SoftMaker Office needs a real database

[Woody44]

https://forum.softmaker.com/viewtopic.php?t=30408

As the response to the discussion in the link above comments, the "database" built into TextMaker is basically just an address list, for use in creating mail merges. It is not a relational database (or even much of a flat file database).

Microsoft Office Professional includes Access. Microsoft 365 includes Access. LibreOffice and OpenOffice include Base. As more countries, provinces, and municipal governments in Europe move to divorce themselves from Microsoft, having a fully-capable, relational database could be the difference between a government or an agency being able to adopt SoftMaker Office ... or not.

Until my job was eliminated last year, I worked in a department of a [small] municipal government.I was there for four years. Within that 4-year period, we had multiple occasions when being able to create a small, customized relational database would have been very helpful. For reasons unknown to me, the town did not subscribe to Microsoft 365. Instead, we had the perpetual license version of Microsoft Office 2019. The town's IT department chose which apps were installed on department computers, and the IT department had decided that individual users did not need Access. So ... nobody had Access.

I had a copy of Microsoft Office 2016 on my computer at home, so I used my personal copy of Access to create two of the databases we needed. Microsoft offers for free an Access runtime module, which the IT department agreed to install on all computers in our department. This meant that everyone in the department could use the database I had created -- but to make any changes to the design of the database, I had to do that at home.

This brings up a previous discussion on this site: https://forum.softmaker.com/viewtopic.php?t=28549

SoftMaker used to offer a "real" database: DataMaker. It is too late to consider adding DataMaker back into SoftMaker Office for the 2026 version, but if SoftMaker expects or hopes to attract more users from governments and governmental agencies in Europe, I respectfully suggest that for the next major version of SoftMaker Office you revive DataMaker, to be part of the Professional and NX tiers of license. The inclusion or exclusion of DataMaker would be an excellent distinction between the Standard and Professional levels of SoftMaker Office.

SoftMaker Office really needs a database module in order to be a viable competitor to Microsoft Office in business and government settings.

[SuperTech]

Thank you for this well-argued post, and for sharing your experience from the public sector — the point about European governments moving away from Microsoft is a fair one.

As Martin explained previously, a standalone database such as a revived DataMaker is not something we have the manpower to take on. Our focus is on strengthening the database capabilities within the existing SoftMaker Office applications rather than on a separate program.

We would love to develop our own database program, but we don't have the manpower for that. We are concentrating on SoftMaker Office and looking at ways to add more database capabilities to its applications.

[Woody44]

Thank you for this well-argued post, and for sharing your experience from the public sector — the point about European governments moving away from Microsoft is a fair one.

As Martin explained previously, a standalone database such as a revived DataMaker is not something we have the manpower to take on. Our focus is on strengthening the database capabilities within the existing SoftMaker Office applications rather than on a separate program.

We would love to develop our own database program, but we don't have the manpower for that. We are concentrating on SoftMaker Office and looking at ways to add more database capabilities to its applications.

Yes, I remember Martin's response in that earlier discussion. That's why I have not revisited the topic until now.

I am very aware of the issues attaching to manpower and staffing. On the other hand, in English we have a saying: "Strike while the iron is hot." Essentially, it means we should take opportunities when they present themselves, because later circumstances may not be favorable.

Europe (and, perhaps, the world) is at a crossroad. Various European governments, agencies, and companies are arriving at a consensus that Microsoft has become intolerable, so they are looking for alternatives. SoftMaker Office, coming from a country that is a member of the EU, should be a natural, logical candidate. For an office or a particular agency that will never EVER have any need for a database, SoftMaker Office could be a good choice. It looks (with the Ribbon menu) more like Microsoft Office, and it works more like Microsoft Office.

But, at a larger scale, I respectfully submit that you can't assume there is no need and will never be a need for a database. For almost ten years I worked for an engineering company that was hired by my state's government to administer large construction projects. We worked in state-provided construction offices, on state-provided computers connected to the state's computer network, using state-provided software. The state used Microsoft Office. Thus, we used Microsoft Office. There was no choice. The state (understandably) needed a standardized software solution. Their solution was Microsoft Office. My small construction field office did not need a database. Other agencies within the State did require a database. Microsoft Office gave them Access. Problem solved.

