Microsoft Access Essay

Industrial Engineering and Services is a small consultancy company consisting providing solutions to big companies like Yamaha and others, on machinery and repair work. It also supplies metal imported to other small and large companies for their use in production. The company does not require large database to keep record of its transactions, expenses and metals imported and in stock.

Microsoft Office Access as a front-end and JET, a file-based database engine, available in Access by default as a back-end, is being used in Industrial Engineering and Services because this database solution is for small companies which do not and should not spent huge sum of money developing expensive databases as they are of no use.

Most importantly it can be developed by the company owner if he knows slightly about programming and he would be able to develop it better as he well knows about the business.

Advantages of Microsoft Access

The advantages of using Microsoft Access as a database are:

· Microsoft Access database is easily available on purchase of computers with Microsoft Office Professional and it integrates well with all the other Microsoft office products like Excel and others.

(Granite, n.d)

· Microsoft Access database is the most widely used desktop database system for small scale business.

· Consultants of Access for development and support are far more as compared to any other desktop database system and its consultancy rates are far lower as well and it can be developed by the company owner if he has taken course for Microsoft Access development.

· It is considerably cheaper and easier to implement as compared to large databases such as Oracle. (Derby, n.d)

· Microsoft Access database can be linked with Oracle or SQL Server if the company wants to shift from small database to a large database management system, as the company grows. (Blue Claw, n.d)

· Access database can be placed on the website and be used online as well.

· It can easily and quickly add, delete, modify or create new reports based on those which already exist.

Disadvantages of Microsoft Access

· Table of expense or miscellaneous expense may have 5 million small records which are tough to maintain every time they are incurred. (Derby, n.d)

· If more people would be using the database at the same time for quick updates then it might slow the database and cause errors as well. (Blue Claw, n.d)

· It is possible that the database may experience unexpected or periodic crashes which might result in data loss; it can also be due to system crash caused by some viruses.

· The highly sensitive data require extensive security which can not alone be provided by Microsoft Access.

· If developed by the owner of the company himself then it might result in several problems: (Derby, n.d)

Problem in relational design, data redundancy.

Using weird color combinations on the form making it difficult to read the data.

Recommendations

Since the Industrial Engineering and Services is a small company it would be better to use Microsoft Access as a database but to solve the security issues of highly sensitive data, the company can use Microsoft Access as the front-end and SQL Server as the back-end as the database engine as it is relatively compatible with it, instead of the JET which is available in Access as a default back-end. In order to prevent the viruses from hampering the computer system and from losing the data, good anti-virus solution should be installed in the system. A back up of data in the database can be kept in the flash drives if the data is very critical and if it is not too costly for the company. (Derby, n.d)