We mainly use this solution for email, but other services that we use are Teams, Yammer, SharePoint, and others. I used it in my own company, and I also use it with my clients.
Cloud Ops Delivery Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to set up, and good communication tools promote collaboration between employees
Pros and Cons
- "The features that we find good and what we use the most are Outlook and Teams."
- "The dashboard can be made more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Using the tools provided by Microsoft 365 Business has made the people in our company more collaborative. We are able to better keep in touch with each other using email, Microsoft Teams calls, chats, as well as Yammer.
What is most valuable?
The features that we find good and what we use the most are Outlook and Teams.
What needs improvement?
The dashboard can be made more user-friendly.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft 365 Business
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft 365 Business. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft 365 Business for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is pretty good. We have not had any issues specific to it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability has not been an issue for us. We had bought enough for our requirements and also planned for future needs, so we have not had to scale very much.
In my company, we have between 500 and 1,000 people. The client that I work for has a user base of between 4,000 and 5,000 people.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy.
What other advice do I have?
In summary, this is a good product and overall, it has been pretty good.
I would rate this solution a nine 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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
General Manager at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
User-friendly with a simple setup and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has pretty good security baked in."
- "It would be ideal if the solution offered a free version. Currently, there are only paid options available."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution throughout the company for business purposes. We use a variety of its applications.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very stable. The performance, overall, is quite good.
The scalability, overall, has been very good.
We have found Microsoft 365 Business to be very user-friendly. It's easy to navigate.
The initial setup is simple and straightforward. It's not too hard to set it up yourself.
Overall the product meets our needs.
The solution has pretty good security baked in.
Microsoft has pretty good technical support on offer. They are helpful.
What needs improvement?
Overall, I can't recall feeling any features were missing. The solution meets our needs. There isn't anything that is lacking.
It would be ideal if the solution offered a free version. Currently, there are only paid options available.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about three years at this point. It's been almost that long at least.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is reliable. It offers good performance. We've found it to be quite stable. It doesn't have bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze at all. It's great.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found that Microsoft 365 Business scales very well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so easily.
Currently, we have about 50 people on the solution.
We do plan to continue to use the solution. We have not plans to change.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support has been very good. They are knowledgeable and responsive. We have been satisfied with the level of service we receive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not previously use another solution. We've always only used Microsoft 365 Business.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex. It was very straightforward. Due to its relative ease of use, the initial setup was easy. A company shouldn't have any issues with it.
While I cannot recall the exact amount of time it took to deploy the solution, I can say that it was very fast. It doesn't take long.
The maintenance is pretty basic. You don't need a large amount of staff to watch over it.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself. I did not need the assistance of an integrator or consultant. It's easy to do on your own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay a licensing fee. I can't say if it is expensive or not as I've never looked at other products to compare services and pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We've never compared the solution to another product.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the latest version of the solution. I'm not sure of the exact version number.
I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. So far, it's met our needs. I have no complaints. I'm very happy with it.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft 365 Business
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft 365 Business. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior System Administrator at Citystars Properties
Usable, available, and you can connect to it from anywhere
Pros and Cons
- "It has file storage, file sharing, a provisioning box, and a SharePoint profile for each user."
- "Updates to the SQL server with better features are needed to compete with Oracle Database."
What is our primary use case?
I decided to go with Microsoft 365 Business to be compatible with my friend's server.
What is most valuable?
This solution has everything.
It has file storage, file sharing, a provisioning box, and a SharePoint profile for each user.
It's useable, available, and you can connect to it from anywhere.
Also, I have storage and I can access my email.
What needs improvement?
The Team Exchange online needs improvement.
Updates to the SQL server with better features are needed to compete with Oracle Database.
In the next release, I would like to see more with endpoint security and with firewall security. Many other vendors are better than Microsoft in this field.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable.
We have approximately six hundred users working daily.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have created tickets with the Microsoft technical team. They were good and I like the support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy and straightforward.
It took ten working days to deploy, test, implement, and to see the effects before applying it to our users.
What about the implementation team?
I had a consultant integrator helping me with the implementation. We worked together.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others about this solution is to go ahead with no fear.
I would recommend this solution.
