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Access Going Away By Richard Rost 
6 years ago
Is Access Going Away? Being Phased Out, Discontinued, Retired? At least once a week I get asked a question like "is Microsoft Access going away?" "is Access being phased out?" or "is Access being discontinued?" Of course, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO. In this video, I'll show you some direct quotes from the Microsoft Access Team Leader, Ebo Quansah. I'll tell you what's planned for the future of Access, and explain why there seems to be so much confusion on the Interwebs as to whether or not Access is being canned. Bottom line: Access is alive and well. Watch the video for details. New Update for 2024
Update for 2023Links to Videos
Other Links
Sites with False or Misleading InfoAccess Cascade ConferenceIf you love Microsoft Access, I highly recommend Access Day events by J Street Technology. I was a sponsor for one in 2014 in Denver and I had a great time. They just had the 2020 conference virtually due to Covid, but it was still a lot of fun. Even as a seasoned Access veteran, I always learn a lot of new tricks, I've met some cool people, and had a great time. https://www.jstreettech.com/accessday.aspx
IntroIn this video, we'll talk about the long-standing rumor that Microsoft Access is being discontinued and answer whether Access is really going away. I will cover recent updates from Microsoft, the ongoing support for Access in current and future versions, and highlight statements from Microsoft Access team members and industry experts. We'll also discuss the confusion caused by discontinuation of Access Web Apps, the persistence of misleading online claims, and why Access remains a strong choice for desktop database solutions.TranscriptWelcome to another TechHelp video brought to you by AccessLearningZone.com. I am your instructor, Richard Rost.In today's video, we are going to answer that age-old question that I get asked all the time: is Access going away? I have literally been asked this by dozens, if not hundreds, of customers over my 20-some year career with Access. I get asked a few times a month, probably once a week. Someone says, "I've heard rumors that Microsoft is discontinuing Access. Is this true?" The short answer: are you ready for it? No, absolutely not. Microsoft Access is definitely alive and well and here to stay for the foreseeable future. Microsoft has already announced that they are continuing support for Access 2019, which is the most current version, through 2025. They have also announced a new version of Access to be released with Office 2022, so that does not sound like it is going away anytime soon. Microsoft has a What's New page, so you can see what is new in the latest version of Access and in the most recent Microsoft 365 releases. I will put links you can click on in the description down below the video. There is also a future roadmap page where you can go and see all the things they are working on that have not been released yet, so you can see that the Microsoft Access team is busy and they are constantly making new changes and updates. They are adding a new web browser control, a new SQL editor so it works the same as when you are in the VBA editor, and lots more features. Just this past weekend, I attended the Access Cascade Conference 2020 by J Street Technology. J Street has been putting together these great Access Day conferences for as long as I can remember. I was a co-sponsor for one back in 2014. I had a lot of fun. This year the conference was held virtually due to COVID, but it was still a great time and I learned a lot. I have got one video clip you should watch. It is from Armand Stein of J Street Technology talking to Ebo Kwanza, the Microsoft Access Program Manager, the guy at Microsoft in charge of Access. He said there is no plan at all for Access to leave. Access is definitely here to stay. I want to make it clear that is the truth about Access being retired. He is very adamant that Access is not going anywhere. There is a link right there to the video. I will put it down below so you can just click on it. Here is another clip with Ebo from an Access User Group interview in 2019 where he said Access is not dead and that is something the world needs to know. Access is used by 95 percent of Microsoft's Fortune 500 clients. Andy was asked if Access will be around in 10 years. He said nothing is going to be replacing Access on the desktop. There may be new apps for web or phone, but Access will be around for at least the next 10 years. So why all this confusion? Why are there so many people saying that Access is being discontinued? Back in 2017, Microsoft shut down Access Web Apps. Access Web Apps were introduced back in 2013 and allowed you to create browser-based front-ends for a web-hosted database using Microsoft Access. You could put your tables up on the web in SQL Server or SharePoint and connect to them, and Access would create a web-based interface for that. They did not really work very well and they never caught on. So, in 2017, Microsoft announced they were discontinuing them. This, of course, led to a slew of companies and consultants pushing people away from Access and into other products. This also caused a lot of false and misleading claims that still confuse people today, that Microsoft is discontinuing the desktop version of Access, which is not true. I have personally been to dozens of Microsoft and Access-specific events over the past decade, and the Microsoft people continue to assure everyone that Access is alive and well. If anyone has any direct evidence of Microsoft saying they are discontinuing the desktop version of Access, I invite you to send me a link and I will post a video. I did some research while making this video and I have seen a lot of back and forth in web forums. On the plus side, the people saying that Access is here to stay