We primarily use the solution for email and calendar functionality.
Director of IT ISO at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Quick to deploy, easy to set up, and works with minimal issue
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to set up and quite quick to deploy."
- "When you migrate from on-prem to cloud, if you choose to or are forced to do the hybrid, they need to devise a way to undo the hybrid."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It works. It does what it's supposed to do with minimal issues.
It's one of the products that Microsoft has absolutely done its very best with.
The solution is very easy to set up and quite quick to deploy.
What needs improvement?
Right off the top of my head, I can't think of anything that I would change to improve Exchange.
The pricing could always be better.
Right now, I'm writing documentation to upgrade the existing Exchange and Active Directory from 2016 to 2019.
When you migrate from on-prem to cloud, if you choose to or are forced to do the hybrid, they need to devise a way to undo the hybrid. At present, once you establish a hybrid organization between cloud and on-prem, there's no way to undo it. Fixing that would be most beneficial. At the last organization I was at and did a migration, I had 31,000 users, and my largest mailbox was 90 gigs. It took three months to complete the migration.
We had no choice but to put it into hybrid mode due to the period of time. The MX record can only exist in one place. Therefore, you can't route mail from one system to another system. All the mail had to be routed through the on-prem and then synced from the on-prem to the cloud until everything was in the cloud. Then we were able to move the MX record from being on-prem to being in the cloud. Then all mail could be received in the cloud. However, then there was no way to tear down the Exchange organization on-prem. We are still left with a server, server maintenance, licensing, OS upgrades, patching, and everything on the on-prem server. The on-prem server is literally sitting there doing nothing except filtering air in the data center, costing me power, time and cooling. Therefore, fixing that would be awesome.
For how long have I used the solution?
I’ve used the solution throughout my career - for over 30 years.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
How are customer service and support?
Typically, by the time I open a ticket, and they get back to me, I've figured out how to fix it. I don't call them until I'm really stuck.
They're not very good. I have had one of their technicians call me back more than once, and I'll go, "I figured it out, I fixed it." They flat asked me, "Well, how did you fix it?" I'm like, "You're Microsoft. You figure it out." They may not have the best understanding of the system.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've used Exchange my entire career. My best friend is currently trying to get rid of Lotus Notes where he's at. He's been working on that for a year now, and it just doesn't seem to want to go away. I've always been with this product. I did a bunch of work with GroupWise and got GroupWise out of the environment and so forth - replacing that with Active Directory. However, that really didn't have a mail component to it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. It only took a few hours to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is always something that could be better. We always like to work towards protecting our budget.
I know what the cloud cost per user is. I don't have what the on-premises costs are.
What other advice do I have?
I’m a customer. I don't have any direct relationship with Microsoft.
I’d rate the solution a nine out of ten.
It's an excellent product. It's an excellent mail system. It does exactly what it's supposed to do. If you are under 5,000 employees, I would say that Microsoft 365 is the way to go. If you're over 3,000 or 5,000 employees, I would have some serious conversations about on-prem versus cloud. Once you get over about 3,000 or 5,000 employees that are mail users, the cloud really starts to get much more expensive than on-prem.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Manager / Senior Network Engineer at Warnock, Tanner & Associates
It has an intuitive GUI including most features found in Exchange Server
What is our primary use case?
We use Exchange Online to host our company email. Now that O365 admin portal has been becoming more and more powerful I rarely find myself needing to use the Exchange Admin portal.
We have many customers that use Exchange Online. All of which has become much easier to manage over the years as the O365 admin portal has developed.
How has it helped my organization?
I have made about 10 migrations from Gmail, ATT, Amplex, 2007 - 2013 on prem Exchange servers to Exchange Online. The uptime and stability is far better than any on-prem or hosted solution I have used in the past.
Being a MS partner gives you central administration over all of your customers.
What is most valuable?
- O365 Admin portal
- New admin reports
- Office 365 Secure Score
- Integrated Security
- Ease of migration from anywhere
- Intuitive GUI for control (Has greatly improved)
- Filters
- Granular control
- Encryption for HIPPA standards
- Central administration over all applications and clients
- Built in support ticket system
- Free mobile applications (applies to specific subscriptions)
What needs improvement?
Microsoft does not provide an automated way to migrate Public Folders. At this time you will need to run a series of complex PowerShell commands.
Supposedly Microsoft has done something about the public folders, however I have not investigated it. This may or may not still be an issue.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The dashboard reveals when there are issues but none that my customers have ever experienced.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Exchange Online is extremely scalable. I know a company that migrate over 10k mailboxes. I am sure there are many companies that are much bigger yet.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
10 out of 10
Technical Support:
10 out of 10
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As stated earlier, I have used Exchange on premises solutions, google, ATT, Rackspace and other solutions. They all do mail and do it well, however the ease of integration, simplicity of administration, and the overall support is the best!
How was the initial setup?
There is a learning curve when migrating from other solutions. Once you understand the process it is straight forward
What about the implementation team?
