Definition of Microsoft Access in MS Office
The Microsoft Office suite of applications provides several software solutions for business and home requirements. Microsoft Access is the database application, which stores records in tables. It is a smaller solution than enterprise databases, which can cost several thousands of dollars. Microsoft Access has reporting, forms and database programming solutions.
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Function
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Microsoft Access provides database services. The software is useful for small businesses or individuals. The Access database can be used for website applications to store customer orders, contact information and company products. Access also provides small desktop applications, so businesses can get reports and create user forms that interact with the Access database. All the programming, reports and forms interact with Access tables, which are the core components that store database information.
Features
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The main feature in the Access software is the table. Tables are rows and columns that hold a set of data. For instance, a customer table contains a list of customers and their contact information. Queries are programming objects that retrieve, edit, delete and insert records into the tables. Reports are used to gather information from the database and view analytical data. Finally, forms provide an interface for users to manipulate the data in the tables.
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Size
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Microsoft Access databases start small when you first create them. A new Access database may only use a few kilobytes of hard drive space. Each time the user inserts more records into the database tables, the file size grows. For this reason, business owners should ensure that plenty of room is provided on the web server when hosting an Access database.
Benefits
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Microsoft Access benefits small businesses who already own a copy of Microsoft Office. Since no other money is required for the database software, it saves companies money in large database design, maintenance and personnel costs. It's also easy to use, and there are several online references and tutorials. Classes are also available, so the business owner can learn Access quickly and get started with the software.
Considerations
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Microsoft Access works well with small businesses, but as the business grows, Access performance slows. Businesses that grow to several dozen employees and several hundreds of web page visits may see a performance issue in applications that use the Access database. Businesses need to expand to enterprise applications when Access performance suffers.
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References
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