Microsoft Access quietly holds up a lot of mid-sized businesses. At some point someone who was good with Excel and a little programming built a database: for complaints, inspection reports, maintenance contracts or costings. It has been running for years, and by now an important part of the business depends on it.

Why so many businesses depend on Access

For a long time Access was the easiest way to your own application. It comes with many Office packages, needs no server, and forms, queries and reports can be put together by clicking. That is exactly what makes Access a good solution to start with - and a problem once the application grows.

Signs that it is time

  • Several people work in it at once, and you get locks or corrupted files.
  • The database sits on a network drive and is barely usable over VPN or from home.
  • The file is getting big. An Access file can be at most 2 GB, and it slows down well before that.
  • Only one person understands how it works. The rules live in queries, macros and VBA code that nobody else reads.
  • Updates cause trouble. After an Office update a form stops working, or an add-in only runs in the 32-bit version.
  • Nothing works on the move. Access cannot sensibly be used on a tablet or phone.

Why the big switch usually fails

The obvious plan: find a new system, change everything at once, switch off the old database on a cut-over date. What often gets lost along the way is exactly what makes the Access application valuable - the many small rules that have grown into it over the years. Which discount scale applies to which customer, when an inspection report counts as done, which special route was built in for a major customer: none of that is in a specification, only in the database.

Then there is the risk of the cut-over date itself. If something does not work on that day, the workflow stops, and the way back is blocked.

Step by step instead of a cut-over date

The safer route has three steps, and after each one you decide again.

1. Record what is in it

First, write down what the database does today: which tables exist, who uses which forms, which rules sit in queries and code, which reports are needed regularly. This often shows that one part is no longer used at all and another is indispensable every day.

2. Put the data on solid ground

It often pays to start by moving the data out of the Access file into a proper database on a server, such as Microsoft SQL Server. Access can carry on as the interface for now and then works on the data in the server. Little changes for staff. But file size no longer matters, working at the same time becomes more stable, and the data can be backed up properly.

3. Move area by area

Then one area after another moves to the new application - starting with the one that causes the most trouble or brings the most benefit. The old interface and the new application work on the same data in the meantime. Once the last area has moved, Access is switched off. Not before.

What happens to the data

Every replacement raises the question of which data comes along. It makes sense to rehearse the migration early: transfer all data once as a trial, check what stands out, clean it up, repeat. Duplicate customers, empty mandatory fields and free text where a selection belongs are caught early, not on the last day.

What to replace it with

There are three routes for the new application: standard software that covers the workflow, an application developed for you, or a mix of both. Which one fits is covered in our guide Custom or off-the-shelf software?

We replace old systems with ElbDesk, the foundation we build on: ElbDesk brings sign-in, permissions, collaboration and documents with it, and only what defines your workflow is built. What that looks like step by step is shown on our page about replacing old systems.

Checklist before you start

  • Who knows the database best, and does that person have time for the review?
  • Is there a current backup that has actually been restored once?
  • Which parts are used daily, which never?
  • Which other programs read from or write to the database?
  • Which area causes the most trouble today?