It’s hard to believe, but it’s already been 25 years that Microsoft Access was first released and what a game changer it has been!  It was back on this day (although the exact date can be argued to be a few days earlier or later depending on who you speak to), November 13, 1992 October 28th, 1992, that Microsoft Access 1.0 was first released.  You can learn more by reading the Wikipedia article about Microsoft Access (but do note their date is wrong).

After a discussion with fellow MVPs, it would seem that even Wikipedia has the date wrong and that, as indicated above, the date is as per the images shown above (from Microsoft), so October 28th, 1992 as there are MVPs who received their first copy of Access the following day (October 29th, 1992).

Regardless of the specific date (launch date, CTP date, public announcement date, …) it was around this time of year some 25 years ago that Access made its entrance into the computing world.

How many software applications are even in existence after 25 years, little alone still under development!  Which says a lot about Microsoft Access and the role it has played in industry in the last 2 and a half decades that Microsoft still see the reason to continue to invest in its evolution.

Access is remarkable because it is not only a database, but also a development platform in its own right!  What other software enable a simple user to create/customize queries, forms, reports, … to meet their exact needs through a Graphical User Interface (GUI)?!  What other software enables you to enhance the boxed software with virtually any functionality you wish through the use of coding?!