Yes, IMHO Microsoft is killing it’s Microsoft Access product. For those who are not familiar with Access, it’s included in the suite of Office desktop applications and used by businesses of all sizes to create simple database applications. It’s been a favorite of small businesses with no IT staff for years. I see it used by larger Enterprise customers in cases where a department needed a simply database application but had no budget.
The ability to create a relational database application contained in a single file, deployed to and run on a standard desktop computer is it’s greatest strength. It is also its greatest weakness. That single file meant only one user at a time, was prone to corruption and a slave to the performance and health of it’s desktop host. I thought Microsoft had thrown out the lifeline when they added support for Microsoft Access on SharePoint and later SharePoint Online. Starting with SharePoint 2013 you could take one of the many existing Access database solutions and migrate it to SharePoint. Instantly the application becomes a web enabled multi user application with a Microsoft SQL server back end database. SWEET!
This was a godsend for Joe IT running the one man IT department of a small business. They are moving to the cloud anyway to cut server equipment costs. A solution for that niche app the business cannot live without (but doesn’t want to spend money for) is a big win!
My first clue was when Microsoft Access was not included in the Office Pro Plus suite of applications in the Office 365 Business Premium subscription last fall. Microsoft later admitted it was a mistake and dutifully announced Microsoft Access now included in Office 365 Business and Business Premium with new enhancements. But a I happened to notice the following while administering a customer’s SharePoint Online portal this week.
I had not noticed this before and I don’t recall seeing a bulletin regarding it. Following up I found this March 27th blog post Updating the Access Services in SharePoint Roadmap in the Office Retirement blog. Apparently where you post when you want to quietly convey bad news. The post acknowledges the customer need to create simply applications with little programing experience, but argues that Access no longer meets today’s needs. Most notably mobile applications and enhanced data connections. “This feature will be retired from Office 365. We will stop creation of new Access-based apps in SharePoint Online starting June 2017 and shut down any remaining apps by April 2018.”
So there you have it. The patient is clinically dead but has not yet been formerly advised of their demise. I no longer recommend Access Apps for low end customer applications. So where does that leave Joe IT? Microsoft is suggesting PowerApps as the alternative. It’s a promising technology, but not as mature as the technology it portends to replace. Nor does it have the vast support ecosystem that Access has. In the interim, Joe IT and I are on the clock to learn PowerApps. Let’s hope we both can learn it and the product matures over the next year.