Microsoft Access Reviews & Insights

Score7.6 out of 10

842 Reviews and Ratings

Community insights

TrustRadius Insights for Microsoft Access are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.

Pros

Efficient Database Management: Users have praised the software for its ease of database system management, reporting, and analysis capabilities. Some reviewers found the reporting functionalities and data manipulation tools easy to use, requiring minimal training.

Enhanced User Experience: The graphical interface was highlighted as a key factor that improved user experience and made database management more efficient. Reviewers particularly liked the drag-and-drop components for designing forms and reports, eliminating the need for coding knowledge.

Customizability and Flexibility: Customizability was a key strength mentioned by users who emphasized the ease of creating entity-relationship diagrams and customizing forms and reports. Some users appreciated the software's flexibility in accommodating various business logic requirements and automation needs.

Microsoft Access Reviews

10 Reviews

Engineering

Microsoft Access a great MS SQL alternative

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

July 19, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

[Microsoft] Access has all of the functionalities needed to build concise applications for small offices or needs. The ability to utilize other database platforms like SQL Server is a plus. The ability to create full functioning applications in less than an hour is a big plus. There isn't much you can't do with [Microsoft] Access if you understand that it isn't meant to be an enterprise tool.

Pros

Works on pretty much same SQL scripts
Forms and reports are easy to customize and edit.

Cons

High learning curve
Limited support
No new enhancements

Likelihood to Recommend

[Microsoft] Access allows you to create places to store data in an easily retrievable fashion, allowing multiple users and form views for display and data entry, reporting, and data analysis. Easily mitigable to SQL Server, as you continue to grow. I've turned many an [Microsoft] Access database into a front-end for SQL Server. The Application looks and behaves like the other Office products, making it's introduction to new users fairly simple and straight forward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User

Manager in Engineering (Hospitality company, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

Best in Business, Microsoft Access!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

June 28, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Having worked as a Data Analyst at a reputed retail company, Microsoft Access was one of the major tools that were used for database design, creating entity-relationship diagrams, creating mock layouts of the data schema, and writing queries to retrieve data. At the moment, Microsoft Access was being widely used across the organization. The main reason for using Microsoft Access was its usability and its usual Microsoft user interface that made it easier for nontechnical folks to write queries as well.

Pros

Very easy to create entity-relationship diagrams for various tables and designing mock layouts.
Really easy to navigate as it hold[s] the classic Microsoft UI. Another good thing is that it comes with the complete MS Office Suite.
It is really fast when joining multiple tables no matter what type of join.
Works on pretty much same SQL scripts so no need to learn a new language!

Cons

Need to backup very frequently, I have lost my work many times.
No version for Mac users, [I believe this is a] big limitation.
The ability to handle large database and multiple users.
UI is easy to use but [I feel it] can be improved a lot.

Likelihood to Recommend

Having worked at startups, I can say Microsoft Access is most suited for their needs. Some of the reasons for that can be the ease and ability to create tables, design an entity-relationship diagram, define the relationship between different tables, feeding data into the tables, and retrieving data. All of this can be curated very easily into a process for small to medium-size enterprises. But a serious limitation can be observed where Access does not provide better features for large-scale companies. Another limitation is for companies where Mac is used as work computers.

Rounak Verma

Data Analyst in Engineering at Wayfair (Retail, 5001-10,000 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

Simple and Easy database management solution

Rating: 9 out of 10

Incentivized

May 15, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are using Microsoft Access for abstracting data [from] multiple data resources and creating different sorts of management presentations in forms of graphical and rationale outputs. There are various applications and databases linked with Microsoft Access tool in our organization including Excel, MS SharePoint and cloud storages. It has made [...] things easier in many ways as the data is being managed and reports are being generated in [an] automated way for large data as compared to looking up and abstracting for every input manually through VLOOKUPs and using numerous formulas. We are using MS Access in all of our departments across the company and users have access to the centralized domain as per their job roles through SSO.

Pros

Thorough management of data and files.
Data queries are conducted in snap of a time.
Easy and simple database solution with multiple outputs.
User friendly customization options.

