With the release of Microsoft Office 365 in 2013, there were a number of questions about how it changed the different Microsoft programs, including Microsoft Access. For the most part the changes and the way 365 affects the other programs are positive. In addition to giving you more devices to work from, 365 is relatively inexpensive for an annual renewal. It lets you work in the cloud, so that you have greater mobility, and you can access your database information from more locations.

Of course, you will need to use Access apps, but the two working together make it easier to integrate information. 

One of the biggest changes between Access 2010 and 2013 in Office 365 is that Microsoft got rid of the need for users to publish information to SharePoint to access it. Now, all you need are the apps and you can start working with anything you have created in an app to access it online. While you are limited to creating, reading, updating, and deleting information with the apps, it does make it a lot safer and easier to use since you won’t have to worry about people creating stuff they shouldn’t when they aren’t connected directly to Access.

Available Apps for Microsoft 365

One of the primary goals of the 2013 changes in Microsoft 365 is to make using it primarily an online experience. This is at odds with the way that Access works because Access is typically used as a local or network solution. One thing you need to know before working with Access apps in 365 is that they don’t let you use VBA.

That does mean you will need to redesign your current Access database to use them.

That being said, there are a lot of benefits to making the move. Since 2013, Access apps have been fully integrated so that you can create, use, and share the apps you need for Access. These apps have general availability, which means the following are guaranteed with 365.

• The apps are covered under the Service Level Agreement, as well as compliance level that covers other Office 365 apps.
• The apps you create can be sold at the SharePoint Store.
• Users can view all Access apps, even apps that have been disabled under the preview feature because those apps are now part of the Office 365 subscription.

The only Access apps that are still in preview are Office 365 Government apps. They are still available to these customers through preview, but not through the stores.

Using 365 to Manage Apps

One of the best parts about using Access with Microsoft 365 is that you can access and manage all of your apps, not just your Access apps. This feature makes it easier to make apps available to users, release new versions of the apps, and retire old ones. If you are in a business that creates apps that are used internally, this makes it far easier to ensure that your employees are using the same version so that inconsistencies and issues are not created when data is entered into the databases from various mobile devices. 

Quick Look at Creating an Access and Azure Database

If you use Office 365 Azure Databases, odds are you will want to hybridize your Access databases with these to make it easier to maintain them. If you use VBA for your Access databases, this is definitely a great way to work around the problem. As mentioned earlier, web databases don’t have the ability to handle additional code, so you would have to redesign your databases to use them in the cloud. When you hybridize your Access and Azure databases, you can get around this limitation, and the data is still available over the WAN. It also makes it a lot easier to work with Office 365 because you won’t have to make a lot of changes to your existing standard database.

Word of Caution about Complex Databases

Depending on how complex your database is, you may not want to make the switch quite yet. Microsoft does a lot of things very well, but it requires a staged approach to reach the peak performance. Access has remained one of the bestselling database software packages on the market, which means there are many businesses that have learned how to use and adapt Access databases to meet their needs.

The more complex you have made your databases, the more difficult it will be to have it work with Office 365 because this is the first round in which they are really being integrated with the cloud. If you have a simple database, it should be easy to make the switch without causing too much down time or issues. For many businesses though, the databases are far more complex, which means it will be more difficult to coordinate. Hybridization is one way that can simplify the process. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to get started, it may be best to wait for the next Office version after they have had more time to work out the issues and figure out how to provide more support for complex databases.