are the Microsoft team members, actual employees, MVPs, and former MVPs like myself who have been using Access for 25 plus years. All the people who say it is dying either do not use it or they are consultants or companies pushing different solutions. I have actually found a lot of false and misleading claims on a lot of websites saying that Access is being discontinued. I am surprised Microsoft does not take legal action against some of them. Here is one that says Microsoft is planning to remove Access from Office 365, which is not true, and therefore Access users will need to look for alternative systems to run their desktop databases. Again, absolutely not true. They use headlines like "Microsoft Access retires gracefully," but of course they are pushing other solutions. Why? They say right there they might get a commission if you purchase one of their other recommended solutions. Here is another company saying "Is Microsoft Access dying" with a picture of a grim reaper and the subtitle "The future of Microsoft Access is bleak." They say the movement away from Access is unstoppable given its limitations. Obviously, they realize this and are themselves pushing Access users to Power Apps. Yes, they are investing in Power Apps, but they are not stopping investing in Microsoft Access as well for desktop development. Of course, this is a company that is recommending a different solution. Is Microsoft trying to push people out of Access and into something different? Probably not, as they said in the Access Cascade conference. They want us to continue using Access even more than we do today. In the conference, they went through a lot of new cool technologies that are coming out to help you share your Access data online. I will be releasing more videos on this as that technology becomes available. In the meantime, there are technologies you can use to share your database online, such as SharePoint or SQL Server. I personally have a virtual desktop set up for myself so I can use Access on my Android phone, and that works pretty good. Yes, lots of new technologies are coming like Power Apps and Common Data Services. But the bottom line, and what I want you to take away from this video, is that Access is still the best database solution for the desktop. I have been working with Access for 25 plus years and nothing beats it. It is still the best for small and mid-sized database solutions. Even for enterprise level database needs, Access is still a great front end to be used with a server like SQL Server. When you take into consideration rapid development time, cost of development and learning, maintenance, and overhead, Access is by far the best solution. So there we go. I hope this video has alleviated some of your fears as to whether or not Access is being discontinued anytime soon. Of course, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. If you are new to Access and wondering whether or not it is for you, I have got a free three-hour-long Access Level 1 class. It is absolutely free. It is on my website and on my YouTube channel. I hope you enjoyed this video and you learned something today. On behalf of myself, Richard Rost, and Access Learning Zone, thanks for watching. QuizQ1. What is the main question addressed in the video?A. Is Microsoft Access still relevant for desktop applications? B. Is Microsoft Access being discontinued? C. What is the best way to migrate from Access to SQL Server? D. How to use Access with Power Apps? Q2. What is the current status of Microsoft Access, according to the video? A. It is being discontinued this year B. It is alive and well, with future versions planned C. It is only available as part of Microsoft 365 D. It is being replaced by Power Apps Q3. Until which year has Microsoft guaranteed support for Access 2019? A. 2022 B. 2023 C. 2024 D. 2025 Q4. What is one new feature Microsoft is adding to Access, as mentioned in the video? A. Mobile app integration B. New web browser control C. Cloud-only data storage D. Mac OS support Q5. According to Ebo Kwanza, the Microsoft Access Program Manager, what is the plan for the future of Access? A. It will be replaced by Power Apps within two years B. There are no plans for Access to leave; it is here to stay C. Access will only be available for Mac users D. It will be merged with SQL Server Q6. What event caused confusion and the rumor that Access was being discontinued? A. The discontinuation of Access Runtime B. The shutdown of Access Web Apps in 2017 C. Office 365 removing Access from the suite D. Launch of Power Apps Q7. What is the main reason given for misleading claims that Access is being discontinued? A. Lack of updates to Access B. Companies and consultants pushing alternative products C. Problems with Access licensing D. Reduced user base Q8. Which technologies are mentioned as ways to share Access databases online? A. Only OneDrive B. SharePoint and SQL Server C. Excel and Word D. Google Sheets Q9. What is said about Access as a database solution for the desktop? A. It is outdated and no longer suitable for businesses B. It remains the best desktop database solution for small and mid-sized needs C. It is only for personal use and not for enterprise applications D. It is free and open source Q10. According to the video, what should viewers do if they have questions about Access? A. Share questions only on web forums B. Contact the instructor directly C. Refer exclusively to Microsoft's official documentation D. Stop using Access and migrate to alternatives Q11. What free resource is offered at the end of the video? A. Free Power Apps course B. Discounted Access certification program C. Free three-hour Access Level 1 class D. Free copy of Access software Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-D; 4-B; 5-B; 6-B; 7-B; 8-B; 9-B; 10-B; 11-C DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks. SummaryToday's video from Access Learning Zone