Web
Is there an online version of Microsoft Access, and why is our database so slow over VPN?
Microsoft does not host Access online. Access Web Apps were retired in 2017 and shut down by 2018. OneDrive or Remote Desktop still leave a desktop .accdb file. The real path is a web application. That also fixes the VPN lag many teams feel today.
Context
Access expects a fast local network share. Over a VPN every form open and record save waits on file locks across a slower link, so the app feels laggy and corruption risk goes up.
There is still a desktop Access product in Microsoft 365. What disappeared is the browser-hosted Access Web Apps path. Searching for Microsoft Access online does not lead to a Microsoft cloud edition of the old .accdb file.
Teams sometimes try OneDrive, SharePoint, or a Windows VM. Those moves keep the same fragile file and the same 2GB ceiling.
What we do
Inventory the tables, forms, reports, and VBA you still need.
Plan a rebuild: move data to PostgreSQL or SQL Server, recreate screens as a web portal, and replace shared file passwords with Microsoft 365 roles.
Run Access and the new app side by side for a short validation window, then cut over. We can host the database, web app, domain, and secured environment afterward.
Result
Staff open the system from any modern browser without a VPN file share.
Start on the Access to web application page for a free planning estimate.
Move off a slow Access VPN file share
- Confirm you are still on a shared .accdb or .mdb, not a true web app.
- List the forms and VBA rules people use every day.
- Export tables and rebuild on a cloud database with a browser front end.
- Validate in parallel with Access, then cut over and optionally hand hosting to IT Real Simple.
Serves Barrington Passage, NS · South Shore / Southwest Nova Scotia · Calgary, AB · Fort St. John, BC · Canada-wide remote
Updated 2026-08-24
Related answers
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Tell us what the site needs to do. We review your current site or start from scratch, then design and build. That often includes WordPress, and we can also build other kinds of business websites. Web work is available across Canada, not only in Barrington Passage.
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Barrington Passage is our headquarters and only public storefront, at 3515 Nova Scotia Trunk 3. Calgary and Fort St. John are service areas with remote support and on-site help by appointment, without a public walk-in address. Eligible Canadian businesses can also get remote managed IT.