Why Have a Bespoke Database?
For a small company, finding the customer, setting out their requirements, obtaining the materials, building the product, arranging delivery and producing an invoice can be handled by one or two members of staff.
As the workload gets bigger, you need more staff. Staff need to be trained, paid and they occupy expensive office space. And these extra staff are not directly contributing to your bottom line.
So your company’s efficiency slumps and profits fall.
What Often Happens Next
Companies may automate many of their business processes by either buying an off-the-shelf package or using a series of spreadsheets to, for example, keep track of customer orders.
This is a partial solution…
A Bespoke System Tailored to Your Business Needs
Our database systems are designed expressly for your business, ensuring almost all processes are automated and flow naturally from one situation to the next.
They simplify office work and allow staff to have all the information they need to complete a task in one place.
Designed to be multi-user, so several people can input or find information at the same time, the systems we develop send out e-mails, interface with MS Word, Outlook and Excel. Primarily using Microsoft Access, we also design systems using SQL Server.
We often recommend Access Databases . Many people say – “Why Access, aren’t there more powerful alternatives such as MySQL an Open Source Database, Oracle and SQL Server?”
The difference between these and Access is that Access is a comprehensive environment for producing a Database System complete with Queries, Forms, and Reports.
Oracle, MySQL and SQL Server are engines that store the information. To produce a Database System with these it is necessary to harness them to Webforms or Windows Forms and to Crystal Reports for the reporting functions.
Because development of such a system is far from quick or simple, these Database Systems tend to take far more time to develop and therefore cost more than an Access Database.
Access Limitations
The restrictions of Access Databases are that Access does not work well with a large number of users all using the system at once and its baseline storage capacity is limited to 2 Gb (over 2000 Million items of data) .
A third limitation is that Access was designed for Desktop use (ie not in a Web Browser). This can be a drawback if you need to connect to Company Data wherever you are wherever there is an internet connection. However, using a Remote Access connection it is possible to use an Access database on any device which can be connected to the Internet directly or using Wi-Fi.
For a small or medium sized company, these restrictions are unlikely to cause any problems and if so, there are several well documented ways round these limitations.
Access Advantages
A major advantage of an Access Database System is Access’s ability to link to other Microsoft Office components such as Word, Excel and Outlook. Form or Mailmerge letters can easily be produced in Words generated from Access . Mailmerge Emails can be generated from Outlook using Access in a similar way. Excel charts can also be directly produced from Access and Access Reports can be exported to Excel for further analysis.
Linking to Other Databases
Access has a unique ability to link to data in other databases including MySQL and SQL Server via a system called Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC).
Access Tables can simply be exported to the new system which gets over both the restriction of limited simultaeneous users and storage capacity.
This means that Access Forms and Reports can remain unchanged and the database system work exactly the same way as with the original tables.
Using Access over the Internet
The third restriction is rather more difficult to overcome as Internet Forms are very different to Access Forms. Internet Forms use HTML to lay out data and up to now, there is no way of duplicating an Access Form precisely in HTML.
Microsoft has tried to get round this in the later versions of Access using Sharepoint Server Technology. However this means that forms must follow a prescriptive layout and there are no Reports as such, only screen snapshots. To date, Sharepoint server and Access have not been happy bedfellows.
A Hybrid Solution
This does not mean it is not possible to share information over the Internet. The system that Bluebird Software have developed uses MySQL stored on a Web Server (in the Cloud) for table storage. Each user, when they log in connects up to this database. The only disadvantage is that Access software needs to be installed on each machine connected to the Internet.
Using this technique, it is also possible to use Web Forms as well for some additional functionality.
We have used this technique with CRACS and CoreReports to allow users to see the results of Surveys over the Internet. Access is used to edit and post new surveys where each client can view only the surveys that are applicable to them.
Database Systems Grow…
So is Access the best way to start? We think so, unless sharing information over the Web is paramount, in which case a MySQL/PHP website may be preferable. If you have a project in mind, please ring or email us for advice.
Working from Home – Or From the Office?
Bluebird Systems using Azure SQL Server Back End are designed to work from any location where there is an Internet Connection.
Many of our customers are attracted to the following features:
- Customised Emails individually tailored to each Client with attachments also customised.
- Royal Mail Postcode Search – To ensure your letters, invoices and staff have the correct address.
- Easy data transfer to and from Microsoft Excel
- Automatic secure backup by Microsoft on the Cloud
We can install these features to an existing Database or as an add-on to any of our databases described.