Cons

Cannot be use on various non Microsoft platforms.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is [...] well organized and easy to configure and use basic database platform with multiple functions. Data management for multiple resources and abstracting and query from large data is easy and fast with MS Access. The application is good to go for any organization for initial learnings of database management procedures at low cost.

Verified User

Supervisor in Engineering (Telecommunications company, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

Teaching with Access

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

March 15, 2021

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft Access in some of our projects, and for educational purposes mainly. The graphical interface seems to help students understand RDBMS concepts a bit easier, and also allows quick database design. This is a nice tool for smaller projects and bigger products as well - being able to download it from the cloud and part of Office 365 makes it an excellent candidate for "first database".

Pros

Graphical interface makes design easier.
Good introduction for database design concepts.
GUI allows less room for errors.

Cons

Concurrent users accessing a database makes it really slow.
Requires Windows, and Office.

Likelihood to Recommend

For educational purposes, creating and maintaining an Access database can be a good introduction for new learners. The GUI allows to visualize RDBMS concepts like table, connections, queries. Non-programmer personnel can understand how this math model works without writing SQL, but also allows a smooth transition from WYSIWYG to SQL-based commands.

Balázs Kiss

Software Developer in Engineering at Webvalto Ltd. (Banking, 51-200 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

View profile

Great Database Software from Microsoft

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

May 1, 2019

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft Access is used for multiple databases throughout the organization. One main use is the bill of materials for projects. We use it to manage revisions of the bill of materials. Each revision has a table within the bill of material and we are able to run a comparison between revisions and produce a cover sheet which shows the differences. This is very useful in tracking changes and maintaining up to date documents. This also helps with processing document changes and it makes revising the bill of materials quick and easy. Also, Microsoft Access is used for our parts catalog in Autocad Electrical. There are multiple tables within the database and this is where we put part numbers and descriptions for these parts. This is used when a bill of materials report is run on a circuit diagram.

Pros

One good aspect of Microsoft Access is how the software can be customized for different applications. This is very useful because we are able to use this software for multiple applications, which makes it cost-friendly.
Another strong point of Microsoft Access is the skill required to customize, the amount of programming required is less than most other database programs. This is good for a beginner looking to get into database management.
Microsoft Access is one of the more cost-friendly database applications, and most of the time it comes with Microsoft Office. Other database programs can be expensive and not as easy to use.

Cons

One downfall of Access is some of the bugs I have encountered using this software. Sometimes our database becomes corrupt and we have to restore from a backup. This can be time-consuming and the worst part is sometimes work is lost if the database is not backed up for a couple of days.
Another issue I have encountered with Access is sometimes the database will think someone has it opened and it then becomes read-only. This causes issues if someone has to make a modification and it thinks someone else is working on it. It will tell you the last person who had it opened, but sometimes it is not correct.
Access also has some issues with performance on larger databases, it can take a little bit to open databases with a lot of data. It sometimes also freezes while loading some items.

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft Access is very useful for multiple applications but it is most useful in my case for managing bill of materials, and part databases for electrical components. It definitely makes managing and updating databases quick and easy.
Access has some issues, and I believe if you have very large databases, it can sometimes slow down and not be the best choice. Also, if you have very custom databases, with many macros running, it can be a bit slow.

Verified User

Engineer in Engineering (Industrial Automation company, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

Microsoft Access review

Rating: 3 out of 10

Incentivized

October 10, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is the back end of an ERP system that we are using at our company. The ERP system keeps track of our inventory, sales orders, production, and invoices.

Pros

It is relatively easy to use. It behaves much like Microsoft Excel.
It is very powerful in that it has a lot of capability.

Cons

The user interface has not been updated in 10 years, when I used it for the first time. Given other products the user interface is awkward. It feels like you need to make many mouse clicks to perform tasks.
Setting up forms for the screen and for printing is hard to set up.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is not well suited for people who are not computer savvy.

