Your Microsoft Technology Development and Consulting Experts - Operating since 2000
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Your Microsoft Technology Development and Consulting Experts - Operating since 2000
Author: Daniel Thomas
Reading time: 8min
If you're relying on a database that's starting to show its age, maybe some slow performance, multi-user issues or limited access for remote staff... Well you are not alone, and you might be thinking that its time to look abroad. But across industries, from law firms to manufacturers to government departments, thousands of companies still depend on legacy Access solutions to manage day-to-day business operations.
Instead of abandoning their existing system or starting from scratch with expensive SaaS platforms or database providers, many organisations are successfully evolving their Access databases into cloud-augmented solutions. By extending Access with platforms like Azure SQL, SharePoint , Power Apps, and Office 365. The latest suite of tools provided by Microsoft in 2025 can automate many of your business processes, improve scalability, and give your team the flexibility of secure remote access. All while retaining the forms, reports, and logic you've already invested in.
In this article, I'll show you how Access fits into today's cloud-first world, explore hybrid solutions that keep costs low and performance high, and help you understand what a cloud-enabled Access system could look like for your business in 2025 and beyond.
Despite being over 30 years old, Microsoft Access is still widely used across thousands of businesses. In fact, research from Landbase.ai shows over 30,000 verified companies still use Access as of 2024. Why? Because it solves real business problems — quickly and cost-effectively.
Access has long been a go-to tool for:
It's especially attractive for small-to-medium businesses, non-profits, and even departments within large enterprises that need fast, local solutions without enterprise IT involvement.
Many government departments and law offices still rely on Access to manage sensitive documents and structured workflows that don't require full enterprise systems.
However, Access wasn't built for today's remote-first, cloud-based world. It struggles when...
So no, Access isn't obsolete... But it does need help. A well-planned cloud augmentation strategy allows you to retain Access where it works best, while solving its biggest limitations with cloud infrastructure.
A modern cloud strategy for Microsoft Access doesn't mean scrapping your existing system or rebuilding everything from the ground up. In fact, one of the greatest strengths of Access is its ability to adapt and extend, rather than be replaced. The key lies in hybridising your solution — allowing Access to continue doing what it does best (custom forms, macros, reports, and user-friendly interface design), while shifting the heavy lifting, such as data storage, multi-user management, scalability, and integration into to more robust, cloud-based technologies.
This approach keeps costs low, retains your team's familiarity with Access, and allows for incremental upgrades instead of disruptive migrations. By connecting Access to services like Azure SQL Database, SharePoint, or Microsoft Dataverse, you can turn a locally limited system into a secure, flexible, and future-ready solution accessible from anywhere.
"Companies that move databases to the cloud report a 37% average improvement in performance and 40–60% cost savings over on-prem solutions." — Oracle Cloud Migration Survey
One of the most powerful upgrades is linking your Access front end to a cloud-hosted backend database. Two reliable, proven methods provided by Microsoft are:
With this simple setup, you can retain your familiar Access interface, do-away with the headaches of a full database migration and still gain:
For businesses with remote teams, satellite offices, or hybrid work environments, Access databases often run into limitations when stored locally or on shared drives. That's where integrating with SharePoint or OneDrive for Business becomes a game-changer.
By storing your Access front-end files (.accdb or .accde) in SharePoint or OneDrive, users can securely access and open the database from anywhere with an internet connection. This setup not only supports mobility, but also ensures that all team members are working from the most current version of the file, reducing version conflicts and outdated data errors.
SharePoint and OneDrive also offer built-in version control, automatic backups, and integration with Microsoft 365 security protocols like multifactor authentication and conditional access. This means your files are accessible, safe, auditable, and compliant with modern IT governance standards.
This approach is especially helpful for teams that collaborate on Access templates or reports, allowing users to co-manage and update Access front ends while keeping the backend linked to a central SQL Server or Azure database. It's a simple way to extend Access into the cloud without overhauling your infrastructure.
Once your data lives in a central SQL database, you can:
This means your Access database doesn't just live in a desktop app — it can now interact with the tools your team already uses every day.
By moving your backend to the cloud and integrating with Microsoft 365, you can:
This is a huge benefit for regulated industries like legal, finance, and healthcare.
Combining Microsoft Access with cloud technologies delivers the best of both worlds... The flexibility and customisation that users are familiar with, paired with the scalability, performance, and security of modern cloud infrastructure.
By keeping Access at the front end, you maintain a familiar interface for users who are already trained and comfortable with its forms, reports, and navigation. This minimises disruption and training overhead while ensuring business continuity. In essence, you future-proof your Access solution while keeping it lean and agile.
"Migrating to Azure SQL enables businesses to scale up or down instantly without additional hardware costs." — Microsoft Azure Migration Guide
Cloud-hosted databases like Azure SQL Database or SQL Server on Azure are built to handle millions of records, complex queries, and dozens (or even hundreds) of simultaneous users — far surpassing the technical limitations of a traditional Access backend. By shifting your data storage to the cloud, you eliminate concerns around Access's 2GB size limit, frequent file corruption due to multiple concurrent users, and the fragility of relying on shared network drives.
What makes this transition especially powerful is retaining the backing of the Microsoft ecosystem. For almost 50 years now, Microsoft has been a trusted, enterprise-grade platform used by governments, Fortune 500 companies, and regulated industries around the world.
With a hybrid model, your Access front-end can connect to a central data source in the cloud — enabling remote staff, satellite offices, or field workers to access and update data from anywhere with internet access.
This is especially useful in:
Storing your data in the cloud (e.g., Azure or Microsoft 365) means:
This allows your organisation to meet compliance needs (e.g. ISO, HIPAA, GDPR) without heavy investment in on-premises infrastructure.
Once in the cloud, your data becomes part of the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem, unlocking:
These tools connect natively with Access-linked cloud databases, enabling automation, mobility, and modernisation — all without needing to retrain staff or throw away years of investment.
Cloud-based infrastructure operates on pay-as-you-go models, which means:
Most importantly, you avoid costly and risky full-system rebuilds — and extend the life and ROI of your existing Access solution.
Microsoft Access isn't obsolete... It just needs to evolve. For thousands of businesses, Access remains a powerful, cost-effective tool for managing data, creating reports, and building business-specific workflows. But in today's remote, integrated, and cloud-first world, it needs a modern strategy to stay competitive.
Rather than throwing away years of investment in a working Access solution or wasting countless hours on a full migration, a hybrid Access + cloud approach lets you:
In other words, you modernise what matters — without starting from scratch.
Daniel is a developer at Access Experts, a curious mind into the world of programming, design and SEO. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in contact via the form below.
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