MS Access: It Has a Place in the Mix
April 08, 2021
MS Access: It Has a Place in the Mix
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Access
Access is generally not used for core ICT solutions. It is used for 1) local solutions, 2) reporting solutions, 3) prototypes/temporary solutions pending a corporate solution.
- All-in-one solutions (dashboard, data entry, reports/queries, relational data).
- As much/little business logic and automation as required.
- Can easily be tailored to specific needs of departments/individuals.
- Can interact directly with corporate databases (e.g. SQL).
- The need for each user to have their own instance of the front end is an obstacle to more widespread use.
- Graphs/charts still seem more difficult to implement than they should be.
- Ease of reporting
- Ease of developing a basic data entry UI
- One-stop-shop solution (data entry + reports + dashboard)
- Allows quick deployment of valuable local solutions to achieve business benefits when a more 'corporate' solution isn't viable within the required timeframe.
- Allows rapid improvement in data management (e.g. decent structures, data integrity, front-end integration between data sources) while awaiting a long-term UI.
- Rapid prototyping, verification of requirements (particularly data), data structure design.
SharePoint is good for simple data structures, use of workflow, integration with AD, etc. But SharePoint does not support fully relational data or complex reporting, whereas Access absolutely does.
Do you think Microsoft Access delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Microsoft Access's feature set?
Yes
Did Microsoft Access live up to sales and marketing promises?
I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process
Did implementation of Microsoft Access go as expected?
I wasn't involved with the implementation phase
Would you buy Microsoft Access again?
Yes