Forum Discussion

Copper Contributor

Jan 12, 2022

Constant database conflicts

We operate a small law office. We have used Access for our client database for many years and it worked well for us until Covid lockdowns started. The primary data file is saved as .accdb file and ...

access

office 365

Citizen_D

Copper Contributor

Jan 13, 2022

JasonC777

This is not a today solution but Microsoft is developing an Access Dataverse Connector which is in preview and scheduled for release in March, 2022. Although there will be some limitations, the general idea is that you will be able to move your local tables to the cloud database but otherwise use Access on the desktop just as you do now. This will also enable you to set up better security for your data.

Of course, there are other solutions such as moving your backend data to Azure SQL. However, if you are a “Citizen Developer” like I am, you may be more comfortable letting Microsoft do the heavy lifting on the back end.

For more information:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=Access

https://powerapps.microsoft.com/et-ee/blog/announcing-power-apps-microsoft-access-security-mobility-new-experiences/

George_Hepworth

Silver Contributor

Jan 13, 2022

I am not impressed by what I've seen of Dataverse so far. For very low end applications, perhaps it's acceptable. One of the benefits is that it abstracts away a lot of the details. One of the drawbacks is that abstracting away details leaves you with a limited ability to customize or expand.

At this point, I don't know any serious Access developer participating in the public beta, and none have expressed interest in doing so.

We also have no idea yet about performance; whether it will be any better than with SharePoint lists or not. Time will tell.

Citizen_D
Copper Contributor
Jan 14, 2022
George_Hepworth

I am not a professional developer so I am looking at this from a different viewpoint. It may turn out to be exactly the feature I need even though it would not be given a second look by a professional developer. I have been hopeful and cautiously optimistic since this was added to the roadmap.

But as you say, time will tell.
- George_Hepworth
  Silver Contributor
  Jan 14, 2022
  For a lot of reasons I hope it does pan out. Microsoft deferred nearly all other work on Access for a year while they worked on the Dataverse connector. Perhaps a sense of momentum lost on other features of wider appeal is part of the lack of enthusiasm. A . Still, it does prove that MS remains committed to Access so we can take some comfort from that.
  - Citizen_D
    Copper Contributor
    Jan 14, 2022
    "Still, it does prove that MS remains committed to Access so we can take some comfort from that."
    
    Fully agree with you. That is one reason I hope the Dataverse connector is a great success for Access users and Microsoft.