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Technology Security Specialist at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use, implementation straightforward, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft 365 Business is easy to use. Most companies use Microsoft Windows as an operating system making the use of this solution straightforward. There is a small learning curve and it is something everyone can adapt to easily."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use a lot of the applications that come with Microsoft 365 Business, such as Sharepoint, Teams, and Outlook.

    What is most valuable?

    Microsoft 365 Business is easy to use. Most companies use Microsoft Windows as an operating system making the use of this solution straightforward. There is a small learning curve and it is something everyone can adapt to easily.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft 365 Business for approximately six years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I would recommend this solution to others and we plan to continue using it in the future.

    I have found Microsoft 365 Business to be stable.

    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft 365 Business
    January 2025
    Learn what your peers think about Microsoft 365 Business. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
    832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft 365 Business is scalable.

    We have approximately 6,000 using the solution in my organization.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support is very responsive and they have different levels of support. However, the response time depends on the license that has been purchased.

    How was the initial setup?

    When I joined this organization they had already installed Microsoft 365 Business, but the project took approximately six months. I have now onboarded the solution across the organization. Microsoft 365 Business is on the cloud making the installation straightforward. The deployment does not take a long time, you have to take time to migrate all of the users which was done in a phased approach. It took about six months to migrate everyone.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a team of five administrators that do the maintenance of the solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price of the license for Microsoft 365 Business can be expensive for smaller businesses and should be adjusted. The overall pricing model can be improved upon.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate Microsoft 365 Business an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer931254 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Partner IT Transformation Consulting, Principal Analyst, Cabot Partners at a outsourcing company with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Consistent design with good cloud services but it can be difficult to get support when needed
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like that it is easy to transfer to different devices, such as a different laptop. Everything is cloud-based, which I appreciate."
    • "Most Microsoft applications are not the most user-friendly."

    What is our primary use case?

    I primarily use the solution for the Microsoft Office Suite and Outlook.

    What is most valuable?

    I used to use 365 when I was at IBM, and, at later stages in my career, at other companies. I used to have my own license at home. Now, I have my own consulting firm. Recently, I got a laptop. I felt that transferring all the information from one laptop to the other was a painful experience. I got 365, as it is in the cloud, and due to that, I can just download my user information and I'm ready to go. 

    The solution is stable. 

    I like that it is easy to transfer to different devices, such as a different laptop. Everything is cloud-based, which I appreciate.

    While I like the fact that Microsoft is constantly updating its services, I also like the fact that Excel is pretty much the same since I started using it on Day One. 

    What needs improvement?

    Coming from larger companies, if you had 365 questions for Microsoft, it was hard to get a hold of them. The one way I could get answers was by talking to a friend, or one who has used 365 as well. Microsoft has no time for the little guy. I can Google to look for answers, however, you run the risk of getting answers that are baseless. It would be easier to use if you could get better help if you need it. 

    Most Microsoft applications are not the most user-friendly.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've used the product for a while. I've always used Microsoft for the most part.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability has been fine for the most part.

    How are customer service and support?

    As an individual user, getting a hold of technical support can be difficult. Once, I actually found a number and I waited for an hour and a half. The guy who helped me, I can't thank him enough. He went beyond. I was extremely happy about the assistance. That said, typically, it's hard to get help.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I've used G Suite before as well. However, I'm a Microsoft guy. I'm 65, so I've used Microsoft all my life. G Suite is extremely good, however, as I see it, I'm not comfortable with it. I see the younger people getting faster with it. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The cost of the solution is approximately $120 a year.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm an end-user of the solution. We mostly work with IBM, which is a bigger part of our offering.

    While there's a way to use it on an enterprise level, I can only speak to individual usage. I personally like the fact that it's on the cloud and it's easy to access my documents from anywhere. 

    I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. For the most part, the solution has been great. 

