[AccessD] Access News

Thanks Jim but I have to wonder if FMS attended the same keynote speech that I did. I was at this Advisor event and looked forward to the keynote entitled "The Future of Access".  In it Richard McAniff demoed SharePoint and Access connectivity to SharePoint data but he did not once talk about the direction of Access, future features, SQL connectivity (ADPs that is) or anything other than a "rah-rah we support you developers" with no real details.

OTOH, all the .NET sessions showed new features that are "just like Access" so one has to wonder what is the true direction.  Also at Alison Balter's pre-conference session "M$ Access Development" she showed a few apps that connected to SQL data.  One attendee noted that she was using mdbs and asked why she wasn't using an ADP.  She neatly sidestepped the issue that has come up on this list in recent days and simply stated "MDB is the file format that M$ is standing behind and promoting the use of".  Of course this is just me paraphrasing but you get the gist of what is being said here.

I had lunch with some Access developers who noted the same lack of info on the future of Access at the keynote.  I guess we should take comfort in the fact that the Access team is larger but to what end?

Jim DeMarco
Director Application Development
Hudson Health Plan


-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of Jim Hewson
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 1:32 PM
To: AccessD
Subject: [AccessD] Access News



Below is from the FMS monthly e-newsletter.
Thought the list would be interested.

Jim H. 

MICROSOFT INVESTING HEAVILY IN ACCESS 
Last week at the Access Advisor conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced their plans for enhancing Access over the next several versions. In his keynote, Richard McAniff, Corporate Vice President of Access, Excel and Office Programmability, revealed the future direction for Access and their renewed commitment to the roots of making databases easy, along with SharePoint integration for web connectivity. With the largest Access development team since the early days of Access, Microsoft is refocusing its efforts on making Access the no-brainer choice for Excel users who need more power. By simplifying the development of database applications, information workers will be empowered to solve more database problems on their own. Meanwhile, the developer features will allow the continued creation of professional solutions. Overall, the investment Microsoft is making, the change in focus and simpler marketing message for Office, is quite tremendous and bodes well for the future of Access.
At FMS we are extremely pleased to see this new focus. Rather than focusing on SQL Server or .NET, Microsoft is returning focus to Access' core strength: a rapid development environment for users that can be extended by experienced database developers and programmers. The new initiative will result in even more databases that can be created by information workers, and gives skilled Access users and developers more opportunities. While there are tradeoffs between Access and other, more advanced platforms, making it easier to create Access projects will allow organizations to build applications they could not cost-justify on more expensive platforms. We at FMS have always believed there are a wide range of business and organizational challenges that require database solutions. Some justify expensive and sophisticated solutions, while others are best satisfied with the rapid, cost effective solutions Access offers. 




 



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