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

6.1

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

Basil Jiji

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

"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 AI-enabled meeting notes feature has significantly improved our productivity."

"The return on investment is always an improvement, and I think it's a significant improvement due to the many integration options available."

"The most valuable features of Office 365 include its ecosystem integration capabilities, allowing for seamless usage across different platforms."

"With Office 365, I have never encountered issues; my experience is entirely positive."

"Office 365 is a pretty stable solution; it is in the cloud, so I can use all the documents that I have anywhere I want."

"It's inexpensive to license."

"The functionality that is most valuable is the solution's ability to detect patient data in email attachments. Whenever a user sends out an email with patient data embedded in an attachment, it triggers an alert. The tool can detect a social security number and various other forms of patient identity. Emails are then automatically generated and sent."

"Office 365 is very easy to use and it's fast, with functionalities that allow for seamless simulations, and the collaboration features, especially when working with technology sectors, are highly useful."

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."

"Data protection and email security are almost the same for all the organizations, irrespective of their segment (SMB or enterprises), with standard subscription at least basic Data loss prevention and Advance threat protection can be enabled for SMB segments, it is available in enterprise version / Premium versions."

"Integration with other platforms can be improved."

"Office 365 could be easier to use at first. Tutorials are needed to know how to use the solution."

"The one big problem with the solution is if you are presenting in Teams and someone puts their hand up, you don't get a notification. If you are running a meeting and just presenting you don't know that people have their hands up and want to ask a question."

"They should do more testing before product releases."

"Sometimes the configurations of the error troubleshooting are pretty problematic and there are a lot of issues that happen even if you follow the step-by-step guides. They can work on fixing this issue. If there are a lot of issues in your Windows or your Office or anything, you restart your PC and it works. They need to get rid of this need."

"Constantly evolving with new features, which can be challenging for users."

"It could be more user-friendly for inexperienced people."

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."

"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."

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

"Most of the time, we purchase Microsoft Exchange licenses, which are less expensive and provide only an email platform and 50 gigabytes of email storage for free."

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

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

"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

25%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Computer Software Company

University

Computer Software Company

19%

Outsourcing Company

10%

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

HCL Notes vs HCL Verse

Compared 46% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Verse

Compared 17% of the time

Hub vs HCL Verse

Compared 13% of the time

Huddle vs HCL Verse

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Verse

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Verse Competitors

Google Workspace vs Office 365

Compared 52% of the time

Symphony vs Office 365

Compared 9% 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

December 2025

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.