    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.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft 365 Business
    January 2025
    Learn what your peers think about Microsoft 365 Business. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
    832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Neetu Majumdar - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Quality Assurance Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    A stable and scalable solution which is easy to install and deploy
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is easy to expand to accomodate multiple users."
    • "The OneDrive part could be more user-friendly, because many people want to use it."

    What is our primary use case?

    We always use the latest version. 

    We use the solution for SharePoint, documents and email.

    What needs improvement?

    The OneDrive part could be more user-friendly, because many people want to use it. The sharing of the documents, such as files, should be addressed in respect of using a personal user. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Microsoft 365 Business for two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is easy to expand to accommodate multiple users. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have an internal tech support team that helps us with issues that arise. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Our cloud solution was with Microsoft.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is convenient and they handled it for us from the office. 

    The installation and deployment are easy to undertake, as we already have a Microsoft package. This comes with Teams, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The organization is responsible for the license. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I believe we have around 10,000 users.

    I would definitely recommend the solution to others. 

    I rate Microsoft 365 Business as a nine or nine-point-five out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1539417 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Cloud Ops Delivery Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    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?

    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.

    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.

    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
    PeerSpot user
    CTO at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Well-integrated, reasonable price, and good stability, but Microsoft Teams should have better performance and SharePoint should have more features
    Pros and Cons
    • "Everything gets integrated. Different services that they provide are well integrated into the entire system, which is the biggest strength of Microsoft products. Everything works together. If I create a Microsoft Teams theme, I get a SharePoint site and planner. Everything, including permissions, is scoped, which is really nice."
    • "Microsoft Teams, which is a video conferencing, chat, and collaboration tool, has some issues with video codecs. It has really bad performance, especially on the Mac OS, and requires a lot of improvements. I'm using MacBook Pro, and the performance of Microsoft Teams is disastrous. It is really unusable. Given our subscription, we get Microsoft Teams for free, but we are often opting to use Zoom or some other tool because the entire computer becomes almost unusable. New age applications should be written in a way that ensures similar performance across different operating systems. I'm not sure how it works on Windows. I assume it works better, but Microsoft needs to ensure that the performance is really good. It should provide the same kind of user experience across different platforms. They can use more efficient development tools when it comes to applications. They seem to be using a technology that uses a lot of resources on our personal computers. I know that Microsoft is pushing a lot of applications to be built in the Office 365 ecosystem, but Microsoft Teams should be a focus because it is a collaboration tool. Its performance and usability need to be better, especially in the times of COVID-19. As a part of management, I use the collaboration tools and video conferencing tools for approximately five or six hours a day. Such issues have a big business impact because the management makes decisions about the tools that are going to be used within the company. SharePoint could somehow be improved or changed to match the features of Confluence from Atlassian. There is an opportunity to do some improvements there."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using it for file sharing, office applications, email, and SharePoint.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We use Microsoft solutions for everything that we do. A part of our software development is done in .NET using Visual Studio and development tools. We use Azure Cloud Platform, and we are also providing services to our client's clients. It would be hard to imagine using something else because we are so used to using Microsoft tools. It is something that you count on having.

    What is most valuable?

    Everything gets integrated. Different services that they provide are well integrated into the entire system, which is the biggest strength of Microsoft products. Everything works together. If I create a Microsoft Teams theme, I get a SharePoint site and planner. Everything, including permissions, is scoped, which is really nice.

    What needs improvement?

    Microsoft Teams, which is a video conferencing, chat, and collaboration tool, has some issues with video codecs. It has really bad performance, especially on the Mac OS, and requires a lot of improvements. I'm using MacBook Pro, and the performance of Microsoft Teams is disastrous. It is really unusable. Given our subscription, we get Microsoft Teams for free, but we are often opting to use Zoom or some other tool because the entire computer becomes almost unusable. New age applications should be written in a way that ensures similar performance across different operating systems. I'm not sure how it works on Windows. I assume it works better, but Microsoft needs to ensure that the performance is really good. It should provide the same kind of user experience across different platforms. They can use more efficient development tools when it comes to applications. They seem to be using a technology that uses a lot of resources on our personal computers. I know that Microsoft is pushing a lot of applications to be built in the Office 365 ecosystem, but Microsoft Teams should be a focus because it is a collaboration tool. Its performance and usability need to be better, especially in the times of COVID-19. As a part of management, I use the collaboration tools and video conferencing tools for approximately five or six hours a day. Such issues have a big business impact because the management makes decisions about the tools that are going to be used within the company.