I would rate this solution and eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Has the ability to add or remove licenses at the drop of a hat when someone new starts or leaves the business
Pros and Cons
- "The flexibility of having a subscription for the Office software, rather than having any upfront costs is the best part of this solution."
- "There are various things that you need to use PowerShell to do. That would be good. You could do them through the management portal, rather than through PowerShell. That's the biggest improvement I would like to see."
What is our primary use case?
We use the cloud deployment model. We use it internally here for our business software for our office software and for our computers. We also use it for mailboxes, SharePoint, and OneDrive, all of the platforms.
What is most valuable?
The Office software is the most valuable aspect of this solution.
The flexibility of having a subscription for the Office software, rather than having any upfront costs is the best part of this solution.
The ability to add or remove licenses at the drop of a hat when someone new starts or leaves the business is another valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
It would be better if it was cheaper.
There are various things that you need to use PowerShell to do. That would be good. You could do them through the management portal, rather than through PowerShell. That's the biggest improvement I would like to see.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution since it became available, around five or six years ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It seems pretty stable. There are issues with it every now and again but it seems to be on the whole, pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has ten users.
How are customer service and technical support?
Sometimes technical support is great, sometimes it is terrible. It really depends on what you've actually logged with them and who at Microsoft is dealing with it. It is a really mixed experience.
A negative experience we have had with them is when we arranged times for them to call us back and they just didn't call and we called back the following day but they just don't keep appointments.
I would say on the whole they are good. The majority are good. They can be quite flaky. It depends on who you're speaking to. Some of them are brilliant, some of them don't even know what they're doing.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used an on-prem Microsoft solution. It was all Microsoft products but it was not Office 365, it was on-premises.
How was the initial setup?
Because we are an IT company the initial setup was very straightforward. We are all technical here.
The setup is not just a one-off job, it is an ongoing thing. People come and go so you add and remove people all the time.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed it on our own. We are an IT company and provide IT services to other companies. One staff is enough to deploy it on their own. We deploy for smaller businesses.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are Microsoft partners so it doesn't cost us anything.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would be to make sure to find everything out before you start appointments. Make sure you know who is getting what and what sort of licenses you need. Be well-prepped before you start.
Be sure you know what licenses you have and the license management. Make sure that you know what you are doing without a fuss because if you make a mistake with that, then you can potentially make a bit of a mess of things.
I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
OEM Medical & Defense Business Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Poor performance, not as good on the cloud, and offers lower quality than an on-premises version
Pros and Cons
- "The installation process is straightforward."
- "The cloud performance and the ability to work remotely are actually not very good. I prefer to work on-prem on my laptop. The quality is better."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft 365 can be useful for SharePoint, our personal documents, and Outlook, among other applications.
What is most valuable?
The on-prem version is better. I prefer to work directly on my laptop.
The installation process is straightforward.
What needs improvement?
I do not like Outlook. They should be able to build something better.
The product could be more stable and the performance could be better.
The cloud performance and the ability to work remotely are actually not very good. I prefer to work on-prem on my laptop. The quality is better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We just started using this solution. It hasn't been that long yet. It's been a few weeks, or maybe a month so far.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is okay. It could use some improvement. Especially in Outlook. The performance is poor when it comes to the cloud version. I do not like it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have about 160,000 users on the solution at this time.
How are customer service and support?
I've never contacted technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they would be as I have no experience dealing with them directly.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use a different solution. We simply used the previous iteration of Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is pretty simple. The solution simply runs in the background, and therefore, there's not much needed for a setup.
In my organization, I'm not sure how many people actually handle deployment or maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
I can handle the setup process myself. I did not need the assistance of an integrator or consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't handle any licensing or payments related to the solution. I can't speak to how much the solution costs the organization or how often we pay for licenses (whether it is monthly or yearly).
What other advice do I have?
Since we are using the cloud-based version of the solution, we're likely always on the latest iteration. It's probably up-to-date.
I'm not a big fan of the solution, especially the cloud offering. I prefer when it is on my laptop. I do not like working on the cloud. The version just isn't as good. For that reason, I would rate the solution at a four out of ten.
I'd recommend the solution as it's really the only solution on the market.
