will likely elicit a number of responses and opinions that will certainly be interesting, I'd really like to hear what Mr. Chung thinks about the questions I pose:
 
I've used Access in the past (Access 2003) and created a number of applications with it but stopped some time ago since my work steered me into the Web with classic ASP (Active Server Pages) development.   
 
I recently went back to Access (2003 on Windows 7) to code a personal application and came to the conclusion that even though Access has some rather peculiar idiosyncrasies that are often baffling and that require focused attention to understand and get past, Access is still an excellent platform for quick application development where a database is called for if the demands are within reason.
 
But considering the future of the Windows operating system and the way it seems to be evolving, will Access still have a viable future?  For example, I've heard rumors that Microsoft will eventually move to a cloud based model for its Windows operating system.  Such a move would have significant impact on Access development.
 
Keep in mind that VB6 was a great platform for rapid application development, too, but MS essentially abandoned VB6 long ago.  And while VB.Net can do things that VB6 could not, VB.Net is a different animal, ans is not nearly as easy or as fluent as VB6 was.  As a result, many VB6 developers never made the transition to the dot net paradigm, which is a great shame and loss.  Could Access could conceivably go the same route? 
 
So aside from maintaining a client's database which may be necessary for many Access developers, does it still make sense to invest ones time with Access for application development purposes?  Does it still make sense to use it for client's that don't want to go the SQL Server route?  Or is there a better alternative to Access (other than the obvious SQL Server) that doesn't suffer from an uncertain future and uncertain support from Microsoft?
 
What is the opinion of Luke and FMS regarding Access as a development platform for now and for the future?  
It would be great if Luke could shed some light and/or create a video that addresses this important issue.
 
Thanking you in advance.
 
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    Luke Chung

    Thank you for reaching out to us. Microsoft Access was introduced in 1992 and enhanced over its 25 year history which is an amazing period of time for one technology to survive. It illustrates how it continues to solve a wide range of database needs. Microsoft Access remains the most popular Windows desktop database.

    Microsoft Access is one of many technologies available for database development, so it's important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. It's also important to understand the purpose and future of a database that's being built, and whether Microsoft Access can evolve with that expectation.

    Our experience is that there's a wide range of database solutions that can be solved by Access, and if so, it's probably much faster and more cost effective to use Access over other technologies. The solutions we find ideal for Access are:

    • Windows based solutions where all users are on the same local area network. 
      RemoteDesktop/RemoteApp can be used to support a limited number of users outside the network
    • Solutions that integrate with other Office documents such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint and other files on disk such as PDF, import/export files, etc. (web based solutions cannot work with files on disk or perform automation of other desktop programs)
    • "Small" multi-user applications if the back-end database is an Access ACCDB/MDB database. Access databases can support 255 simultaneous users, but we would rarely consider it for more than 100 simultaneous users, This could still support departments of 1000+ users if only a portion of them would ever use the application at one time. Depends on the application but most database solutions are for a limited number of users.
    • For larger number of simultaneous users Access can be the front-end solution with the data in a SQL Server database that is more scale able and secure.

    While we can't speak on behalf of Microsoft, we are confident that as long as Microsoft continues to ship Excel in Office for Windows, and people still use programs installed on their local copy of Windows, Access and its VBA programming language will remain. SQL Server as a database host is certainly viable, but that's separate from the user interface that Access provides.

    My paper on Microsoft Access within an Organization's Overall Database Strategy covers many of the issues in details to help developers and organizations better understand how Microsoft Access should be best used and when it should be avoided.

    Let us know what you think. Hope this helps.

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    David Rowland

    I would like to mirror Picopeteguy’s inquiry here, as the business I work for is planning on moving MS Office to the cloud (Office 365) by 1/1/2020. 

     I’ve been developing MS Access applications here for 12 years now, and a common thread among them is that I make extensive use of VBA, and they use SQL Server as the backend via ODBC.  My apps also commonly use linked servers to connect to disparate DBs on our network.  Can MS Access applications like these possibly be adapted to survive in the Office 365 environment, while allowing future development?  E.g. I’ve read some about there being a “hybrid” approach.

     

    Thanks in advance for any insight provided.

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    Luke Chung

    Hi David,

    It comes down to what platform will host the application. If it needs to be a web solution, an Access desktop database would not work. The latter expects to be on Windows used by each user.

    If you want to let people continue to run Access and other Windows based applications over the web so they don't have to install anything on their machine, a remote desktop / remote app solution using Terminal Services may work. That's essentially running an instance of Windows on another machine. For many organizations, that's a cost effective way to continue to support Windows solutions while minimizing the deployment and support issues. It can support all users who have a browser (including Mac users) that have permission to run the remote app.

    Another hybrid solution is an Access desktop database that's linked to a SQL Server database hosted locally or in the cloud like Azure. The internal people use the Access app while external users use a web app that's linked to the same SQL Server database.

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    Artur Lill
    • Edited

    One more alternative solution exists:

    Use MS Access desktop with links to sharepoint online lists.

     Bonus: you will get offline ready solution too.

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    Rubens Caxilé

    Dear

    I am from Brasil.

    We use Access since 1997.

    We are using access to consume web services - SOAP, developed in C# (Tier 2/3).

    With this solution we continuos to develop applications on desktop over web e implementing our ERP.

    What do you think about this ?

    Rubens Caxilé

    RR Consultoria e Sistemas Ltda

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    IT Manager

    Also a question I wonder about. I have several clients that I've developed a complete Access / SQL solution for (one is a membership system, the other is a social services case management system). I used Access because of its easy connection and use of SQL, quick development, and very rich end user interface tools. In the past I've also used .net for web (what a PAIN!), Sharepoint (far too complex and easy to break), VB and other desktop databases (Paradox, etc.) and other tools.

    I would love to find a set of tools that allows for easy to build user interface that works with SQL, has strong and easy to work with query language, and long range support. My clients generally don't want to pay the fees for one of the front end tools out there, since Access "comes with Office". 

    That said, nothing I've found works as well as Access (that used to hurt to say, since I was a BIG Paradox supporter) to meed my client's needs. I wrote the membership system to replace an existing Visual Fox Pro system after Microsoft abandoned that product. I really, really hope that MS doesn't do the same to Access. Yes, web development is the future, and I do that, but I've found no web products that do what Access can do, not to mention the security issues with ANY web based system.

    So, if MS is listening, my vote is to continue to support and enhance Access!

    Ben Sevier

     

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    Frank Czygan

    Hi, I have a multi-user application with Access frontend and MySQL backend (www.tradumanager.com). Turning the app into a web app with PHP would be nice but very time consuming. So I'm looking for a software to implement a remote desktop solution. Is there anything on the market that you can recommend? Maybe something that is specifically made for Access? Thank you for recommendations.

    Frank

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    Luke Chung

    Hi Ben and Frank,

    Unfortunately, we don't have any recommendations for converting Access front-end applications to a web app. The platforms are completely different. Dependencies and expectations of files on disk, exports to Excel, interoperability with Office are all different. Web pages are also different when it comes to displaying data such as one-to-many records with subforms, the event model, resizing, etc. Then there are hosting and security issues.

    Usually one redesigns a Windows app for the web. If it's about having people connect to the Access app over the web, then the Remote App solutions offered in the original response can help and you can run your existing Access and other Windows apps without modifications. But that only serves people in your organization and doesn't work for anonymous users like visitors on a web site. 

    Hope that helps.

    Luke

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