    SharePoint could somehow be improved or changed to match the features of Confluence from Atlassian. There is an opportunity to do some improvements there. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for six or seven years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable if we exclude the issues with Microsoft Teams. I am the technical director of a company that has 130 employees. I don't remember experiencing any kind of issues. There was an outage for a very short period of time about three months ago, but it was nothing bad. Its stability is great.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable. Everything that we use is based on a cloud source. It is pretty scalable, especially for our needs.

    It is used by the entire company. It is an official tool for document management and business apps. We have 130 employees. Its usage will increase. We have the intention to grow as a company, so we will increase its usage accordingly.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We didn't have too much of a need for technical support or any kind of support, but when we needed it, it was okay. I don't remember which support plan we are subscribed to, but it works okay. 

    How was the initial setup?

    It is pretty much straightforward. It cannot be configured for the first time by someone who is not trained to configure it. You need help from basically your cloud service provider (CSP). Your CSP will provide resources to do the initial configurations. Such tools are not easy to configure for the first time, but everything else is pretty much intuitive. If you have an IT background, it should be intuitive and easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Its price is what you would expect today from a software-as-a-service offering. It is somewhere around $10 per user per month.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise making sure that someone experienced with Microsoft Office 365 platform and ecosystem is leading your organization. Otherwise, find a great partner to help you and guide you through the implementation process.

    I would rate Microsoft 365 Business a seven out of ten. A couple of things can be better.

    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.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1498125 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Works at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Easy installation, incomparable functionality, and has bundled products
    Pros and Cons
    • "When trying to compare other products there are not a lot of product that can even compare with the functionality."
    • "Some of the functionality in the solution needs to improve. For example, when receiving a message in Outlook regarding the start of a meeting, it is not easy to connect, pick a microphone, or click the link."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use the solution for various tasks as it is a bundle of products. I use Outlook for messaging, Visio for chart modelling, PowerPoint for presentation, Excel, Word, and OneNote. For me personally, OneNote is mostly helpful application.

    What is most valuable?

    When trying to compare other products there are not a lot of product that can even compare with the functionality. There are many products bundled together.

    What needs improvement?

    I think every product manager has to use the products by himself because I am a product manager in my company for years, I have seen rudimentary mistakes. For example, in previous versions, there were no problems with simple operations. Currently, I see unstructured development. In previous versions it was always stable, now they focus on un-useful features, instead of useful ones.

    Some of the functionality in the solution needs to improve. For example, when receiving a message in Outlook regarding the start of a meeting, it is not easy to connect, pick a microphone, or click the link.

    Some of Google services are better than the ones with this solution.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for a couple of years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I observe the dynamic of Microsoft products from unstable to more stable. They have improved over the years from critical mistakes. For example, Microsoft Teams, strange product, but now I can say it is a good product with mistakes, often unstable, but I observed the solution getting better over time. They need some more work done on stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I have 3,000 employees in my company using the solution.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have used the solutions technical support in the past and I received an answer but it did not have the solution. It was a standard automated message. They could improve on the agent's knowledge for dealing with issues.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I used Lotus from IBM in the past and it was terrible. I decided to find a new solution without Lotus. It was very hard to work with Lotus and other IBM product. Additionally, I have used Google products too.

    How was the initial setup?

    I ordered this solution and the supply manager installed it. They had no problem.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have an IT division in my company that manages all the deployments.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    There is a licensing fee that is quite expensive. However, the solution is useful and the price is equal to the value.