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.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Good functionality, with little to no maintenance required but it doesn't transfer well with Google Docs
Pros and Cons
- "It works as expected."
- "As an example, there isn't a clean transfer to a Google Doc outside of hosting it as a .docx file."
What is our primary use case?
I work with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel as well.
I use Microsoft 365 Business for content creation.
What is most valuable?
I like the base functionality. It works as expected.
I'm not going to say I got wowed by it. It is something that has always been presented to me as the product to use.
Over the years, I have become familiar with it and I feel comfortable using it.
What needs improvement?
As an example, there isn't a clean transfer to a Google Doc outside of hosting it as a .docx file. That seems to be the functionality that would probably have to be updated on a Google Docs side, and not necessarily Microsoft 365.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for several years. It's been since elementary school.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't had any issues with the stability of Microsoft 365 Business. It has worked as expected without giving me any major issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable solution.
Virtually everybody in the organization is using this solution. Outside of maybe a couple of people on the engineering team, only because they are not responsible for the content creation.
We have approximately 75 people in our organization who use this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not had to contact technical support. I haven't had any real issues. If anyone has any questions, they just ask me, but I am not the official administrator for the product.
How was the initial setup?
It pretty much just sits alone. We don' really require anyone to maintain this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have any information on the pricing. I do not administer the license, that falls with the CFO.
What other advice do I have?
You know exactly what you are going to get whenever you use it. It won't necessarily wow you but it gets you from point A to point B, and that is what is important.
I would rate Microsoft 365 Business a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager IT & Security at mCarbon Tech Innovations Pvt., Ltd.
Easy to use, overall stable, and user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft 365 Business is easy to use and user-friendly."
- "The solution is overall stable. However, while using Teams there can be some performance issues during meetings."
What is our primary use case?
We are using this solution for many of its features, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft 365 Business is easy to use and user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft 365 Business for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is overall stable. However, while using Teams there can be some performance issues during meetings.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 50 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed to use the technical support for Microsoft 365 Business.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is easy. Everything is on the cloud, you download the solution and install it.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is an annual license required for this solution. For a smaller organization, it could be expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft 365 Business an eight 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.
Data Warehouse Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable, great for collaboration, and very reliable
Pros and Cons
- "I never have had any problems with any kind of situation where I couldn't get my documents. It is very, very reliable and very consistent."
- "It should be a bit more user-friendly. It should be less click to get to what you need. this would help people use it more efficiently."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for all kinds of stuff. We use it for Excel, for Outlook, for team collaboration, for sharing documents, et cetera. We take advantage of it in order to do a lot of collaboration with colleagues.
What is most valuable?
The solution so far has been excellent. I've been very happy with its capabilities.
The solution makes it easy to handle collaboration tasks.
The product has proven to be very stable, and therefore, it is very reliable. I never have had any problems with any kind of situation where I couldn't get my documents. It is very, very reliable and very consistent.
The product scales very well.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to make sure it does have the scalability potential in place for large-scale organizations. As a smaller organization, I can't speak to how scalable it would be for very big companies.
It should be a bit more user-friendly. It should be less click to get to what you need. this would help people use it more efficiently.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a very long time. It's been mostly five to six years at this point. I have a lot of experience with it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is very reliable and very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is there if you need to expand.
That said, we are a small organization of 500 people and therefore haven't tested the limits of scaling. I'm unsure as to how big it can go.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've never had any technical issues with the product and therefore have not had to reach out to support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. However, the fact that I haven't spoken with them reflects highly on the quality of the product itself.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've always used Microsoft. I cannot recall using any other product.
How was the initial setup?
I don't have any experience with the installation aspect of the solution. It's not something that I've handled before. I'm not sure what the deployment is like or how easy it is to implement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't handle payments and licensing. I can't speak to how much the company pays or if we're set up on a monthly or yearly payment schedule.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
It's my understanding that we did not look at other options before choosing this product.
What other advice do I have?
We're customers and end-users.
Due to the fact that we are on the cloud deployment model, we are always using the latest version of the solution. Microsoft automatically keeps everything up to date.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. So far, we've been happy with how it works and what we can do with it.
I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft 365 Business Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
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