Muhammad_Irfan - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at ACMC
Real User
Top 5
Enables us to integrate with other Microsoft applications and use as a hybrid solution
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use and there is more integration."
  • "The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I cannot put everything on 365 because it's obviously not as fast. We have Microsoft Exchange because we have a lot of emails. Most of our emails, about 80%, are on Exchange Server locally, and just 20% are on 365. We use Microsoft Exchange as a hybrid solution. The users who are accessing from outside and the users who are on our priority list outside of the organization are on 365. But the other people that are local are on Exchange Server.

There are more than 200 people using this solution in my organization.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use and there is more integration. We have Dynamics and 365 as a hybrid solution. Integration with the Microsoft applications is the key for us. It has better integration with other solutions.

What needs improvement?

The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved.

There are a lot of issues with security. We had one issue, a bug, with the Active Directory services.

The cost of the license could be lower, and the security features could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Microsoft Exchange since 2016.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable.

It's a core product from Microsoft, so it's quite stable because of that.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. I chose this solution because it's easy to scale services. Services like Active Directory and ActiveSync aren't available in other solutions.

We don't have plans to increase usage right now.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good.

How was the initial setup?

Installation is easy. 

For installation, we have only two admins that can work on this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is really high. It's higher compared to other services.

The license is yearly.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Consultant at DP World
Consultant
Has a valuable online archive feature, but the technical support services need improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "The product’s most valuable feature is the online archive."
  • "From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Exchange Online to send and receive emails through user and application mailboxes.

What is most valuable?

The product’s most valuable feature is the online archive.

What needs improvement?

From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process. It will be helpful if any precise and clear troubleshooting guides are available on the internet.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for 11 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product’s stability a seven out of ten. It could be improved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 65,000 Microsoft Exchange Online users in our organization. We plan to increase the usage as our company keeps acquiring new companies, and then we merge the users from the acquired companies. I rate its scalability a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

It is challenging to make the front-line technical support team understand the issues. The quality of support needs enhancement.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

I rate the initial setup process an eight out of ten. It takes around a couple of weeks for complete deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft. Since the last renewal, we have had one more 100% increase in the license due to new acquisitions. We asked Microsoft to provide some discount. Instead, they increase the license cost. The price is not competitive.

We only pay for an enterprise agreement, which includes on-site engagement activities from successful engineers, training sessions, vouchers for exams, etc.

What other advice do I have?

It is important to do homework on exact business requirements and then make a purchase decision. It is not a cost-effective solution in some cases. I rate Microsoft Exchange Online a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
769,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Information Security Management Individual Contributor at First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A highly scalable, cloud-based email and collaboration solution with good stability features and seamless integration
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature as it encompasses all aspects of collaboration, communication, reporting, and storage."
  • "There is room for improvement in terms of security, as it could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use it for email authentication, and I believe we've adopted nearly all the associated features and updates that have been implemented.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature as it encompasses all aspects of collaboration, communication, reporting, and storage.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in terms of security, as it could be better. Enhancing end-user knowledge is crucial, as it often requires multiple steps and can become intricate when trying to meet our expectations.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The system has maintained a high level of stability, although managing licenses and testing can be a bit challenging, especially for large organizations like ours. The downtime occurrences have been relatively rare, with any issues that arise being promptly and effectively resolved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's highly scalable and you can easily expand your licenses and integrate new capabilities and modules. We can also tap into other solutions by simply using plug-ins, which provide the capabilities we need, and scalability remains a straightforward process.

How are customer service and support?

We occasionally rely on tech support, and while they often meet our expectations, there are instances where our anticipated resolution timelines are not met. This can be attributed to the prolonged engagement period. On a positive note, the overall experience with support has been satisfactory, with most interactions going smoothly. I would rate it eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward and not overly complex

What about the implementation team?

The deployment process doesn't differ significantly from other solutions. It involves integrating with our online domain controllers for authentication and setting up the system. It's a straightforward process without complex steps or unique challenges, we collaborate directly with the OEM, without involving external consultants.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I find it reasonably priced.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Kalpa Prabashwera - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Technology System Administrator at Sumathi Holdings
Real User
Top 10
Reliable, easy to access, and has good support
Pros and Cons
  • "It's pretty reliable. We haven't had any issues with it."
  • "The solution is expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We use the Microsoft email suite and we use this solution on a client basis so email can go through it. Everyone is using it currently.

What is most valuable?

We like that it is online and easy to access. We can work for everywhere. You don't have to install anything. 

It's pretty reliable. We haven't had any issues with it. 

The product is scalable.

Technical support has been very good.

We've witnessed a bit more ROI since switching to the cloud. 

What needs improvement?

The solution is expensive. 

The stability could always be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I'd rate the stability eight out of ten. We haven't had any issues, however, in previous versions, a few months back, we did have an outage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. I'd rate it ten out of ten for ease of expansion. There are 300 users on it right now. We do not have plans to increase usage. 

How are customer service and support?

We've used technical support in the past. They have been very good. We have nothing to complain about. 

How was the initial setup?

We don't have to do any setup. We just have to log in and start using it. Since it's cloud-based there is no configuration necessary.

We have three people who are able to deploy and manage the solution.

What was our ROI?