    What other advice do I have?

    Microsoft wonders me, I am quite satisfied with this solution. I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate Microsoft 365 Business a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Director of Strategic Sourcing at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Has all the solutions you need to retain core competency in your business
    Pros and Cons
    • "This is a unified business package that helps people be productive in working environments."
    • "Flow and Form components can be improved individually, but it would be nice to see the product take the next step and operate as a unit rather than separate modules."

    What is our primary use case?

    The basic solution we mostly need Microsoft 365 Business for, is to use Excel to support the internal sourcing process and retain our core competency.

    How has it helped my organization?

    It gives us all the tools we need to practice business in a single, unified, compatible package.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature in this product is that it allows for fairly high productivity without the requirements for bespoke (i.e., custom made) tools. Microsoft 365 is like a Swiss army knife. You can do pretty much everything you need for a company with it all in one compatible package without deploying multiple solutions.

    What needs improvement?

    The parts of the product that can be improved are the Forms and Flow features. They can be more intuitive and productive. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using the product for the last year-and-a-half.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I think what Microsoft has provided is certainly a stable and mature solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This is scalable product both in component deployment and utility for business practices.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have not personally really had any reason to contact technical support. If I have any issues, I can answer my own questions. I normally use the various forums and internet support communities.

    No serious technical issues have ever occurred.

    How was the initial setup?

    The product was simple to install in my own deployment and begin to use. Our IT department did the deployment for the company, so I can not say how long deployment takes when deploying on a network.

    What about the implementation team?

    Our internal IT department does deployments and monitoring of applications and services for the company.

    What other advice do I have?

    My advice to people who are considering the use of this product is that if you are starting from scratch — from absolute zero — take some courses or training in the product to make sure you have some basic understanding of each of the products in the suite. You need to know what they do and have some basic skills or you will spend a lot of time finding out for yourself what is already easy to learn.

    On a scale from one to ten, where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate this product as an eight.

    What it can do in the next release to be closer to a ten is to integrate the components better. I would like to see all of the functionality come together in one workspace. I would prefer not to have the work separately with an Excel spreadsheet and a separate PowerPoint interface for presentation and a Flow interface for workflow. This is a little clumsy. I would prefer further integration of all the products into one single solution so it is not necessary to switch back-and-forth as you work. Or have the option to customize how you integrate according to the way you work.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Dawit Getachew - PeerSpot reviewer
    Web Master & DevOps Engineer at MMCY Tech
    Real User
    Top 10
    A user-friendly interface, robust security features, and scalability for small to medium-sized companies, but potential downsides include additional costs for specialized tools
    Pros and Cons
    • "I am highly satisfied with the security features and user-friendly interface."
    • "There is potential for it to offer even more features such as compliance reporting and device management."

    What is our primary use case?

    There is a focus on major products like SharePoint and Active Directory for tasks like managing databases and accessing user accounts.

    What is most valuable?

    I am highly satisfied with the security features and user-friendly interface.

    What needs improvement?

    There is potential for it to offer even more features such as compliance reporting and device management. Given the rapid growth of other companies, especially in product management, I believe that Microsoft 365, being widely used by organizations, could incorporate additional features to compete effectively with these fast-growing companies in the market. It could enhance its functionality, possibly through the inclusion of an Apex Gateway.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using it for one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It provides excellent stability capabilities. I would rate it nine out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is quite scalable for medium or small-sized companies. There are eight hundred individuals in our company that actively use it.

    How are customer service and support?

    My colleagues often discuss this, since they are usually engaging with the support team. They express positivity about it, although there have been some minor complaints, particularly about speed. I would rate it seven out of ten.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Neutral

    How was the initial setup?

    It is user-friendly and straightforward, making it accessible even for those less experienced in system administration. I would rate it eight out of ten.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The base price is reasonable, but when it comes to the specialized tools for servers, the cost can become quite high.

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, I would rate it seven 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
    PeerSpot user