HCL Verse vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

HCLSoftware and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. HCLSoftware is ranked #13, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. HCLSoftware holds a 1.6% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 12.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Verse

Read 3 HCL Verse reviews

685 Views
384 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

4,131 Views
3,966 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Verse

Microsoft Exchange Online

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Microsoft Exchange Online and HCL Verse are competing products in enterprise email solutions. Microsoft Exchange Online seems to hold an advantage in pricing and support, while HCL Verse is noted for its feature set that some find worth the premium.

Features: Microsoft Exchange Online provides seamless integration with Microsoft 365, strong security features, and advanced email management tools. HCL Verse distinguishes itself with intelligent spam filtering, dynamic search capabilities, and personalized collaboration spaces. Both have robust features, but Exchange Online's integration within Microsoft's ecosystem offers a more unified experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange Online benefits from extensive deployment tools and a comprehensive support network, allowing smoother transitions. HCL Verse relies on solid support channels, although its deployment complexity can be challenging for some.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Exchange Online's pricing is competitive, delivering substantial ROI due to its integration benefits. HCL Verse may incur higher initial costs, yet its advanced features can yield satisfying ROI in settings valuing collaboration enhancements.

To learn more, read our detailed HCL Verse vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL Verse vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

September 2025

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Helped 867,497 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

HCL Verse

Ranking in Email Applications

13th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Exchange Online

Ranking in Email Applications

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Verse is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 12.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online	12.8%
HCL Verse	1.6%
Other	85.6%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Marcos Roberto Silva

Diretor at MASTERDOM

Stable, scalable, and good interface

HCL Verse has a nice interface and it is a practical email solution. There are a diverse set of features, such as the search bar on top of the screens. The usability from the old applications to the new version has been very good. It was great that we were able to migrate applications from the older version to the new one.

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NancyHartman

Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Effective collaboration achieved with versatile features and good customer service

There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary. I am not an IT person; I am an educator, a trainer, a user. I want to get the work done. However, I find that the Exchange Server and possibly the way our company has set up access permissions require extensive programming knowledge. It might take six to eight weeks to get a programmer's time to build something, whereas I can use something like Smartsheet that will do everything I want without needing a programmer. Smartsheet is more end-user friendly compared to a Microsoft product. Microsoft believes an expert IT person should manage everything, however, I want to manage things on my own in a simplified way. That is not easy using the Exchange Server or Microsoft Office. It is not end-user friendly for development, and a programmer is needed. Once set up, using them as an end-user is fine. I find that the automations are not robust, and the FedRAMP systems are not robust. I have a few issues with Exchange and Office, but there's nothing I can do about it.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"HCL Verse has a nice interface and it is a practical email solution. There are a diverse set of features, such as the search bar on top of the screens."

"The most valuable feature is the mail server."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its integration with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams for shared calendars."

"The online version is faster, as it is a cloud instance. We can have massive mailbox capacity: 100 GB per user, which is huge. We can't provision such capacity internally, as the company would get burnt out paying for mailbox storage."

"This solution makes it very easy to receive and detect problems about the mail flow and offers very good reporting. In general, it's very easy to manage the organization's mailboxes."

"One of my favourite features is the Microsoft Calendar, which we use for booking appointments, scheduling calls, and managing resource rooms and devices. The Online Mailbox feature is also crucial because it allows us to communicate effectively within and outside the organization, contributing to our business growth."

"I would rate Exchange Online's stability nine out of ten."

"Exchange Online's most valuable features are two-step verification and security."

"The solution is stable."

"The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track communication and see user activity"

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

"The solution could improve by allowing us to use a color that we want in the editing boxes."

"Security is very important to us, so improvements to this functionality are welcome."

"The solution could improve by making the user interface better."

"Exchange Online has issues with its mail flow and content search."

"When initially setting up, it took a bit of time because we had a lot of PST files with the users, and we had to migrate them batch by batch."

"I feel that there is a need for improvement in the product, considering that there are some concerns with the tool's integration capabilities."

"I would like to have the option to have my electronic signature posted on my emails by default. I am able to add it manually but cannot get it by default."

"Documentation is lacking."

"My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary."

"The solution should have more integration with other platforms."

More Microsoft Exchange Online cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"This is an affordable solution but the price could be improved."

"My company needs to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. I feel that the price of the product is affordable."

"I think it's just awesome. There's no argument about how much value you get on the per user, for user expenditure. It's really great, I don't have any issues with it. I think it's excellent."

"The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online is approximately $4 to $36 per user. They do not give a discount which is not good. The solution is expensive if you have 800 to 1,000 users. They should give discounts when you have a lot of users."

"We pay per user per year for the cluster with over a thousand users."

"The cost is around $12 to $16 per user."

"The pricing for this solution is good. We renew our contract every three years. I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."

"The product is very cheap."

"We have an enterprise agreement for licensing."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

25%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	40
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	40

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?

The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?

If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?

I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a particular employee, there are a few challenges in terms of the role assignment o...

See all answers

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Compared 10% of the time

ProtonMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 5% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

August 2025

Download HCL Verse product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange Online

August 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange Online product report

Also Known As

Verse, IBM Verse

Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online

Overview

IBM Verse is a powerful email hosting solution that enables users to access their business communications from a laptop or desktop browser or from a mobile device. This email and business messaging experience is based on an innovative user-centric design, including social analytics and advanced search capabilities. IBM Verse helps users quickly find and focus on what content is most important, empowering them to build stronger working relationships while optimizing business results.

HCLSoftware

Exchange Online helps protect your information with advanced capabilities. Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering protect mailboxes. Data loss prevention capabilities prevent users from mistakenly sending sensitive information to unauthorized people. Globally redundant servers, premier disaster recovery capabilities, and a team of security experts monitoring Exchange Online around the clock safeguard your data.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Canon Marketing Japan Inc., Australian Trade Commission, BTC, Havas, Canal Barge Co.Inc., RAVInvest, Elemental Path, WDR mediagroup

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames

Buyer's Guide

HCL Verse vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

September 2025

Free Report: HCL Verse vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

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