In terms of Europe, I think it is reasonable to assume that the same will apply. If (for example) France wants to escape from Microsoft, the government of France will look for ONE software package they can install across every government agency and every government office. Not every office will require a relational database -- but some of them certainly will. As a result, software packages that do not include a relational database will not even be considered.

Like it or not, LibreOffice includes a relational database. I have looked at it. It is actually rather easy to use, for setting up a database and entering data. The problem with LibreOffice Base (in my limited experience) is that it's impossible to format reports so they print out with logical pagination, keeping records together. Instead of formatting and printing reports within Base, when you try to output a report Base dumps the data into a Writer word processing document. That's not helpful.

But ... LibreOffice includes a viable relational database. LibreOffice is also free and open source.) That gives LibreOffice a tremendous advantage over SoftMaker Office. I respectfully submit that if SoftMaker can possibly find a way to staff up and add a true relational database module to SoftMaker Office now (not for the 2026 version, which I know is now finalized, but for the next major version update), I think it will be worth the investment. I think if you miss the opportunity to do it now, a LOT of European governments and companies will adopt LibreOffice, and then it will be too late for SoftMaker. Once they make a major change away from Microsoft, they won't want to change again any time soon.

[SuperTech]

I'm not sure about the implementation, but I've forwarded this suggestion, and our product management team will review it and decide...

[Woody44]

I'm not sure about the implementation, but I've forwarded this suggestion, and our product management team will review it and decide...

Thank you.

Other English-language expressions that comes to mind are: "He who hesitates is lost," and "Opportunity knocks once."

The impetus for European governments, agencies, and companies to divorce themselves from Microsoft is gaining momentum right how. Doing so is a fairly major undertaking. Whatever software package a particular country or province or municipality decides on, there will be a learning curve, and possibly (probably) a monetary cost aside from any cost for the software itself. They won't want to do it again any time soon. Thus, if SoftMaker is not positioned with a product that fills their needs when the decision is made, it's unlikely you will have another opportunity for a VERY long time.

This, of course, is predicated on my opinion that having a relational database module will be a factor in national governments, provinces, and or municipalities making a selection. I have no knowledge of whether or not any of them actually need a database, but on the basis of my own experience I believe this to be the case. There must be some market research that you can refer to on this.

At the moment, it seems the ONLY two options for full office suites that include a database are LibreOffice and OpenOffice. As most people know, these are "forks" of the same parent program, and OpenOffice has not been well-maintained for a number of years, so LibreOffice is essentially the only viable, logical candidate.

For what it's worth, I asked ChatGPT how many European national or provincial governments rely on Microsoft Access. The response:

There is no authoritative public count of how many European national or provincial governments rely on Microsoft Access for record-keeping.

The main reasons are:

• Governments generally do not publish inventories of every software application they use.
• Microsoft Access is often used at the department or agency level rather than as an enterprise-wide platform.
• Many Access databases are created by individual teams ("shadow IT"), so even central IT departments may not have a complete inventory.

What is known is:

• Thousands of public-sector organizations across Europe have used Microsoft Access over the past three decades for small- to medium-sized databases.
• It is common to find Access applications in:
  • municipal governments,
  • regional/provincial administrations,
  • ministries,
  • health authorities,
  • courts,
  • schools and universities,
  • police and emergency services.
• Many of these databases persist because they support niche workflows that are too costly or risky to replace.

At the national government level:

• It is very unlikely that any European national government relies on Microsoft Access as a primary records management system.
• However, it is highly likely that many ministries or agencies within those governments still maintain some operational records or internal tracking databases in Access.

At the provincial/regional level:

• Numerous regional governments in countries such as Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland have historically used Access in individual departments.
• Public evidence consists mainly of procurement documents, migration projects, and job postings rather than comprehensive inventories.

Can anyone estimate the number?

A reasonable characterization is:

• National governments: likely dozens of ministries and agencies across nearly every European country still have some Access databases.
• Provincial/regional governments: likely hundreds of regional authorities have at least one Access database in active use.
• Exact number of governments: unknown and not publicly measurable.

So if your question is literally "How many European national or provincial governments rely on Microsoft Access to maintain records?", the most accurate answer is:

No reliable public figure exists. It is almost certainly many dozens to hundreds of government bodies across Europe, but there is no official inventory or study that quantifies them.