As of April 2018, Microsoft officially discontinued support for Access Web Apps and Access Web Databases, eliminating them from SharePoint Online and Office 365. While Microsoft's commitment to the desktop version of Access remains strong, the lack of native support for online MS Access applications raises many questions for those committed to web-based Access database solutions.
Microsoft's official recommendation for those in search of a web-based Access equivalent is its new PowerApps platform. However, as of the Spring of 2018, PowerApps lacks much of the feature and customization potential that our Access clients are seeking, and it carries a hefty price-tag for those deploying their apps to multiple users across their organization. Ranging from $7-$40/month per user, this "no-code" platform still is in its infancy and is unlikely to meet the needs of all but the most basic online database deployments.
At Access Consultant, we're pleased to offer our clients better options - whether they're hoping to migrate from an existing web-based Access app, or simply looking for a new web-based database solution:
Knack - Designed as a "no-code" business software platform, our experience with Knack has confirmed it to be a robust, stable, and cost-effective solution for multi-user online databases. In fact, we're proud to say that we run our own business on it! Its strength is its simplicity and the rapid app development that it facilitates; and, unlike MS PowerApps, it isn't priced on a per-user basis. Access Consultant is an official Knack Partner, and through our partner relationship we're happy to offer our clients custom Knack application development with hosting costs starting at only $20/month, all-in.
ColdFusion - Used by Fortune 500 companies, governments, and small businesses alike, ColdFusion is a tried-and-true web application development platform that offers full customization potential, while enabling rapid development and deployment of multi-user data-driven applications. Through our partner, Cosmos Computing, we're pleased to bring to bear more than two decades of ColdFusion (CF) application development experience, allowing us to build highly flexible and powerful web-based database apps from scratch, at a speed on par with native MS Access databases, and with a minimal hosting cost.
Both Knack and ColdFusion empower us to import existing MS Access application data, vastly expediting the migration process for our clients, and both represent software platforms with staying power and stability.
So, even though Microsoft has retired its support of Access Web Apps, our clients certainly aren't left in the lurch! We're proud to deliver Knack and ColdFusion solutions that offer our clients the web-based flexibility they need at prices that make sense for businesses of any size.