Anthony Macadino

Vice President and Principle Project Engineer in Engineering at Photo Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (Medical Devices, 11-50 employees)

Vetted Review

3 years of experience

View profile

The best friend of people who are not IT professionals, but suddenly need a relational database to be mastered, designed and implemented by yesterday!

Rating: 6 out of 10

Incentivized

August 31, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I utilize Access databases frequently, ignoring 'weird looks' given to me by IT professionals who consider anything less than Oracle not a true database, but some sort of a 'toy'. However, Access fits the bill perfectly in some cases. Back in 1996, I had to resolve a problem very quickly, by creating a 'tool' to keep track of problems encounters by buyers from the procurement department in ordering certain parts, like parts for old designs and currently unavailable due to obsolescence, or parts having an unacceptable long lead time. The need was for a relatively simple and small database, allowing recording of such problems, recording of the progress made by the Component Engineering department in finding a solution and the recording of the solution itself, when one was found. I selected Microsoft Access as a platform, since it appeared relatively simple compared to more powerful databases, and my proficiency in other members of the Office suite making the learning curve shorter. And it worked very well. The implementation took only three weeks and the results were very much appreciated by its users. I believe this database it is still in use.

Pros

An Access database can be designed and put to use rather fast, in order to answer an immediate need, even if the design must be done by someone with no previous exposure to Access. It can be modified/improved later on, without much impact on the users.
A relatively simple Access database does not require knowledge of any programming language. It can be implemented by using 'macros', which are of a 'point-and-click' type.
If a more complex application is required, Access is fully compatible with Visual Basic for Applications language, which is a object-oriented, even-driven programming language, designed by Microsoft specifically for utilization by all modules belonging to the Office suite.
Since the commonality of VBA across Office, Access databases can be made to interface with other Office applications, and in particular with Excel.
Access is easy to master, cheap, and allows easily the construction of aesthetically pleasing interfaces with the user, while remaining quite powerful. Due to these reasons, it yields itself to be sometimes used for the design of non-database applications, but specialized calculators.

Cons

It cannot accommodate as many records or as many concurrent users an Oracle or similar database can.
It is not as reliable as a database of 'industrial strength' is.
It does not work fast, particularly when when large amount of code was used for its design or when a relatively many users attempt to utilize it simultaneously.

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft Access is very suitable whenever the objective of the project is a database where:
1. The timeframe of the project must be short and the start of the project must be immediate.
2. Specialised personnel from IT department is not available, due to their own prioritization scheme.
3. The designer tasked with the design, implementation and deployment of the database, is a technically-oriented person in general, but having no previous knowledge of Access in particular.
4. The size of the envisaged database is relatively small, both in the number of records to be stored in it, as well in the number of concurrent users.
Microsoft Access is not suitable when:
1. The requirements are for an 'Enterprise' type of database, expected to acummulate over time a very large number of records (large manufacturing company, storing many parts numbers over the years).
2. The database is expected to be access by a very large number of users concurrently (e.g., a bank, accessed by numerous customers simultaneously).
3. The time taken by the execution for each transaction must be as small as possible.
4. The database must be of 'industrial strength', meaning very reliable, with no crushes and no corrupted records.

Fred Abraham, P.Eng

Lead Component Engineer in Engineering at DMJ Technical Services (Defense & Space, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

22 years of experience

View profile

Microsoft Access is an excellent and easy database tool for information management.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

June 25, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Microsoft Access is used throughout the organization for the capture, management, and communication of data in a professional manner and for the administration of databases considering that it provides a series of easily accessible work tools that staff can quickly understand their tools and in this way, implement them in the tasks related to the process of organization of information in databases. The problems solved are basically based on the organization of information, and standardization of information for the analysis of data necessary for decision making to facilitate the growth and development of the company.

Pros

Facilitate the integration of databases provided by Windows-based development programs.
It is compatible with widely used programs that are not necessarily from Microsoft such as Oracle and Sybase.
You have the possibility of placing the information processed in the databases online.
It is one of the programs that work with the most popular databases in the world, therefore, it does not require expenses in training activities or the hiring of very specialized personnel, thus being a saving for the company.

