MS Access to SQL Server

Have you outgrown your custom-built MS Access Application?  Are you experiencing slow performance, error messages, security problems, and/or database corruption in Access SQL?  Does your MS Access SQL Application continually crash?  PCA has many years of experience helping Clients migrate their MS Access SQL Applications to SQL Server. 

MS Access is great for small projects with just a few users.  It's also a great tool to develop custom business applications, since it's free to distribute and relatively easy to use.  However, problems associated with the limitations of MS Access become all too apparent when you need to scale the application to support more features, more data, and more users.  This is when it becomes clear that more robust and secure SQL Server database solutions are in order.  It's time to convert Access to SQL Server!

Microsoft's flagship relational database product SQL Server 2005 was designed to handle the data administration and rigorous workload balancing required by more mission critical and demanding business applications.  PCA will help you with MS Access to SQL Server migration.  Converting MS Access to SQL Server is challenging in some casess, but in many cases, we can connect MS Access to SQL Server directly with your existing MS Access SQL Application.

Avoid the MS SQL Server Migration Trap

Usually, it is not necessary to completely re-write the entire system (back-end Database and front-end MS Access application).  This is an unnecessary and more costly change that inexperienced developers often seek.  PCA can help you avoid complete rewrites by carefully analyzing and planning throughout the application development process itself, a process that PCA has lots of experience with, and does not take lightly.  We feel that the process of understanding your business needs is an integral component of going with the right solution, and this is a goal we set for all of our projects.  For some systems, the MS Access user interface is simply pointed to a new "SQL Server 2000" database, which is dedicated to safe-guarding and distributing the business/database information as needed.

Converting Access to SQL Server is also sometimes known as "Upsizing Access" which comes from the "Upsizing Wizard" from Microsoft.  The Upsizing Wizard will move Access to SQL, but in most cases, the resulting SQL Server database needs a lot of work, and often times we find that we have to undo what the wizard automatically did.

MS Access Application (Client) with MSDE Database (Server)

If you've already Hit the Wall with your MS Access Application, replacing the MS Access database with the MSDE database is the next, most cost-effective upgrade on the Microsoft server path.  MSDE and MS SQL Server are the same database engine; the only difference is, MSDE has certain performance limitations and licensing restrictions.   As such, MSDE is Microsoft's way to introduce MS SQL Server to many companies in a simple, cost effective way.  Under certain circumstances, you can have an MSDE License at no additional cost, making MSDE an ideal choice to upgrade your MS Access programs to SQL Server.

If your database is exposed to the Internet thru anything other than MS Access or Active Server Pages (.ASP), you cannot use MSDE, and must purchase (or already own) a SQL Server License from Microsoft.  In addition, MSDE has a built-in "performance governor" on Process Queues that limit the number of similtaneous End Users to 8 concurrent (active) sessions.  MSDE is also slightly more difficult to develop custom business applications on, and more difficult/expensive to install and configure MSDE vs. MS SQL Server.  If supporting two dozen or more end users over the Internet is a hard requirement, then MS SQL Server is the right choice.

MS Access Limitations

MS Access has several inherent technical limitations.  Expect to run into problems (slow performance, corrupt database, application crashes, etc.) if your MS application goes into the "Caution" or the "Stop" zones for any one of the criteria below:

Practical Differences -- MS Access, MSDE, MS SQL Server

There are important differences between what you can achieve with the various database Servers and Clients available on the Microsoft Business Platform.  Principal considerations for deciding which combination is the best for your business (lowest hassle, biggest benefit for the investment) are the following:

The Real Cost of Staying with MS Access

Many people think that developing applications in MS Access is less expensive than alternatives e.g. MSDE or MS SQL Server.  Our experience at PCA, from developing literally hundreds of custom business applications on MS Access, MSDE and MS SQL Server, speaks to the contrary: developing custom applications with MS Access CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE EXPENSIVE than developing business applications with MSDE or MS SQL Server.   We tend to spend more time, more effort, and run into more headaches with MS Access, primarily because it's difficult to know what the Customer is running, easy-to-use MS Desktop-like User Interfaces conventions are more difficult to construct in MS Access, and MS Access is significantly more difficult to deploy and control as a distributed business application without driving up IT support costs.   Finally, even if you've invested the extra time and effort to overcome these limitations, the MS Access platform won't scale.

PCA developers spend about one-third less time developing custom applications on the MSDE and MS SQL Server platforms.  The results are far better, and the application is more scalable (has a longer shelf-life).  Since time is money, applications that are built on the right components end up costing our customers LESS, and they get MORE!  Our advise to customers: stop looking at MS Access as the lowest cost/cheapest solution, just becuase it ships with every copy of Office Professional. It simply isn't true.

PCA has extensive expertise with designing, building and maintaining custom SQL Server business applications, from beginning to end.  Since we specialize in both data solutions and simple yet efficient Visual Basic Database user interfaces, your information system will be designed and constructed well from the bottom up.  We are also able to inject new life into existing systems, by way of effective database and program optimizations.