From a Corrupted Access Database to 7700 Records Secured in Pipedrive

Elexpertise's entire database ran on Microsoft Access — an aging system that held years of historical data on the organization's contacts, organizations, and activities. That database was the backbone of the team's work, but it lived in a closed tool with no connection to any other system.

The breaking point came when the Access database became corrupted. Overnight, Elexpertise faced the risk of losing its entire historical record — more than 7,700 entries accumulated over the years. On top of that risk sat a complete lack of visibility: there was no way to sync Access with their marketing automation tool, Mailchimp, forcing the team to re-enter and reconcile data by hand for every campaign.

The problem wasn't only technical — it was structural. A closed, corrupted database that couldn't be connected put the organization's memory at risk and weighed down every task that depended on that data. They needed to get out of Access, secure the history, and build a modern foundation Elexpertise could rely on for the long term.

We approached the project in phases, tackling the emergency first — securing the data — before building the new foundation.

Phase 1 — Recovery and cleanup. We extracted all the data from the corrupted Access database, then cleaned and structured it: removing duplicates, correcting outdated records, and normalizing fields. The result: 4,200 contacts and 3,500 organizations ready for a clean migration.

Phase 2 — Migration to Pipedrive. We imported all the cleaned data into Pipedrive, giving Elexpertise a centralized, modern, high-performing CRM in place of a closed Access database. The organization regained full visibility over its data, accessible in just a few clicks.

Phase 3 — Mailchimp integration. We connected Pipedrive to Mailchimp to eliminate manual syncing. Data now flows automatically between the CRM and the marketing tool, with no re-entry.

Phase 4 — Automated backup. We set up a backup tool for the Pipedrive CRM with Skyvia, bringing the risk of another data loss — like the one that hit the Access database — down to virtually zero.

Tech stack: Pipedrive · Mailchimp · Skyvia · Microsoft Access (source)

Timeline: 6 months start to finish, with the first benefits — speed and ease of access to data — visible within the first few weeks.