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DanMoorehead_PowerWeb5AI
Iron Contributor
Mar 30, 2018
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Future of Microsoft Access: PowerApps|CDS|VSTO|VBA|Flow|JS|VS|.NET|Graph Cloud|Mobile|Web|Developers

Access & Office Development Roadmap & Suggestions In addition to summing up recent Access updates & resources (including those from Access), I've compiled some suggestions & questions for the Acces...
  • It was recently reported that Microsoft was reorganizing into just two major "uber-groups".  I wonder what the implications may be for Access, Office 365/2019 and Office Development Platform (VBA, VBE), and Access integration/data connectors with other products from the other group.

     

    If I understand this major Microsoft reorg correctly, Microsoft is now split into 2 (vs 4) major divisions, which are:

     

    • Devices & User Experience
      • Combining groups for:
        • Windows & Devices
        • Microsoft Office
      • Including:
        • Office 365, Office Online
        • Access, Excel, VBA, VBE
        • SharePoint, OneDrive, Skype, Exchange
        • Surface, Windows OS
      • Led by Rajesh Jha (Office EVP)

    • Cloud & AI
      • Combining groups for:
        • Cloud & Enterprise
        • AI & Research
      • Including "Business Applications, Platform & Intelligence" (BAPI)
        • Azure, Power BI, PowerApps, Common Data Service (CDS), MS Flow, Dynamics, SSRS, SSAS
        • Led by CVP James Phillips
      • And including:
        • Visual Studio, .NET, SQL Server, Dynamics, MS Graph
      • Led by Scott Guthrie (Cloud & Enterprise EVP)


    It seems interesting that Office is being lumped together with Hardware & OS, despite the recent focus in Office on Office 365 and Office Online.

    I wonder what the implications may be for Microsoft Access, Excel, Office & VBA, especially with the following products/technologies split across different Microsoft divisions:

     

    • Office Online/365, OneDrive, SharePoint & Exchange (in Devices)
      • vs. Azure & Dynamics (in Cloud)

    • VBA & VBE (Visual Studio fork) (in Devices)
      • vs. Visual Studio, .NET, VB, MS Flow

    • Access & Excel (Online) and (presumably) Power Query & Power Pivot (in Devices)
      • vs. PowerApps, SQL Server, Azure SQL, Common Data Service, Power BI


    As Klaus Oberdalhoff had alluded to, this reorg might already have had some impact on us finally getting a 32-bit version of SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) for Access (as reported by Juan Soto). This is something that's been long requested, with a 32-bit version being far more commonly needed than the 64-bit version (as it has to match the version of Office installed, and 32-bit Microsoft Office is recommended during install even on 64-bit Windows, in order to ensure add-in compatibility).

     

    Considering that the Office EVP was promoted to leading the combined Devices & User Experience group (vs. Surface, Mobile, Windows leadership), and the many recent Access advancements (from SSMA and charts to Accessibility, Big Int, Templates, New charts and inclusion in most Office editions) now, despite Microsoft's recent cloud focus, around the time of this reorg, maybe - despite combining with Hardware & OS, separate from the division with Visual Studio / PowerApps / Dev Tools / Azure - this reorg could be good news for Access database developers?

     

    Anyone have thoughts or speculation on the potential impact of this reorg on Access and Office?

     

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