Cons

Microsoft Access should seek the option to increase its capacity to greater than 2GB so all the company can use it without a problem, currently, it's used by small and medium enterprises.
I think they can expand the option of expanding the capacity of users allowed for large organizations to use.
Microsoft Access is not the best database tool for immediate use but for long-term work.
Among the tools that may hinder its use are that Access has a relatively low design compared to other programs. It is difficult to customize and adapt to the controls and forms at the beginning.

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft Access adapts well in departments where databases do not have much content, or where you do not have to perform complex programming or require working with many variables.
Microsoft Access does not adapt well in organizations that require the management of large information content or where many variables must be included, or large companies that require the continuous management of results.

Andres Meza

Ingeniero de Homologación de Terminales Inalámbricos in Engineering at Movilnet (Telecommunications, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

1 year of experience

View profile

Flexible programming to solve database issues

Rating: 8 out of 10

Incentivized

March 16, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use microsoft access as a base software that allows us to create a database of construction materials, employee costs and probable profits, all in a suitable package in the cost department of the organization, and delivers our budgets to our clients on our proposals. The business we are in is civil engineering related, I mean construction, inspection and project development; this is every day job for us.

Pros

Create a database
Actualize the database
Create entry forms
Create output forms

Cons

It only works with computers
Sometimes it has some troubles of code validation
The steps of programming are really small

Likelihood to Recommend

Well suited for the creation of a database and for a small company for budgets proposal. On the other hand, when you try to give some independence to the database that works for itself, Access is less appropriate

Julio A Rivas

Director in Engineering at MCP 2010 Ingeniería C.A. (Civil Engineering, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

2 years of experience

View profile

Have fun with Access

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

September 28, 2016

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I was working with wind turbine data, it was massive 10 minute data with more than 20 columns per turbines. I was handling 4000+ turbines alone to analyze the failure rate and manage the analytical report which I need to extract from the 10 minute data. Excel can't manage large data, whereas Access helped to solve the data management of 4000+ turbines.

Pros

Very flexible on making tables
Data import is excellent
Without having much programming knowledge, you can manage turbine data

Cons

The forms required some more fancy work so that they match with recent days development from other software.
It may be helpful if the farms are built through browsers like Python.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is well suited for large data with very minimal coding.

Babu Balakrishnan

DGM- Wind farm Energy Assessement Due-Diligence, Complete Asset Management expert in Engineering at Vaisala (Renewables & Environment, 1001-5000 employees)

Vetted Review

5 years of experience

View profile

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The best friend of people who are not IT professionals, but suddenly need a relational database to be mastered, designed and implemented by yesterday!

Rating: 6 out of 10

Incentivized

August 31, 2018

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Pros

An Access database can be designed and put to use rather fast, in order to answer an immediate need, even if the design must be done by someone with no previous exposure to Access. It can be modified/improved later on, without much impact on the users.
A relatively simple Access database does not require knowledge of any programming language. It can be implemented by using 'macros', which are of a 'point-and-click' type.
If a more complex application is required, Access is fully compatible with Visual Basic for Applications language, which is a object-oriented, even-driven programming language, designed by Microsoft specifically for utilization by all modules belonging to the Office suite.
Since the commonality of VBA across Office, Access databases can be made to interface with other Office applications, and in particular with Excel.
Access is easy to master, cheap, and allows easily the construction of aesthetically pleasing interfaces with the user, while remaining quite powerful. Due to these reasons, it yields itself to be sometimes used for the design of non-database applications, but specialized calculators.

Cons

It cannot accommodate as many records or as many concurrent users an Oracle or similar database can.
It is not as reliable as a database of 'industrial strength' is.
It does not work fast, particularly when when large amount of code was used for its design or when a relatively many users attempt to utilize it simultaneously.

Likelihood to Recommend

Fred Abraham, P.Eng

Lead Component Engineer in Engineering at DMJ Technical Services (Defense & Space, 201-500 employees)

Vetted Review

22 years of experience

View profile