The Future of Access

People often ask me if Access will be around in the future. Some clients don't want to develop in Access because they are concerned it will be discontinued by Microsoft. I don't have any inside infor- mation from Microsoft on this, so I tend to look at the company's behavior to make my decision about using Access. Here is what I see in the releases of Access 2010 and 2013.

Microsoft's Investment in Access

Microsoft has spent time and money in- tegrating Access with SharePoint Server, SQL Server, Azure, and Office 365. These are key Microsoft products that support data and Web-based perfor- mance. This integration allows for creat- ing Web-based applications-which are a major focus of companies today- using Access.

Rapid data deployment of applica- tions to the Web is an important focus of development work. There also are a lot of Office customers worldwide- some sources suggest almost half a bil- lion. Access is the only database prod- uct in Office. There are also many Access developers, like myself, who have developed applications for lots of companies. I believe Microsoft devel- oped SQL Server with that in mind because it's a natural next step for peo- ple who know Access. SQL Server Management is an enterprise-type system, but one can see many similari- ties to Access. That makes for a large installed base and a natural progression for developers.

Access 2013

Microsoft has discontinued products and features over the years. Some peo- ple will...