All implementations were performed by me.
What was our ROI?
Currently as a Microsoft Partner we do not pay for an E3 license of O365 which includes Exchange Online. As for customers they are billed directly from Microsoft.
As a partner of record on each customer Microsoft pays out residuals as long as the customer continues to pay for the service.
If you are not a partner the ROI is based on the fact that you no longer need to pay for hardware/software, hardware/software maintenance, and labor to perform upgrades, maintenance, and troubleshooting of hardware/software.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The plans can be confusing. Take time to understand what you need, what you will need in the future, and buy a plan accordingly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Gmail, ATT, Amplex, other ISP solutions, On-prem Exhange.
What other advice do I have?
Moving to Exchange Online open doors for many options that come with O365 and Azure. As technology continues to move forward it is pushing us to the cloud. Starting with email in the cloud open doors for other solutions that may fit your business.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partners
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Solution Architect at APIS
An affordable and scalable solution that is easy to set up and configure
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to access, and you can bring your own device to access from anywhere."
- "The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Exchange Online is a better solution for scalability purposes. The solution is helpful where you need too much infrastructure on-premises.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Exchange Online has a really good performance. The solution is easy to access, and you can bring your own device to access from anywhere. You can still have the security controls on top of it.
What needs improvement?
The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange Online is a stable solution.
I rate Microsoft Exchange Online a nine out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is good.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is really easy.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution through an in-house team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Exchange Online is an affordable solution.
What other advice do I have?
Two engineers are sufficient to deploy and maintain the solution. Microsoft Exchange Online is a cloud-based solution.
Microsoft Exchange Online is easy to set up and configure. I would definitely recommend the solution to other users.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Exchange Online ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
L3 Technical Support Engineer at SV Gaming Limited
Useful sandbox feature; quite cheap
Pros and Cons
- "It is a fantastic solution."
- "In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case for Exchange Online is managing users and their mailboxes, resources, and contacts. We also use it to manage email communication within and outside the organization.
How has it helped my organization?
Exchange Online has helped us properly manage email communications in the company and also from employees to other users outside the company. Microsoft has deployed a lot of newer features on Exchange Online that have helped improve security, email management, email trace, mail flows, and all else. This has been very helpful for us.
What is most valuable?
The features I find the most valuable are the rules, the mail flow, the reports, and the shared mailbox. I most appreciate the shared mailbox feature.
What needs improvement?
I think Microsoft could add more security features in terms of managing spam emails, because for us as an organization, we've had to deploy that trace to complement the Exchange Online security feature.
In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for over three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of this solution a 10, one a scale of one to 10, with one being not stable and 10 being very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of this solution a 10, one a scale of one to 10, with one being not scalable and all and 10 being very scalable.
We plan on increasing the usage of this solution in the future. As we increase the number of our employees, we also increase the usage of Exchange Online.
We currently have about 700 users and above.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate their customer service a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being very poor and 10 being very responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I would rate the initial setup a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being very complex and 10 being very straightforward. It was really straightforward.
What was our ROI?
We see a whole lot of return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would advise being aware of the organization's requirements. Also, an in-house technical person that can help in terms of managing is a necessity, because Exchange Online requires a continuous management process. The solution is not one that can just be deployed one-off and let go; it has to be continuously managed. Also, Exchange Online is quite cheap.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate Microsoft Exchange Online a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being poor and 10 being excellent. It is a fantastic solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
CDO at SGROUP
Convenient, easy to install, and scalable when deployed on the cloud, but has too many products integrated with it that it has now lost focus
Pros and Cons
- "What I like about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's a very convenient solution because it's part of the Microsoft business suite. This is the first email service I've used that lasted for many years, and I'm still using it because it's very convenient and it's suitable for my needs. Microsoft Exchange Online is the best product in the world for me because I don't remember any other service that's so well-accepted."
- "What I don't like about Microsoft Exchange Online is too much integration because now it has many services connected to it. In the beginning, it was just email, and now it's also Teams and Visio, and many other services which I don't like. Microsoft Exchange Online should focus on one service. The product now lost focus, and this is its area for improvement. I would also like more freedom in choosing to use just one service, for example, just Microsoft Exchange Online, which means I don't need Teams or any other Microsoft product or service there. Right now, all services are either in the Microsoft Office suite, or there are more products or services integrated with Microsoft Exchange Online, and I'd like to just focus on one."
What is our primary use case?
We're using Microsoft Exchange Online for our emails.
What is most valuable?
What I like about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's a very convenient solution because it's part of the Microsoft business suite. This is the first email service I've used that lasted for many years, and I'm still using it because it's very convenient and it's suitable for my needs.
Microsoft Exchange Online is the best product in the world for me because I don't remember any other service that's so well-accepted.
What needs improvement?
What I don't like about Microsoft Exchange Online is too much integration because now it has many services connected to it. In the beginning, it was just email, and now it's also Teams and Visio, and many other services which I don't like.
