Likelihood to Recommend dbForge SQL Complete is well suited for professionals that have to write code all day. In my role in the business intelligence department we are writing SQL pretty much all day. Having a tool that helps us do that faster, in a cleaner way is pretty awesome and something that pays for itself quickly.
Read full review Microsoft Access can be easily implemented with training. It doesn't require expert level skill for basic reporting functions - but can be scaled to a complex database with sophisticated users. Its appropriate to consider if excel needs to be used to create reports, or if there are data entry needs - with corresponding reports.
Read full review Pros SQL complete allows you to create custom snippets that allow you to store frequently ran queries in shortcuts. The code can be populated within seconds! Another great benefit is custom aliases. If you frequently reference the same tables over and over again it gets tiresome to retype the aliases. Storing these can make your code more consistent and save time. SQL complete will also highlight the metadata within your database. For example, if you start typing an insert statement you populate code for all the field names by pressing the tab. This is a real-time saver for wide tables! Read full review Very easy to create entity-relationship diagrams for various tables and designing mock layouts. Really easy to navigate as it hold[s] the classic Microsoft UI. Another good thing is that it comes with the complete MS Office Suite. It is really fast when joining multiple tables no matter what type of join. Works on pretty much same SQL scripts so no need to learn a new language! Read full review Cons Sometimes it can be slow to retrieve the database metadata. Updating the software with the activation/deactivation of licenses could be further streamlined. Read full review Microsoft Access has not really changed at all for several years. It might be nice to see some upgrades and changes. The help info is often not helpful. Need more tutorials for Microsoft Access to show how to do specific things. Be careful naming objects such as tables, forms, etc. Names that are too long can get cut off in dialog boxes to choose a table, form, report, etc. So, I wish they would have resizable dialog boxes to allow you to see objects with long names. I wish it could show me objects that are not in use in the database for current queries, tables, reports, forms, and macros. That way unused objects can be deleted without worrying about losing a report or query because you deleted the underlying object. Read full review Likelihood to Renew I and the rest of my team will renew our Microsoft Access in the future because we use and maintain many different applications and databases created using Microsoft Access so we will need to maintain them in the future. Additionally, it is a standard at our place of work so it is at $0 cost to us to use. Another reason for renewing Microsoft Access is that we just don' t have the resources needed to extend into a network of users so we need to remain a single-desktop application at this time.
Read full review Usability Microsoft Access is easy to use. It is compatible with spreadsheets. It is a very good data management tool. There is scope to save a large amount of data in one place. For using this database, one does not need much training, can be shared among multiple users. This database has to sort and filtering features which seem to be very useful.
Read full review Reliability and Availability I don't think the program has ever failed me. It is one of those programs where there is always a solution if you know where to look.
Read full review Support Rating While I have never contacted Microsoft directly for product support, for some reason there's a real prejudice against MS Access among most IT support professionals. They are usually discouraging when it comes to using MS Access. Most of this is due to their lack of understanding of MS Access and how it can improve one's productivity. If Microsoft invested more resources towards enhancing and promoting the use of MS Access then maybe things would be different.
Read full review Implementation Rating there is no key idea, since it is easy to implement Microsoft Access
Read full review Alternatives Considered I am very satisfied after using this tool. It is a full-stack tool that includes rich features that can be customized set of functionality as per your need. by using this tool:-
Increased our productivity rate. Provides speed up your development work so you can focus on other stuff. Read full review Crystal is easier for report writing, but isn't a database solution.
Salesforce is lovely, but much more expensive than an old copy of Microsoft Office. For a small budget, [Microsoft] Access was really the only viable option. I only wish it was easier to write complex reports.
Read full review Return on Investment Spending less time trying to figure out how tables are related thanks to the navigational help in dbForge SQL Complete, which means fixing issues takes less time. Read full review Not having to recreate queries or reports every time you want to use them. Once an item is created and saved as part of the database, you save manpower by not having to recreate them. ROI from a usability standpoint is great. Solid product with great functionality that requires low maintenance usually. Read full review ScreenShots dbForge SQL Tools Screenshots