By Hiran de Silva
In my post on LinkedIn today Rishi Sapra quite rightly point this out.
Microsoft provide a migration path from Access to Datavserse. See here. Will Dataverse replace Access in a Hub-and-Spoke prototyping endeavour?
That’s a very important and timely question — and the short answer is: no, Dataverse is not (yet) as accessible or as well-suited to fast, grassroots proof-of-concept delivery as Access is. Here’s why:
🔧 1. Access was “grassroots-friendly”
Access shipped with Microsoft Office Professional. It was:
- Installed locally with Excel
- Click-and-go for most business users
- Familiar to VBA users (via DAO/ADO)
- Accessible on shared drives or over networks
- Quick to set up: perfect for POCs (proof of concepts) and “just try this” moments
That made Access the ideal backend to introduce the hub-and-spoke model for Excel — turning disconnected spreadsheets into a network of live, centralized, version-controlled data.
☁️ 2. Dataverse is “cloud-enterprise-first”
Dataverse, by contrast, is:
- A component of the Power Platform
- Integrated into Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI
- Heavily tied to Microsoft 365 licenses and admin-level setup
- Data is stored in the cloud, often requiring environment creation, role assignment, and Power Platform permissions
- Much more abstract for typical Excel users
So while it is possible to create a hub-and-spoke model with Excel and Dataverse (using OData feeds, Power Query, or Power Apps connectors), the ease and agility of bootstrapping a solution is significantly reduced.
🧪 3. For POCs and quick wins: Access still wins
If your goal is to quickly demonstrate the transformation of “Excel Hell” into a centralized system, then:
- Access remains unbeatable for local proofs-of-concept
- It enables instant ADO-based GET/PUT, live SQL debugging, and transparent schema visibility
- You can still port to Dataverse later if enterprise-scale, cloud-native integration is needed
Dataverse is not a drop-in replacement for Access in this regard. It is a different beast — geared for long-term digital transformation programs, not rapid prototyping in the field.
🧩 4. What’s the actual migration path?
Microsoft’s “Access to Dataverse” migration tool helps move Access tables into Dataverse for use in Power Apps. But:
- The resulting system is often no longer Excel-centric
- VBA/ADO connectivity becomes more complex or outright unsupported
- Users lose visibility and control compared to what they had with Access
So it’s more of a re-platforming than a like-for-like migration.
✅ Conclusion
Access is still the most accessible relational database for Excel prototyping.
Dataverse is a cloud-scale, Power Platform-native environment that’s excellent for fully managed enterprise apps — but it is not a natural replacement for fast local innovation via Excel and ADO.
For your use case — introducing hub-and-spoke architecture to eliminate Excel Hell — start with Access. It works beautifully, proves the point, and builds the case for later migration to the cloud if needed.
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