tackles one of the most common questions that I hear all the time: Is Microsoft Access going away? Throughout my over 20 years of working with Access, this concern has come up regularly. Many users have heard rumors that Microsoft is planning to discontinue Access, and I am frequently asked whether these rumors are true.Let me give you the straightforward answer: No, Microsoft Access is not being discontinued. It is very much alive, in active development, and here to stay for the foreseeable future. Microsoft has publicly stated their continued support for Access 2019 through 2025 and has also announced plans to release a new version as part of Office 2022. All of this makes it clear that Access is not going anywhere soon. Microsoft maintains a What's New page highlighting the latest features and changes in both the current and Microsoft 365 versions of Access. In addition, there is a future roadmap available where you can see the upcoming features and improvements the Access team is working on. Some enhancements being developed include a new web browser control, a modern SQL editor designed to match the experience of working within the VBA environment, and many other useful additions. The Access development team is clearly active and committed. Recently, I took part in the Access Cascade Conference 2020, organized virtually this year by J Street Technology. These Access Day conferences are always informative, and I have even been a sponsor in the past. Despite the conference going virtual due to the pandemic, it was valuable and insightful as ever. One highlight was a conversation with Ebo Kwanza, the Program Manager for Microsoft Access. He confirmed that there are absolutely no plans to retire Access. He made it very clear that Access is here to stay, and this is not something users need to worry about. In addition, during a 2019 interview with the Access User Group, Ebo emphasized again that Access is not dead. In fact, he pointed out that 95 percent of Microsoft's Fortune 500 clients utilize Access. When asked whether Access would still be available in ten years, he stated that nothing will be replacing it on the desktop platform. While Microsoft may develop new apps for the web or mobile devices, Access will remain an essential tool for at least the next decade. So where does all the confusion come from? The misunderstanding seems to stem from Microsoft's decision in 2017 to discontinue Access Web Apps. These web apps, which started in 2013, were intended to let users build web-based interfaces for databases stored online, such as in SQL Server or SharePoint. However, they did not work particularly well, never gained widespread use, and were ultimately phased out. This move led many companies, consultants, and bloggers to claim—incorrectly—that Microsoft was ending support for the entire Access platform. This misinformation is still widespread today. I have attended numerous Microsoft- and Access-focused events over the last decade, and every indication from the Microsoft team is that desktop Access is not being retired. If anyone ever does find concrete proof that Microsoft is discontinuing Access, I encourage them to send me the evidence and I will address it directly. While preparing for this video, I researched current discussions online. Not surprisingly, those saying Access is here to stay tend to be employees at Microsoft, Access MVPs, and long-time users like myself. Conversely, most claims that Access is being discontinued come from individuals or companies with alternative products to promote. Many of these sites make unfounded statements such as, "Microsoft plans to remove Access from Office 365," which is simply not true. Their motive often becomes clear when you see that they receive commissions for recommending other products. Some of these companies go so far as to use scare tactics or dramatic headlines to push users toward different platforms. While Microsoft is actively developing new products, including Power Apps and other cloud-based solutions, they remain fully committed to supporting and improving Access for desktop users. The Access Cascade conference even covered some of the upcoming technologies and tools that will help users more easily share Access data online, and I'll provide more updates as those are released. For now, there are already several effective ways you can share and access databases online, including using SharePoint integration, SQL Server back ends, and remote desktop options. Personally, I use a virtual desktop so I can run Access from my Android phone, which works well for my needs. Despite these new technologies, the key message I want to convey is that Access is still the best desktop database solution. My experience over the past 25 years has shown that nothing beats Access for small and medium-sized database projects, and it even holds its own as a powerful front end for enterprise-level systems using servers like SQL Server. Considering factors like development speed, cost, ease of learning, and ongoing maintenance, Access stands out as the optimal solution for a wide variety of database needs. I hope this helps to clear up any doubts and put your mind at ease about the future of Microsoft Access. If you have further questions or want more information, please reach out to me directly. If you are new to Access or curious whether it might be right for you, I offer a free three-hour Access Level 1 class, available on my website and YouTube channel. You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends. Topic ListThis video addresses the rumor about Microsoft Access being discontinued and provides evidence against it. |
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| Keywords: TechHelp Access dead going away phased out retired discontinued alternatives end of life replacing future of relevant supported shutdown shut down cancelled PermaLink Is Microsoft Access Going Away? |
