Microsoft® Access® Small Business Solutions: State-of-the-Art Database Models for Sales, Marketing, Customer Management, and More Key Business Activities

Foreword

There are many challenges to running a small- or medium-sized business. Whether it's dealing with your day-to-day internal demands, meeting the demands of customers, or competing against larger organizations with seemingly infinite resources, the key to survival is being more knowledgeable, nimble, and responsive.

Every business owner knows that technology is critical to managing operations, measuring performance, controlling costs, improving accuracy and compliance, and providing better services. But implementing the right technology and supporting it over time can often feel overwhelming and be very expensive.

You can purchase a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution at a reasonable price, but it often requires modifying your processes to conform to the software. In some cases, that may be a good thing, but often, it's a partial solution that covers the basics without providing the ability to leverage the data and knowledge being collected.

Meanwhile, custom software solutions can be very expensive and require a professional software developer (or team) that is unlikely to know your business needs well. Designing and communicating your requirements, especially if you're not familiar with the whole software development process, can be a difficult experience for everyone. The results may be better than a COTS solution but can still be less than optimal, especially as your needs evolve.

The strength of Microsoft Access is that with the proper mastery of its features, you can ...