[AccessD] Access Development Future

[randall.anthony at cox.net]

12 years ago I supported 175 Access apps within the department.  5 years ago
the VP said all Access apps are to be phased out, find something else to
replace it with.  I'm down to 5, and come January when I retire, those units
will be without an Access dev or support.  We'll probably slip back to the
days when many Access apps were created by a hobbyist by necessity.
Definitely the end of an era.

-----Original Message-----
From: AccessD <accessd-bounces+randall.anthony=cox.net at databaseadvisors.com>
On Behalf Of Jim Dettman via AccessD
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2026 9:50 AM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Cc: Jim Dettman <jimdettman at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Access Development Future

David,

 I'm down to one client as I am in the process of retiring.

 Most that I had moved on to web based solutions and that certainly is the
way the world is going, or using SAAS, which is usually outside the realm of
what a typical Access developer can offer (1-3 person IT shop).   I think
there is still a niche in the SMB market as there is a lack of developers
learning Access, and many of the current ones are retiring, and as you said,
not everyone can use the latest tech nor do everything on-line or in the
cloud.  Microsoft also continues to add new features to Access: modern
charts, zooming, breaking the 22" design limit, etc, which has been
surprising given the size of the Access team (they are doing a fantastic job
considering the resources they have to work with).

 However, with all that said, I don't know how long that niche will last.
COM being depreciated in 2029 will be the biggest issue if Microsoft doesn't
change their mind.  There are solutions/work arounds that are being
developed (calling API's), but life will change drastically for Access apps,
and some may not survive ("well if it's going to break that much, we might
as well re-write it in something else").   Thing is though, there's still
nothing like Access on the market, and many still live on the desktop
despite what Microsoft would like to see.   OWA for example is so lacking in
features compared to the desktop, that it's rare I find anyone using it.
It is slowly getting better, but it still has a way to go to match the
desktop version.

 The other issue with Access based apps is Cyber Insurance.  That's becoming
almost a given with any company, and few insurance companies like seeing an
Access app because of the lack of security.   Many of the applications
developed in the past (i.e. a health care clinic), would never fly in
today's time with a cyber insurance policy in place (or the company would
pay a hefty premium). 

 AI for me is a non-starter.   I think it's great when generalizing things,
but even with that, you need to be extremely careful even with that.  I've
often found things stitched together with a "yes, that can be done" when in
fact it cannot.    As far as coding?   So far I'm not impressed.   I know
there are several Access developers working with AI, and the demo's I've
seen, like adding a field to a table and a form, takes 30 minutes by the
time they go through all the gyrations.  You often hear the the term
"mis-aligned" now, which means "oops, it did something it wasn't supposed to
do.     And with AI, unless it's a small snippet of code, it doesn't always
do a good job.    I think AI has been way over-hyped for what it can do at
the present time.

FWIW,
Jim.

-----Original Message-----
From: AccessD On Behalf Of David Emerson
Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2026 5:26 PM
To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: [AccessD] Access Development Future

Greetings Listers,

 

All has been quiet on the Access front.

 

I am interested on how many of us are still supporting Access applications?
Has AI made a major difference to existing client databases or is there
still a niche for our work in smaller businesses that don't have the funds
to take advantage of the latest technologies?

 

Regards

 

David Emerson

Dalyn Software Ltd

Adelaide, Australia

 

 

 

 

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