MS Access "out-of-the-box" is designed to support small work groups i.e. 5 - 10 concurrent users on a LAN. In addition to LAN-only use for a small number of users, MS Access has many other built-in limitations that are well documented e.g. the size of the datastore, the number of records, security, etc.

There are a number of different ways you can configure MS Access to realize incremental improvements in performance and reliability (See MS Access Migration Chart for more information on the available options) but only two methods provide a more scalable solution: replace the native MS Access Jet engine datastore with SQL Server, or migrate the entire MS Access application to SQL Server and .NET Smart Client.

Many businesses need to provide external users i.e. work-at-home and field employees the ability to use MS Access remotely over the Internet.  The first step toward making MS Access available on Internet is typically accomplished by setting up a secure VPN connection in combination with a remote access solution like WebEx, GoToMeeting or Microsoft Terminal Services.

This technique works well for a limited number of Users, but invariably, users will experience slow-downs in performance (sometimes quite significant!), due to the overhead processing expense associated with "repainting the screen" each time you perform an action.  In addition, MS Access has a built-in performance governor that limits processing to eight (8) concurrent End Users.  MS Access will slow down, incrementally, with each additional user over eight, and there is nothing you can do about this, short of migrating the back-end MS Access data store to MS SQL Server.

Migrating MS Access to .NET Smart Client enables remote Users via the Internet.  Work-at-home employees and field personnel can use the application anywhere an Internet connection is available — and the .NET Smart Client application will function and perform just like you are at the office.  With role-based security management, different parts of the application i.e. Forms, Tabs, Reports, etc. can be restricted to specific business roles.

If you need to provide work-at-home and field employees the ability to use MS Access remotely over the Internet, you must migrate the front-end MS Access interface to .NET Smart Client, which is a native Internet application interface developed by Microsoft. 

If you are outgrowing MS Access, and have already exhausted all of the work-arounds to providing more LAN and Internet Users the ability to use your MS Application, PCA can help you understand what your options are, and the relative cost-benefit of different approaches. Depending upon your situation, we will recommend the most cost-effective approach to "upsize" an existing MS Access application on the Microsoft business platform.  Whether you need to fix problems you are having, or you need to meet more demanding business needs, our experts will work with you to determine the best solution that is compatible with your business objectives, functional needs, and budget.