MS Access Salesforce Connector - Is it really being retired?

Hi Paul,

Is this true? Is the Salesforce Connector being retired?

Yes. Linda Cannon, the author of the blog article, is the Product Manager for Access at Microsoft. I also have discussed the matter and the article with her. So, unfortunately, if you need the connection you will have to buy an ODBC driver from one of the sources she mentions in the article.

Servus
Karl

Access Forever News DevCon
Access-Entwickler-Konferenz AEK

Dear Paul Sisler

Thank you for reaching out to the Q&A forum and I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your concern. I understand how unsettling it can be to hear about changes that may impact mission-critical workflows, especially when the connector has been working reliably for your team.

Firstly, I’d like to share a bit of context about the Microsoft Tech Community blog, where you saw the announcement. These blogs are informal yet reliable communication channels used by Microsoft product teams to share updates, especially for niche products like Access. They’re flexible and allow for quicker announcements compared to official documentation, which often takes longer due to internal review processes.

In this case, the blog post you referenced is indeed authored by a Microsoft employee who has previously published several official updates about Access. That lends credibility to the announcement, and yes, it’s true: the Salesforce ODBC driver bundled with MS Access will be removed on October 28, 2025.

The reason behind this decision is that Microsoft can no longer provide updates for the licensed Salesforce ODBC driver from InsightSoftware. Sustaining support ends on June 30, 2026, and to avoid potential issues, the Access team is accelerating its removal.

The good news is that Access will still support ODBC connections. In the blog, the author suggests using the following method to connect to Salesforce going forward:

External Data > New Data Source > From Other Sources > ODBC Database

Based on the article you shared, you’ll need to install a third-party Salesforce ODBC driver separately, such as those provided by Simba, Devart, or CData.

I hope this helps clear things up and I understand this change may feel disruptive, but please know you're not alone, our entire community is here to support you. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

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Warm regards

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