Since Access and Visual Basic share a common language, VB projects related to data access were undertaken. Quite a few projects stretched the limits of Access's capabilities. Querying a dB over a WAN proved to be too slow for the average user. Where an NT server is not available, off hours database replication can be implemented to keep multiple copies of the data in synchronization. If an NT server is available, and this is the preferred scenario, the dB can be upsized to SQL Server.
Access is a file-server application, which means all processing is done at the workstation.
This means large amounts of raw data must traverse the network. In a client server configuration, the server application can be configured to do the bulk of the processing, thus only the information of interest is returned to the workstation. The downside is increased complexity and support, as well as the need for powerful server hardware. We became competent in NT Server, SQL Server, Internet Information Server and Exchange Server. We have set up NT networks, installed NT servers and upsized Access dBs to SQL Server.