We've seen an ROI. When we were on-premises we had much more trouble. The cloud makes it much better. We're saving a bit more money.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive. For the price, we do get value, however, it is a bit too much money.

We pay for the solution on a yearly basis. There are no extra costs on top of licenses. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm always on the latest version since it is a cloud-based solution. 

I'd recommend the solution to others if they have the budget.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Ayman Ayman - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior VMware /Storage Administrator at QNB Group
Real User
Top 20
A stable and scalable solution that can be used for receiving emails
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution."
  • "The solution’s API integrations could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I use Microsoft Exchange Online at my workplace for receiving emails.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s API integrations could be improved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Exchange Online is a scalable solution. Around 5,000 users are using the solution in our organization, and we have plans to increase the usage.

How are customer service and support?

The solution’s technical support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution through an in-house team.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate Microsoft Exchange Online an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Innocent Ohiaru - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Administrator at James Hope College
Real User
Top 5
A stable and user-friendly solution that provides various productivity tools and enables communication
Pros and Cons
  • "The product enables us to have remote meetings."
  • "The solution must provide better security features."

What is our primary use case?

I manage the tool. All of our business activities happen with the help of the tool. We also have SharePoint integrated into it. We have several other packages listed on the Exchange platform.

What is most valuable?

The product enables us to have remote meetings. Several valuable resources like SharePoint are available to us. It has been our basic tool for communication in an enterprise environment. It's user-friendly. The interfaces are quite friendly. We can navigate around interfaces and tasks. It has several productivity tools attached to it. I can have it deployed on the local computer and the cloud. As long as we have access to the internet, the tool is accessible anywhere in the world. It is a seamless and excellent product. It is a critical support platform.

What needs improvement?

The solution must provide better security features. It provides two-factor authentication, IPSec, security payload, and other authentication and encapsulation. I want more consignment of the access to identify users.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for about 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool’s stability is excellent. The server hardly goes down. In ten years, I hardly recall any downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have more than 300 to 400 users.

How are customer service and support?

The support is excellent.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We chose the solution because our sister companies and other associates were using it.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was not difficult. We created a domain and implemented it with the help of a third-party company that is a partner with Microsoft. I do the annual renewal of our licensees. We have moved from enterprise licenses to educational licenses. Educational licenses have certain benefits and discounts.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is very cheap. It is relatively affordable.

What other advice do I have?

If someone plans to use the solution, they must consider the number of users. They must choose the license model depending on their organization. The documentation must be put together in detail, and the right model must be chosen. Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Ahmed Hesham - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Raya Integration
Reseller
Top 5Leaderboard
An easy-to -use and stable solution that can be used for emails
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to -use email solution."
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online should have a faster search feature."

What is our primary use case?

I use Microsoft Exchange Online mainly for emails.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to -use email solution.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft Exchange Online should have a faster search feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Exchange Online is a scalable solution.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate Microsoft Exchange Online ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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System Administrator at KREBS+KIEFER
Real User
Top 5
The tool has diverse functions and excellent support
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft has many consultants who can provide support."
  • "It is tricky to integrate Microsoft Exchange Online if you are in an infrastructure provided by other vendors."

What is our primary use case?

I work for civil ministries, and we exclusively use Microsoft products because we get them for a low price.

I handle security with Fortinet, and I run virtualization with Citrix. Those are my main tasks.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft has many consultants who can provide support.

What needs improvement?

Some of the Microsoft implementations of protocols are far from standard. They make their own standards, and you're out if you can't convert to them. With other Unix-based solutions, we had more flexibility to react to special problems we needed to solve. We can only solve the problem now if the problem is solvable with Microsoft.

Similarly, it is tricky to integrate Microsoft Exchange Online if you are in an infrastructure provided by other vendors. We have had an alternative solution to Exchange since 2016, and if we had problems, it was never a problem with Microsoft. It was a problem with the alternative product. The problem is that Microsoft has a standard, and you need to stick to it.

Even if the reason for the problems is Microsoft, the SMTP stack in Exchange is far from the RC of SMTP. If the alternative solution makes extensions to DNS for their active directory and if you use an RC DNS server, you would have problems with some of the records that Microsoft produces. They are not replicated. If you begin with Microsoft, you make everything Microsoft. It is difficult to mix Microsoft with other vendors or with other products. And you get less support if you want to choose a solution other than Microsoft.

Moreover, Exchange Online should work on integration with other services like Teams because when they work together, you gain benefits that other companies might not be able to give you.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online since 2012, and we will use it in the future.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We formerly worked with Unix-based mail servers. The positive side is that you're flexible. You could use different hardware. You get limited with Microsoft.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Microsoft solutions are expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I prefer to use solutions like LibreOffice since they are free and cheaper, but our partners might have problems reading our data, and we would face difficulties cooperating.

The main problem with Microsoft products is that we get very dependent on them. Until 2016, I had to make decisions for the budget for the Southwest of Germany, and when you work with Microsoft, your budget is fixed to them, and you lose your ability to work with other solutions. That was a bad situation for us.

If you don't plan to use other solutions in the future, it's a good product. Otherwise, you have to be prepared that some problems may arise. Once you get married to Microsoft, it's a fierce divorce if you want to leave. I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: April 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Exchange Online Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.