Have you outgrown your Microsoft Access Application? Part I: The Challenges

Undoubtedly, Microsoft? Access desktop applications have been a great help over the past years.  However, with the rise of tablets and smart phones, people are demanding access to their work files even on the move. However, they cannot retrieve information from a desired desktop application because they are not seated in front of a computer. Furthermore, data security is a big issue as Microsoft? Access applications can be modified from remote locations. This is a huge threat because data alterations without the knowledge of the administrator can result in drastic functionality changes.

Cloud shifting of Microsoft? Access databases are the only viable route to solve these issues. The biggest benefit of this shift is enhanced agility. With Cloud shifting, the application becomes browser independent, as it no longer depends on operating system (OS) compatibility. It also becomes easier to configure and specify the hardware for each server authentication. Moreover, going Cloud is a cost-effective solution, as users pay only for what they use.

However, this doesn’t mean that shifting Microsoft? Access desktop application to the Cloud is a smooth procedure. We, at Shield Watch IT & Web Services, have faced our share of challenges while working with our clients. Want to know about what we’ve experienced?

Challenge 1: Bulk transfer is time consuming

The desktop Microsoft? Access application in use for a long time has a huge database. Quite naturally, shifting something so big to the Cloud takes a lot of time to complete.

Challenge 2: Application update during the development process

The Cloud shifting process is no doubt time-consuming (five to ten months depending on the scope of the project). Things become much more challenging if the Microsoft? Access application is updated during the development process by existing developers. This makes the current developers work extra in order to incorporate the additional modifications.

Let’s look at an example to understand the scenario a little better. When we started shifting one of our client’s Access application, the interface layout was something similar to the image shown below:

However, within three months into the shift, the client updated its interface layout into something like this:

Quite naturally, all the work we did on the architecture and the interface in those three months had to be redone from the scratch.

Challenge 3: It can take time to adjust to the change

The changed interface of the application when shifting to the Cloud can be tough for users to get used to. Having worked on the desktop application for so long, it may take some time to break the habit and adopt something new, however in many cases the Cloud solution is much more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing on a wider array of devices. As a result, clients may ask to change and create a more familiar interface, however this can add additional load on the project.

The biggest challenge, however, comes with the database architecture. Creating something which can perfectly serve the purpose of the application as well as be user-friendly to the right measure has been a huge test for Shield Watch IT & Web Services team. Final feedback on the overall application structure on the Cloud is itself very subjective. Therefore, the team has to be in direct communication with the client’s users at all times, receive their inputs to ensure their feedback is quickly integrated into the project constantly.

In spite of the challenges faced, while shifting Microsoft? Access applications to the Cloud, we have been able to provide our clients with tremendous results, every time. Want to know how we did it? Stay tuned to learn about the Roadmap and Success Story in the next chapters of this blog post or feel free to reach out to our team to schedule a no obligation Software Roadmap Session with our experts.

To be continued… Part II will be posted 9/30/15 @ 10:00 AM EST