Access Resilience: How future-proof is Microsoft Access really?

Microsoft Access is a database tool from the Microsoft Office environment that is primarily used for the rapid development of customized applications.

In practice, Access is often used for

• internal management and evaluation applications
• Production-related tools and evaluations
• recording and maintenance of master data
• Interfaces between specialist departments and IT

Why companies doubt the future viability of Access

Doubts about Access are not unfounded. Discussions with Swiss companies often reveal a similar pattern.

Technically, Access applications eventually reach their limits. Increasing amounts of data, more users, mobile capability requirements, or additional integrations lead to performance problems. At the same time, there is often no clear separation between data, logic, and interface, which makes maintenance and further development difficult.

From an organizational perspective, Access solutions are often developed by individual persons. If this person leaves the company, the knowledge is lost and documentation is rarely available.

Requirements for security, traceability, and integration into modern system landscapes are also increasing. At this point, at the latest, the question arises as to whether and how Access can survive in the long term.

Stability does not mean that an application has to look modern or run in the cloud. Nor does it mean that Access is a bad choice per se.

The key factor is that the application

• maintainable
• can be understood and maintained by several people
• allows for adjustments without incalculable risk
• can be integrated into existing and future systems
• supports all necessary business processes

An Access application can therefore be future-proof if it is cleanly structured, documented, and technically well-integrated. Conversely, even modern technology can quickly become a risk if it is implemented in an unstructured manner.

Often, too little thought is given to whether maintenance will continue to be guaranteed even after personnel changes. In addition to the importance of documentation, it should also be noted that the next generation of Access specialists is rather sparse.

Production and manufacturing
Access is used to record machine and quality data, batch logs, or shop floor evaluations when data is collected locally and consolidated later. Access often serves as a flexible input tool for SQL or MES systems until processes are automated and interfaces are defined.

Logistics and warehousing
Access applications manage inventory lists, pallet tracking, or goods receipt inspections in environments where no ERP or barcode system is established across the board.

Quality assurance and laboratory
In the laboratory environment, Access solutions are used for manual measurement series, material tests, or audit reports when Excel spreadsheets reach their limits. Typically, they are used as an intermediate layer before data flows into validated SQL databases.

Healthcare and research
Hospitals and research departments use Access for patient registries, study tracking, or evaluation collectors when data protection concepts are controlled locally and user groups are small. It remains future-proof if the application is documented, tested, and modularly relieved.

Public sector and administration
Authorities use Access for registers, manual data collection, or consolidated citizen reports when applications have long life cycles and contain individual rules. Access remains relevant until web portals or API-based data collection systems are established.

Microsoft Access is neither automatically obsolete nor future-proof per se. The decisive factors are how an application is structured, how it is operated, and what requirements it must meet.

Future-proofing comes fromclarity, structure, and conscious decisions. Those who regularly evaluate, document, and technically refine their Access solution can still use it successfully today. Where limits are reached, structured modernization or migration strategies can help.