Consulting ActiveX replacement/prototype

Since none of the proposed solution alternatives is really convincing in all respects, an evaluation of the technological possibilities is carried out in parallel using a practical example. First, the most cost-effective variant (alternative ActiveX control) is considered. However, this shows that no third-party provider currently supports ActiveX technology, so this alternative is being discarded. In the next step, the suitability of MS Access as a solution approach is tested using a prototype. The MS Access programming model can use a large part of the existing Word VBA code and therefore has a corresponding cost advantage – although it is unclear how future-proof the VBA technology will continue to be. As a third alternative, the customer is evaluating implementation via a web application. Although this solution is significantly higher in terms of costs and effort, from the customer's perspective it offers the best prospects for a scalable, future-proof solution.