Microsoft Access is Holding Your Business Back – Here’s Why You Should Switch to Claris FileMaker in 2025
Ben Fletcher • 16 April 2025
The case against Microsoft Access in 2025
Microsoft Access has long been seen as a go-to database tool for small business solutions. While it may have served its purpose for early-stage digital workflows and simple applications, the truth is that Access is no longer fit for purpose in modern business environments. Its dated architecture, limited scalability, and poor cross-platform support are now major obstacles for businesses aiming to streamline operations and grow with confidence.
Here’s a breakdown of the challenges Access presents and why Claris FileMaker is the smarter, more flexible alternative for 2025 and beyond.
1. Stuck on Windows – Poor Cross-Platform Compatibility
- Access Limitation: Microsoft Access is tightly bound to the Windows ecosystem. It does not run natively on macOS or mobile devices, making it a poor choice for today’s increasingly remote, mobile, and mixed-device teams.
- FileMaker Advantage: Claris FileMaker is truly cross-platform. It runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and via any modern web browser through FileMaker WebDirect. Your team can access your solution anywhere – in the office, on the road, or from home.
2. Limited Scalability and Performance
- Access Limitation: Microsoft Access struggles as your business grows. It’s prone to slowdowns, crashes, and data corruption once you reach a few simultaneous users or a moderate volume of records (the practical multi-user limit is often below 10 users).
- FileMaker Advantage: FileMaker is designed to scale with you. With FileMaker Server or Claris Studio, you can support hundreds of users and millions of records. Plus, FileMaker integrates with SQL databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MS SQL Server to expand even further when needed.
3. Poor Web and Mobile Support
- Access Limitation: Access offers no real mobile support, and while it has some legacy options for web deployment, these are clunky, outdated, or require complex workarounds.
- FileMaker Advantage: With FileMaker Go for iOS and FileMaker WebDirect, you can build custom apps that are instantly mobile-ready. Your users get a seamless experience on any device, without additional development effort.
4. Integration Is an Afterthought
- Access Limitation: Integrating Access with modern web services or APIs is a complex, developer-heavy task. There’s no native support for REST APIs, JSON, or modern automation platforms.
- FileMaker Advantage: FileMaker has a modern JSON-based Data API, built-in cURL functions, and seamless integration with Claris Connect – enabling quick connections with apps like Slack, Xero, QuickBooks, Google Apps, and Office 365.
5. Fragile Multi-User Environments
- Access Limitation: Access databases are file-based, not server-based. This means multi-user access leads to frequent issues with file locking, data corruption, and backups. Performance degrades quickly under load.
- FileMaker Advantage: FileMaker is a true client-server platform with robust record-locking and backup systems. FileMaker Server offers automatic backups, fine-grained access control, and remote monitoring.
6. Security Risks
- Access Limitation: Access files can be easily copied, and its password protection is minimal. It lacks enterprise-grade user authentication or encryption.
- FileMaker Advantage: FileMaker supports robust security practices including OAuth, Active Directory integration, SSL encryption in flight, AES-256 encryption at rest and custom privilege sets. You maintain full control over who can see or do what within your application.
7. Development Bottlenecks
- Access Limitation: Custom development in Access often requires specialist knowledge of VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), which is outdated and increasingly hard to support.
- FileMaker Advantage: FileMaker’s intuitive script editor and visual relationship tools make development faster and more accessible. Certified Claris Developers can build and deploy powerful systems in weeks – not months.
8. Uncertain Future of Microsoft Access
- Access Limitation: Microsoft Access hasn’t seen significant development in years. Microsoft is focused on cloud-first platforms like Power Apps, leaving Access increasingly sidelined. Long-term support is uncertain.
- FileMaker Advantage: Claris, an Apple subsidiary, continues to invest heavily in the FileMaker platform – including modern cloud hosting, AI integrations, and enhanced low-code features. It’s built for the future of work.
Final Thoughts
While Microsoft Access may still have a place in legacy environments, its limitations are becoming too severe to ignore. If you’re relying on Access to power your business, it’s time to consider a future-proof alternative.
Claris FileMaker offers the flexibility, scalability, and cross-platform power your organisation needs to grow and compete in 2025 and beyond.
Ready to Move Beyond Access?
At DataTherapy, we’re experts in upgrading legacy systems like Microsoft Access to modern, high-performance FileMaker applications. We’re a British company with a fully employed team of Certified Claris FileMaker Developers, and we hold Claris Platinum Partner status – the highest level of recognition from Claris.
Contact us today for a free initial consultation – and discover how we can transform your systems, streamline your workflows, and future-proof your business with Claris FileMaker.
While the new AI features of Claris FileMaker 2025 will undoubtedly generate the most headline interest, there are a number of other new under the hood features which are no less important to professional FileMaker developers. Here is a quick overview of some of the new features we will be using immediately to speed and ease our development, as well as improving the real world performance of apps: 1) GetFieldsOnLayout function Returns a list of the fields on a layout as JSON data. Includes only the fields that are accessible to a find.
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Claris FileMaker 2025 has launched with a range of new features that will undoubtedly make developing new custom apps both quicker and more powerful, but what are the benefits of upgrading if you are currently using an older version of the FileMaker platform? Using a version older than of FileMaker 19? In that case there are even more good reasons to upgrade - contact our team to find out more about the benefits from upgrading that you have been missing out on! Highlighted below are some of the key differences in features were introduced between FileMaker v19, 2023 (v20), 2024 (v21) and now 2025 (v22) releases:
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