There is a need to make updates to some 2007 Access databases to make them more secure and locked down. Are the databases able to be used while updates are being made to them or will everyone have to be out of it? The updates will involve enhancements to the security, workflow,  encrypting data, and splitting the database. Also, if you have at least 100-150 people needing to access the database, do you have any suggestions on what would be the best option to be able to have multiple people accessing it at the same time and still run normally?

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Reply from Richard Rost:

If you're locking down, securing, and splitting the database, then I'd say YES, you would definitely want to kick everyone out of it that day until you're finished. The good thing is that once you're done, you'll be able to make front-end updates without kicking anyone out. Just distribute the new front-end when you're finished.

If you've got 100-150 constant users, you might want to consider moving your back-end up to SQL Server. That's a lot of concurrent traffic for an Access database alone to handle. I've had success with databases that had 20 or even 30 users, but 150 is pushing it. Give it a try first, but if things are running slow, that's your problem.