Microsoft Exchange Online should focus on one service. The product now lost focus, and this is its area for improvement.
I would also like more freedom in choosing to use just one service, for example, just Microsoft Exchange Online, which means I don't need Teams or any other Microsoft product or service there. Right now, all services are either in the Microsoft Office suite, or there are more products or services integrated with Microsoft Exchange Online, and I'd like to just focus on one.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Microsoft Exchange Online for more than ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange Online is a stable product, in particular, when it's on the cloud. It's stable when it's dependent on the cloud, but if it's deployed on-premises, Microsoft Exchange Online is not stable.
It's a very old product with the same code, even on Windows. Nothing's changed, and my company is using Windows NT for Microsoft Exchange Online with Unix as the code.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange Online is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
We haven't used the technical support for Microsoft Exchange Online.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Microsoft Exchange Online is the first service I've used, and all the new services in the market are a little bit different from this solution. Microsoft is a very old company, and almost all of my colleagues started with Microsoft products, so it's just natural to continue using Microsoft Exchange Online.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Exchange Online is easy to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license for Microsoft Exchange Online and I have information on that, but there have been so many changes to the licensing and it's a completely different story nowadays. Microsoft has been pushing users to buy a package of products under one license. Users are becoming more dependent on Microsoft rather than independent, that you can't decide anymore, and from my point of view, that is bad.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
My company evaluated Qualitas, Unix, HP, and IBM.
What other advice do I have?
In my company, Microsoft Exchange Online is deployed both on the cloud and on-premises.
More than two thousand people use Microsoft Exchange Online in my company of four thousand employees.
At the moment, there's no plan of increasing usage of the product because of the current crisis.
In terms of whether I would recommend Microsoft Exchange Online to others, with the integration it has, it depends on the focus of the company. For small markets, Microsoft Exchange Online is "too big" because it has a lot of services and you'll be paying for services provided in the package, with some you don't get to use. For end users, this would be difficult, but for companies, especially bigger ones that would have a choice, Microsoft Exchange Online is a good product. My recommendation would depend on the case because every user is different, for example, the purpose is different, the business is different, etc.
My rating for Microsoft Exchange Online is seven 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.
Manager - Infrastructure at a government with 201-500 employees
It's a highly scalable, essential product for our business, but it could be more flexible and integration could be more seamless
Pros and Cons
- "Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product."
- "The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online. There's still a disconnect between mailboxes and the cloud."
What is our primary use case?
Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product.
What needs improvement?
The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online. There's still a disconnect between mailboxes and the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Exchange Online for the last 20 years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Exchange Online is pretty scalable. We have about 6,000 users at our company.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Microsoft support six out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using a Windows NT 3.5 20 years ago and an on-prem version of Exchange.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Exchange Online is straightforward. I rate it eight out of 10 for ease of installation. The total time of deployment was a couple of days. I have eight staff looking after it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There's a licensing cost, but it's included in our Azure pricing, so I'm not really concerned about it.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Exchange Online seven out of 10. There's no alternative to it unless you want to use some Unix system, like Apache. People don't use Apache for wide-stream things like email and stuff like that. The only equivalent is a Linux-based or Unix-based solution, and who wants to do that?
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.
Network Infrastructure Specialist at Central-Bank-Kenya
A cloud based messaging platform that delivers email, calendar, contacts, and tasks
Pros and Cons
- "The data prevention and protection feature is good."
- "I would like to make the solution more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for our emails and security exchanges.
What is most valuable?
The data prevention and protection feature is good.
What needs improvement?
I would like them to make the solution more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with Microsoft Exchange Online.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the solution is also very good. There are approximately a thousand to five hundred users using the solution. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good so far.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a cluster solution.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Infrastructure & Tech Support Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Hosted messaging solution used in addition to Office 365 offering remote access to mailboxes
Pros and Cons
- "This solution makes it very easy to receive and detect problems about the mail flow and offers very good reporting. In general, it's very easy to manage the organization's mailboxes."
- "When we need to purchase additional licenses for additional users, the process is slow."
What is our primary use case?
We use this in addition to Office 365 in order to have our user mailboxes on the cloud.
What is most valuable?
From a user's perspective, this solution enables them to access to their mailbox from anywhere and their mailbox size is as big as 100 gigabytes so they never run out of space.
This solution makes it very easy to receive and detect problems about the mail flow and offers very good reporting. In general, it's very easy to manage the organization's mailboxes.
What needs improvement?
When we need to purchase additional licenses for additional users, the process is slow.
We would like to have a single point of view or pane where we can manage all of our infrastructure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution. I would rate it a four out of five.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution. I would rate it a five out of five.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment of Exchange Online only was very easy and was completed within a week. The full setup and migration of on cloud and on-premises infrastructure is still in progress but this is not due to difficulty.
What was our ROI?
The return on investment is very good. I would rate it a five out of five in this regard.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing for this solution is good. We renew our contract every three years. I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution a nine 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.
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Updated: December 2024
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