Moving Away from MS Access

DeanBabic, cc tsgiannis.   I have no desire to step into a war, but tsgiannis is correct that everything costs (my interpretation of his words).  DeanBabic, you gave an example of a "simple" set of steps, but those are only simple if you fully understand what happened.  Otherwise, you are delegating to an unknown process or entity.

Going back to my previous comments.  The question title was a generic "Moving Away from MS Access".  No specific reason was provided except for management direction.

My first recommendation was to push the structure and data to a more secure and centralized location (SQL Server).  This cuts at the core of several known weaknesses with Microsoft Access.  This avoids SILOs, avoids corruption and allows for high volume and parallel access by multiple technologies.

I have seen the same reaction to Excel.  Because it is so easy to create Excel spreadsheets, they easily proliferate, and suddenly, you have multiple unmanaged versions of the truth floating around.  That makes management very nervous.

My second recommendation was to look closely at the problem you are trying to solve.  If offline access on a windows computer is required, then Access might just be the tool of choice.  On the other hand, if it were crucial that everyone in a global organization had instant access on various devices to specific ever-changing information, then an entirely different solution would be required.

The problems are rarely that black and white, and often management wants both solutions somehow melded together.  That usually means some form of synchronization, which comes with its own headaches and significant costs.

The problem dictates the solution.