This scenario has as its starting point an expanded database application based on Microsoft Access, the database product from Microsoft. As a result of the support provided by Microsoft Access for generating tables, queries, input screens and printed reports, applications that started out as single-user solutions for one or only a small number of users often expand and grow on the functional level. Applications of this type provide the best support for the user group within which (and out of which) they are created, since they are precisely tailored to meet the group's specific needs. When they reach a certain size and exceed Microsoft Access's quantity schedule, however, technical difficulties can arise that make their usefulness questionable.
Such applications are characteristically designed to scan and update the data sets on the computer on which the user enters data and performs queries. Although these functions are divided between two different programs, it is essential that both programs be running on the same computer. For this reason, the organization of such applications can be described as monolithic, i.e. blocklike (as opposed to distributed or client/server applications).