An OLE DB data provider allows native access to data, such as a SQL Server or Oracle database. Using an OLE DB provider, your application can retrieve and manipulate data from a wide variety of data sources, not just relational databases.
For example, you could access an email or flat file system using the appropriate OLE DB provider and display the data in a client application. In OLE DB terms, when you access data from your application, your application is often defined as a data consumer.
You can use data links with any Microsoft or third-party OLE DB provider. The following providers are included with OLE DB:
Note For more information about OLE DB providers, see the OLE DB Programmer's Reference. This documentation is available in the Microsoft Data Access SDK.