What is Microsoft Office 365 Access Capacity? Is it can be used as a shared database to access from multiple locations?

Question

I am an expert Microsoft Access Database developer. Most of the time my clients asked me to have an online database application for them so they can enter data from multiple locations.

I thought to switch to Office 365 so my question is

1. What is the storage capacity of Access 365, is it similar to other desktop versions that are only 2GB? and if it's 2GB then what do you mean by 1TB of space that comes with an Office 365 subscription?
2. If I purchase Office 365 Access and develop a database using it, so will it be saved/placed on the server that is, Is it possible to give account details to other data entry operators so that they can enter data in that same database?

Answer 1

Access is NOT the tool for for an online database. I'm not sure what you think "switching to Office 365" will do for you. It really doesn't.

While there are ways to create an Access application that can work with the cloud, I'm not sure they can perform well. There are other ways to allow for remote data entry however.

An Access accdb file is limited to 2Gb in size. That's an absolute limit. However, one of Access' better features is its ability to connect to data sources that aren't Access tables in an accdb file. Using SQL Server or Azure (for example) as the back end can allow for much larger amounts of data. The 1TB of cloud storage that comes with Office refers to One Drive. One Drive, however, cannot be used to share Access data in a multi-user situation.

By design, Access is a multi-user application. But it is designed for use over a LAN and doesn't work well over a WAN or with the Cloud. If you have users that are all on a LAN, the data can be stored on a Server in either an accdb file or a different data source. Users then have a front end on their local PCs.

Other cionfigurations for remote access is using a Terminal Server or having users remote into a PC on the LAN.

Answer 2

Scott hit the highlights. Here are a couple of additional thoughts.

You can't purchase Access 365 outside of the Office (or as it is now called, I believe) Microsoft 365. So, you would be upgrading all of your Office applications. The MS 365 versions of Word, Excel and, I believe PowerPoint also have versions that do run in the browser. Access does not.

The 1B of space refers to storage, just like having a 1TB hard drive.

There are options, like using a VPN to connect to a desktop where the Access FE is installed. That allows remote users to connect to an Access FE installed on that desktop. You could install a server and use Remote Desktop. Some developers consider this to be an optimal solution.

You can opt for other solutions, such as that offered by companies, like Caspio, which involve migrating the entire Access application, both back end and front end to their servers. From there, your users interact via the browser. For relatively simple applications, that could work.

I am more convinced than some other Access developers that an Access FE with a SQL Azure or remotely hosted SQL Server can be a viable solution, but it is dependent on two things. Relatively fast, stable internet connections and very well designed Access interfaces. There can be significant slow-down of performance if all you do is replace the ACE back end with a SQL Azure back end and leave the traditionally designed Access FE as is. If you are willing to invest time and resources in optimization, however, it is quite doable. One of the larger and more successful shops in our business specializes in this approach. But you have to be really good at it.

Finally, you could explore migrating some relevant portion of your applications to web applications using standard web development tools. In this hybrid approach, tasks like remote data entry are handled via the browser, but the Access FE on traditional desktops remains the workhorse of the application.

Answer 3

Great, you people saved lot of my research time and effort and am Thankful.

Problem here is that If I go for SQL, or Azure to work as a Back-end I can't because I know Access only and for Web apps Bubble.io only and that means as per my current skillset I can't make server base Access database.