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 2.3% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in CCP , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 10.2% 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

758 Views
478 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Office 365

Read 152 Office 365 reviews

3,509 Views
2,562 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 2.3%, up 1.3% compared to last year.
Office 365, on the other hand, focuses on Content Collaboration Platforms, holds 10.2% mindshare, up 4.9% since last year.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HCL Verse	2.3%
Google Workspace	15.1%
Microsoft Exchange Online	11.1%
Other	71.5%

Email Applications

Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Office 365	10.2%
Google Workspace	9.3%
Dropbox Business - Enterprise	8.6%
Other	71.9%

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.

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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the mail server."

"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."

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

"The most valuable features in Office 365 for me are productivity, as all my productivity requirements are fulfilled, and communication capabilities."

"Microsoft 365 operates seamlessly in the background, allowing us to perform tasks across different Microsoft applications."

"The features of Office 365 that have significantly enhanced my workflow productivity include Excel, which is a very good product that helps assist me with my work."

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

"Office 365 is comprehensive with its functionalities, and I am not currently missing anything."

"We use it for documentation management, to collaborate with Microsoft Teams, web calls, web conference calls, chats, and as a documentation repository mainly. We have an Office pack suite to be able to write documentation, make spreadsheets, and create PowerPoints."

"Every application in the Office 365 bundle is beneficial, making day-to-day tasks easier."

More Office 365 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."

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

"Using Office 365 is not that flexible on some mobile devices, like Android."

"Microsoft could improve their support; I don't deal with Office 365 or Office 365 application-specific issues, but I wonder if it's similar where you get someone from Microsoft to hold your case, which could take a couple of days, maybe a week in between when they get back in contact with you."

"A need that a company like ours has is that we want to be able to have data flow into one tool, for example, for all the management of tasks through the company and workflow of who is doing what and so on. There are no real solutions for this at the moment in Office 365. It would be nice if they could implement this in the next release, so we can have one solution from one company giving us the whole data and flow of data into the company."

"I'd like to see them add more features in the future in order to continue to advance the product."

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

"It seems like every other week when we log into the administrative portals, it doesn't matter which one, it could be the active directory portal, it could be the exchange admin center or SharePoint admin center, it seems like Microsoft is consistently updating with new versions of the admin centers, which can be frustrating."

"As a private user, I do not appreciate the cloud features, but I doubt that this is something Microsoft would consider a feature request."

More Office 365 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

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

"The pricing is good for all the features that we receive, e.g., Skype for Business."

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

"I think that we pay $9.99 USD per user, monthly."

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

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

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

"Good reporting and good value subscriptions for international calls."

"The price of Office 365 is very expensive."

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

14%

Outsourcing Company

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?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Office 365 is that it is moderate.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Office 365?

Office 365 can be improved by increasing support, which currently is not efficient and takes a lot of time to resolve issues. It has been observed that support personnel often lack hands-on experie...

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What is your primary use case for Office 365?

Email and collaboration are the main use cases for Office 365 at Omagi Media Labs. It is used for internal and external communication in daily work. Groups and Teams groups are created and used in ...

See all answers

Comparisons

HCL Notes vs HCL Verse

Compared 39% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Verse

Compared 15% of the time

Hub vs HCL Verse

Compared 11% of the time

HCL Domino vs HCL Verse

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Verse

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Verse Competitors

Google Workspace vs Office 365

Compared 50% 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 4% 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

Me & the Bees Lemonade

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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.