This is why you should switch from Access to Power Apps

Various tools let you build internal business applications in which data is edited and stored in a relational database. Microsoft Access and Power Apps are two examples. This blog addresses the growing question of when and why it is advisable to switch from Access to Power Apps.

Limitations of Microsoft Access

External use

Access was developed by Microsoft 28 years ago and is used for local applications or on an intranet. This makes the applications difficult to share with external users. With Access Services you can move the application to the web, but this seems a rather cumbersome approach, because behind the scenes a SharePoint site is created that, with some extra work, can be reached from outside. This requires setting up an external server running Windows to host the SharePoint site, so that it can be used beyond the internal network.

Large numbers of users

Access was also designed for small, lightweight applications that cannot handle too many simultaneous users. If many users work in it at the same time, you will notice that the application quickly slows down and that you have to wait a long time for a query (which covers a large share of the actions in Access) to finish. If you want to scale an application up to a larger group of users, Access presents (practically insurmountable) obstacles.

Mobile applications

The last point is that there is a growing demand for mobile applications that can also perform actions on an (Access) database. It is convenient to look something up or save something on the go, either in the browser on a mobile device or as an installed app. Access does not support mobile use in any way, so unfortunately this is not possible.

How does Power Apps overcome these limitations?

Developing, using and managing Power Apps all takes place in the cloud. This means the applications can be accessed from anywhere. Security can of course be fully configured in the management environment, so that only (guest) users who exist in Azure AD can be added. In short, users can be managed securely, simply and clearly.

External and internal use

Because this all happens in the cloud, it is far easier to share an application than with Access. Instead of setting up intranet security specifically for the external parties who want to access the application, you simply add them to Azure AD as a guest user and then invite them straight to the app. This is faster, more secure and easier to manage.

There are situations where data is preferably kept internally. Power Apps offers options for this too: while the logic lives in the cloud, the data does not necessarily have to. Power Apps can use data sources such as Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service), SharePoint lists and Excel files, and can also communicate with an on-premises SQL Server. This is done through a Data Gateway that is easy to install and manage. This way a suitable data source is available for every case.

Large numbers of users

Power Apps supports as many simultaneous users as the data source supports. This means Power Apps itself has no limit on concurrent users. The app stays fast for every user and scaling up to large groups is possible.

Mobile applications

Mobile use is very well supported in Power Apps. It is easy to develop responsive apps that look good and work well on mobile, tablet and desktop. Applications can be accessed in the browser, but also through the Power Apps app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Play Store. This way data can be viewed and edited wherever and whenever the user wants!

Example: Contract management

For a client we converted an Access application into Power Apps. The user interface and the (business) logic that was woven throughout the application were recreated, and improved where necessary, using a combination of Power Apps and Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow). The front end was rebuilt in Power Apps, giving the various overviews, forms and data validation a modern look. Power Automate is used for the more in-depth logic. Here a process can be built visually in a flow diagram, which can be triggered by, for example, an action in Power Apps, but also periodically at a set time.

Want to know more about the components of the Power Platform? Then read this blog.

The wish for this application was to store the data on an on-premises SQL Server. As described above, this was relatively easy to set up and we could quickly build on a solid data model. Power Automate could also use the data gateway to write to the same database where needed. For example, keeping a history of changes to some tables could be handled well this way.

Future-proof

This blog has described why and how an Access application can be replaced by Power Apps to create a future-proof application. We briefly highlighted 3 important limitations of Access and then explained how Power Apps overcomes them. It all comes together in the case described, where we did exactly this for a client. Do you also have an Access application you want to make future-proof? Get in touch with us to discuss the possibilities without obligation.