Access 2007 Targets First-Timers, SharePoint Users

The Access desktop database product will get a major upgrade when Office 2007 ships in late 2006. An e-mail data-collection feature and new form and report designers will make Access more usable for first-time and less technically sophisticated users, especially users coming from Excel. Some new features could also appeal to longtime developers, and Access 2007 delivers intriguing new capabilities for data sharing with the SharePoint collaboration products. However, Access 2007 continues a history of technical and strategic shifts that have weakened the product as a platform for longer-lived applications.

Data Management and Integration for Office

Access is a database management system that delivers relatively easy-to-use form, report, and query design tools that automate many programming tasks. Access initially targeted the Jet desktop database engine, but Access can also be used to create client-server applications for SQL Server. Like other Office applications, Access includes a complete integrated development environment, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).