Ruven Gotz gave a presentation at the 2013 Kansas City SharePoint Saturday event. He discussed the history of Microsoft Access and how Microsoft has tried to improve it over multiple versions. The latest version, Access 2013, integrates Access with SharePoint and SQL Server databases. Gotz provided a demonstration of building an app in Access Services and highlighted some of the benefits it offers, such as a consistent interface and use of SQL Server databases. However, he also noted limitations in customizing apps and the inability to interact with SharePoint lists. Gotz concluded that while Access has potential, it is not yet ready to be broadly used by end users and power users to build solutions in SharePoint.

1. SPS EVENTS
KANSAS CITY 2013
Access
The New (old) Thing
for SharePoint
Ruven Gotz - Avanade

2. Thank You for being a part of
SharePoint Saturday Kansas City!
• Please turn off all electronic devices or set them to
vibrate
• If you must take a phone call, please do so in the hall
• Wi-Fi is available, you will need your Guest
ID/password
(at registration desk)
• Feel free to tweet and blog during sessions.
Remember to follow @SPSKC and tag #whattheheck
in your tweets!

3. Thanks to our Sponsors!!!

4. About me
@ruveng
spinsiders.com/ruveng
ruven.gotz@avanade.com
Ruven Gotz

5. Buy the Book (or Kindle):
http://amzn.to/JnxlcC

6. A little history
Microsoft Certified
Trainer for Access
Teaching development
in Access Basic
Doing independent
consulting with Access
Solutions

8. It was capable of a lot

9. But it was a dangerous tool

10. IT Guys hated it

13. Ugly data entry forms
(This is one of the better ones)

14. Backup often planned

15. But recovery: Not reliable

16. Mission Critical Data: Lost!

19. Microsoft went back to the lab…

20. Access 2010

21. What was the goal?

22. Industrialize it…

23. Tried to use SP as the database

24. A real breakthrough (hopefully)

25. Turned out weak

26. Who is the target audience?

27. My Assumptions
• We are looking at Access as a power-user tool
• We are not looking at manipulating the underlying
code for Access
• In today’s talk, I am examining the likelihood that
you will want to use Access to build solutions or to
release to your power users to take the load off of
IT

28. Microsoft went back to the lab…
AGAIN

29. Access 2013

30. A new architecture
Classic Desktop
Architecture
Jet Desktop Database
File Based
Requires Access or Access Runtime
Access Services
Architecture
SQL Server Database
Runs in Browser
Redistributable as an App

31. The new architecture
View and Edit Data
Database Design
Advanced Reporting & Integration
•
•
•
•
•
Desktop Access Reports
Excel
Power View
Crystal Reports
Custom Websites (.NET, PHP, etc.)

32. The new layout structure
2. Choose view
1. Choose table
3. Search and filter
4. Add and edit items
Presents a polished, consistent interface. But flexible?

33. Access services on Office 365
O365
Browser
Browser
Browser
runtime
Web app 1
Web app 2
design
Web app 3
Access IDE
…
SQL Azure

34. Access services on premises
SP On Prem
Browser
Browser
Browser
runtime
Web app 1
Web app 2
design
Web app 3
Access IDE
…
SQL Server

35. Getting Access Services setup onprem is REALLY, REALLY HARD

36. Getting Access Services to work in
Office 365 is REALLY, REALLY EASY

37. Let’s do a walkthrough
• What’s it like to interact with Access Services
• What are the pluses
• What are the limitations

68. A brief glimpse at a custom app
• Tracking the boats and races at the yacht club.

70. Customization example

76. What is good about Access?
• Microsoft has created a really slick tool
• They tried to protect the user from him or herself
• Very structured page layouts
• It uses SQL Server for back-end safety,
management and performance  HUGE
• Comes with a bunch of pre-built objects that can be
very quickly snapped together and slightly modified
• It RUNS in most BROWSERS  HUGE

77. What are the downsides
• Very difficult to change things from the Microsoft
design template
• The pre-built items have capabilities that are very
difficult to figure out: Creating your own custom
entities has limitations
• You can’t read/write to SharePoint lists (read-only)
• Can’t run SP workflows, can’t send an email from
an action

78. My hope:
Squeeze some additional juice out of SP
• Access would be a great ‘form builder’ tool
for power users, allowing them to create
good looking forms with relational lookups,
enhanced validation, parent-child
relationships, etc.

79. Meeting the
burden:
• I said to you up-front:
In today’s talk, I am
examining the likelihood
that you will want to use
Access to build solutions
or to release to your
power users to take the
load off of IT

80. Sorry
• No

81. Conclusions
• I contacted a few MVP’s and others and asked
them: Do you see great use-cases for Access
Services in SharePoint?
• It’s too disconnected from SharePoint
• It’s too unintuitive for power users to figure out
without wasting a lot of time
• As is, it’s just not ready to be a broad-based enduser or even power-user tool for

82. But
• Don’t lose faith
• Microsoft is hearing us
• The ‘cadence’ of delivery
is changing
• New SP capabilities &
features are rolled out
all the time
• I am hopeful that Access
will, in the not too distant
future, be the tool we
always hoped

83. Thanks!
@ruveng
spinsiders.com/ruveng
ruven.gotz@avanade.com
Ruven Gotz
Download this deck from:
www.slideshare.net/ruveng
Special thanks to:
Reza Alirezai, Laura Rogers and
other unnamed experts for help
and insight in the creation of this
deck