Microsoft Access replacement: move your database to the cloud

Why businesses look for a Microsoft Access replacement

Access is a good tool for one person building a database on one PC. Trouble starts when the file becomes the system the whole office runs on. The usual signs:

• The file sits on a shared drive, and when two people save at once it locks up or needs a “Compact and Repair”.
• The database is creeping toward the 2 GB size limit that applies to every Access file, and you have started splitting data into extra files to stay under it.
• Remote staff connect over a VPN, and the database is slow or corrupts because Access was never designed to run across the internet.
• Access only runs on Windows, so anyone on a Mac, a tablet or a phone is left out.
• The VBA code and macros were written by someone who has since left, and nobody wants to open the design view.
• You want customers or field staff to enter data directly, and there is no safe way to give them access to the file.

Your options for replacing Access

There is no single Microsoft Access alternative that suits every business. These are the realistic paths, with what each one fixes and what it leaves behind:

• Keep the Access front end and move the tables to SQL Server or Azure SQL. Microsoft’s SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access helps with this, and it removes the size limit and most corruption. Your staff still need Access installed on Windows PCs, and the old forms and VBA stay as they are.
• Rebuild in Power Apps with SharePoint lists or Dataverse. A sensible choice if your business already lives in Microsoft 365. Complex Access queries and reports rarely carry over directly, SharePoint lists have their own limits on large data, and licensing depends on which features and connectors you use.
• Move to a no-code database such as Airtable or Zoho Creator. Quick to set up for simple tables and forms, but heavy VBA logic, detailed reports and strict permissions are hard to recreate, and costs grow with users and records.
• Rebuild as a custom web app. The tables move to a proper server database, the forms become web screens, and the queries and VBA become tested code. It takes more upfront work but has no limits on users, logic or integrations, and it runs in any browser.

Access to SQL Server migration vs. a full rebuild

An Access to SQL Server migration on its own is a good first step when the main problem is the data: size, corruption or backups. It is quick, and your team keeps the screens they know.

It does not fix the parts people usually complain about most. The app still only runs on Windows with Access installed, remote work still depends on a remote desktop or VPN, and the VBA still has one person who understands it. If those are the real pain points, a rebuild as a web app solves them in one move, and the SQL Server step happens as part of it.

How we migrate an Access database to the cloud

1. Open up the fileWe go through every table, relationship, query, form, report and VBA module, and list what each one actually does.
2. Sit with your usersWe watch how people use the database day to day, including the workarounds and the reports that get printed every Monday.
3. Design the new screensYou click through designs of the web app before any code is written, so familiar steps stay familiar and the clumsy ones get fixed.
4. Build in roundsWe rebuild the most used parts first and you review each round, so your team can try real screens early.
5. Move and check the dataWe import every table, then compare record counts, totals and your key reports against the Access file with you.
6. Switch overOnce the numbers match, your team moves to the web app and the Access file is kept as a read-only archive.

What changes for your team

• Everyone works in one live database from any browser, on Windows, Mac, tablet or phone.
• No more locked files, size limits or Compact and Repair.
• Each person has their own login, with permissions for what they can see and change.
• The reports you rely on are rebuilt, and can be emailed or exported to Excel on a schedule.
• Hosting, backups and security updates are handled for you.
• Customer or field portals and connections to your accounting or email tools become possible.

What it costs

Custom projects at Zoti start at $499/month, on a monthly plan covering design, development, hosting and ongoing changes. The price depends mostly on how many forms, reports and VBA routines the database has, and how much cleanup the data needs. You get a written quote before work starts, after we have looked through the Access file.