HCL Verse vs Office 365 comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #13 in EA , and holds a 2.1% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in CCP , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 10.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Verse

Read 3 HCL Verse reviews

706 Views
417 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Office 365

Read 152 Office 365 reviews

2,973 Views
2,141 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

HCL Verse

Office 365

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Verse and Office 365 based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications.

To learn more, read our detailed Email Applications Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

January 2026

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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

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Applications (13th)

Office 365

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

152

Ranking in other categories

Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. HCL Verse is designed for Email Applications and holds a mindshare of 2.1%, up 1.3% compared to last year.
Office 365, on the other hand, focuses on Content Collaboration Platforms, holds 10.3% mindshare, up 4.7% since last year.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HCL Verse	2.1%
Google Workspace	16.0%
Microsoft Exchange Online	11.1%
Other	70.8%

Email Applications

Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Office 365	10.3%
Google Workspace	10.0%
Dropbox Business - Enterprise	8.8%
Other	70.9%

Content Collaboration Platforms

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.

Read full review

BasilJiji

System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Collaboration has transformed how our teams work and Copilot now drives faster daily decisions

The interface for the security and compliance center could be simplified. It changes frequently, which can make it somewhat difficult for admins to stay up-to-date on where specific settings are located. The compliance center modification or improvement of Office 365 needs to be introduced. The rest of the features feel acceptable to me. The reason it is not a ten is because of the complexity of managing the vast array of admin settings, which requires a specialized IT team. Even though it meets industry standards for decent security compliance such as SOC and HIPAA, the complexity of managing the admin settings needs to improve.

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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."

"I find OneDrive valuable because I'm able to have all my documents in one place and I can access them from anywhere."

"Office 365 has many new features compared to previous versions, such as updated graphs and PowerPoint templates, and it is mostly updated automatically, reducing the need for manual updates."

"Office 365 has great possibilities for integration, such as single sign-on and the Azure part of it."

"The biggest benefit of Office 365 is having everything in one place with well-integrated tools, leading to time savings as everything is housed in a single environment, facilitating communication, data processing, data input, and data saving."

"We have been using Office 365 for tagging critical communications and building communities of practice and centers of excellence."

"There are all sorts of really good tools for use on the information security side that allow us to make sure that our people are doing business and doing business right."

"The most valuable features of Office 365 are Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams. Teams helped us to collaborate more through its call and document sharing features."

"I like that it is cloud-based, wherefrom any computer I can access my documents and continue working."

More Office 365 pros

Cons

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

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

"There are some complexities to the initial setup if you use some of the more advanced features."

"Office 365 can be improved by increasing support, which currently is not efficient and takes a lot of time to resolve issues."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could use some customization, but this area for improvement is trivial."

"The security should be improved."

"We have had some connectivity issues."

"It needs improvements around its compatibility with non-Microsoft products."

"Using Visual Basic, I have had a lot of trouble with relative paths when programming for Excel, and sometimes it is very difficult to debug programs."

"Microsoft Word is a little bit left behind regarding the tools it has."

More Office 365 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"For the moment, we are paying on a monthly basis because we are still adapting the support and how we want to proceed. I think we will move to paying for the annual license."

"The price of Office 365 is very expensive."

"Licensing, billing, and accounting are available from the management interface."

"I would rate the solution 3 out of 5 for the price. I think Microsoft presents a good solution concerning the price."

"Licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis, or we prepay them."

"The pricing is not really high, but one can get the software with the license key for free."

"The pricing is high and has actually caused us to limit the number of licenses we purchase due to budgeting."

"The pricing/licensing is easy to manage."

More Office 365 pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

24%

University

Computer Software Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Computer Software Company

17%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	62
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?

I didn't inquire about the specific costs of transitioning from the previous tools. However, I was informed that the cost of using the Microsoft ecosystem is higher than the combined cost of using ...

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What needs improvement with Office 365?

I don't have any ideas off the top of my head at the moment about what I would improve about Office 365. I can't think of anything that frustrates me about the tools. I mentioned that I use Copilot...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Office 365?

We use the Microsoft Office 365 suite for personal purposes. We use Teams for communications, and we use Azure DevOps for some of our workflow management. I use Office 365 for Outlook for emails. I...

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Comparisons

HCL Notes vs HCL Verse

Compared 41% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Verse

Compared 15% of the time

Hub vs HCL Verse

Compared 12% of the time

HCL Domino vs HCL Verse

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Verse

Compared 7% of the time

More HCL Verse Competitors

Google Workspace vs Office 365

Compared 51% of the time

Symphony vs Office 365

Compared 10% of the time

Dropbox Business - Enterprise vs Office 365

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive for Business vs Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Quip vs Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

More Office 365 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

January 2026

Download HCL Verse product report

Buyer's Guide

Office 365

January 2026

Download Office 365 product report

Also Known As

Verse, IBM Verse

Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1

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

Office 365 is more than just Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It provides powerful services like business-class email, online storage, and teamwork solutions that you can access from anywhere. Bring teams and resources together with solutions like Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business that make working together more productive and enjoyable regardless of where participants are located. Easily implement security and privacy controls to help protect business data and devices against malicious threats and help you meet your compliance obligations. Automatic updates ensure your employees will always have the latest features and security updates.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

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

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We monitor all Email Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.