Exchange is an email solution. It is widely used in our organization.
General Manager - IT at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
It's a robust system that's suitable for a large enterprise environment
Pros and Cons
- "Exchange is a robust system that is well suited for an enterprise environment. It's always up, and we hardly face any technical issues. Exchange has a web interface and integrates perfectly with Microsoft Outlook. This web interface can be easily used to change the passwords from the domain controllers."
- "Microsoft needs to make some modifications to meet the current needs of the environment. For example, they need to add more cell service features because people work from home during the pandemic, and certain elements should be available as a mobile service."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Exchange is a robust system that is well suited for an enterprise environment. It's always up, and we hardly face any technical issues. Exchange has a web interface and integrates perfectly with Microsoft Outlook. This web interface can be easily used to change the passwords from the domain controllers.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft needs to make some modifications to meet the current needs of the environment. For example, they need to add more cell service features because people work from home during the pandemic, and certain elements should be available as a mobile service.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Exchange for many years now.
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December 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale it horizontally by adding several servers behind the load balancer if you want. We have more than 20,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
We contacted Microsoft about an issue a while back, but it was so long ago, I can't remember what the problem was.
How was the initial setup?
Installing Microsoft Exchange is straightforward. The conversion takes time, but the installation itself takes less than two hours. The total deployment time depends on what you want to do, i.e., how many servers you want to configure, the structure of your domain controllers, etc. We have four team members for deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an enterprise agreement with a five-year contract.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Exchange eight out of 10. Exchange has a cloud solution also, so depending on the count of users, you can decide whether to use the on-premise or cloud version.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
ICT Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It has inherent scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The availability group settings are better, so it has inherent scalability. In 2010, they added several sensible rules."
- "They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Exchange mostly for corporate communication services—setting up an email box, calendar, setting appointments, etc. My organization is a very big organization. The user base is not less than 15 people. When I worked with Exchange at Starcomms on the corporate organization, we had more than 1,000. When I was at another company, we had a user base that is more than 60.
What is most valuable?
Exchange 2003 was a more closed environment, but they improved on it in 2010. The availability group settings are better, so it has inherent scalability. In 2010, they added several sensible rules.
What needs improvement?
They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for a couple of years. I've used Exchange 2003, 2007, 2012, and 2015.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
When we've had issues that are beyond our ability to resolve, we've contacted Microsoft. Once we had a deep phishing outbreak that involved a lot of phishing emails, so I had to contact them and then work together to figure out how to stem that thing.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is straightforward for administrators if you understand networking services and the need for an active directory service. Exchange is a site-aware service, so you must have a good grip on active directory services. You need a deeper understanding of the networking layer, internet services, and broadband before you can manage it on your own as a system administrator. These are services that an experienced administrator can handle.
I was able to do it all on my own. I have robust experience in hardware, installation and maintenance, operating systems, networking, routing and switching, security as well as database administration, and a little bit of user support too. I can also support the exchanges from the client side of it.
In terms of deployment and maintenance, I do need a support engineer just to help with the labor. I also need maybe other system engineers as a backup. Then there's the technical team. Okay. In a corporate environment, you have people to deal with management influence, IT governance, and all the business cases underneath all that. Then you have the administrative level, including the security admin, a Windows admin for the Java site, then you have the Exchange admin. On the support level, you have user support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When I was working in another company, it was Enterprise volume licensing.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Exchange is the leader in corporate communication. It has been quite a good service. I rate it nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head Of Information Technology at a insurance company with 201-500 employees
Integrates well, easy to use, but stability needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Exchange is a powerful solution. It can easily integrate with Active Directory and other business applications. It does not require any training, it is flexible and simple to use. When comparing Microsoft Exchange to other solutions, such as Lotus Note, it is more straightforward for business."
- "From a reliability perspective, they need to improve the search engine, it is not very powerful."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Exchange on a daily basis for our business. However, we are moving to Office 365, which means that this will be available on the cloud. This is also a part of the Microsoft enterprise agreement. We receive a lot of other support applications along with Exchange. For example, Teams is included and integrates seamlessly, and we can do many functions, such as schedule meetings.
How has it helped my organization?
We use Microsoft Exchange on a daily basis and it helping our business, we are able to integrate easily with many of our business applications.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Exchange is a powerful solution. It can easily integrate with Active Directory and other business applications. It does not require any training, it is flexible and simple to use. When comparing Microsoft Exchange to other solutions, such as Lotus Note, it is more straightforward for business.
What needs improvement?
From a reliability perspective, they need to improve the search engine, it is not very powerful.
The security is not the best, it is not able to filter some of the spam and malware emails that pass through no matter what security protocols that we have set. Recently we had two incidents where we had to stop the business for one day. I am not sure if it is a problem with our implementation, or is it a problem with something else.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are some difficulties with the Microsoft Exchange application. For example, it sometimes gets frozen and we have not determined the cause. When frozen we need to close it, and then again open it again. It takes a while to reload the application if the volume is high and when I have many emails. They need to improve on stability.
Many solutions have bugs and glitches and I do not think Microsoft can help it, it is a huge package and there are updates frequently. However, if one was to implement all the standard policies the bugs would be fewer. If I do not implement a certain standard Microsoft Exchange policy, then it should stop me. It should not allow me to do certain operations that would put me at risk. There should be fewer manual controls to prevent improper configuration.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We have approximately 300 users using the solution and there are some companies that have 10,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support for Microsoft is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation process was straightforward. There were not that many difficulties.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. Typically, the larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive. However, for a large company, where they have thousands of employees the cost is distributed. We do not receive this kind of benefit because of the small company size. They should provide more discounts for the small companies because we do not complain or create too many problems for Microsoft.
For large companies that have 10,000 employees, the problems are huge and different. They use a lot of Microsoft support. Small companies that have less than 300 people should get a discount, we do not qualify for their volume discount that starts at 500 people. They should not put these kinds of restrictions on giving discounts. I expect Microsoft to come up with some different options for small to mid companies in the future.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated Microsoft Office 365.
What other advice do I have?
Overall when taking into account implementation, user experience, the flexibility of the solution it has always been very good. There are more benefits than drawbacks.
I rate Microsoft Exchange a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Software Engineer at ADM
Useful cloud storage and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email storage is on the cloud. We don't have to delete emails often."
- "Microsoft Exchange could improve the archiving of emails and the performance."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Exchange can be deployed on-premise and in the cloud.
We are using Microsoft Exchange for general sending and receiving emails in the office to customers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email storage is on the cloud. We don't have to delete emails often.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Exchange could improve the archiving of emails and the performance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Everyone in the company is using Microsoft Exchange.
How are customer service and support?
We have our own technical team for support of Microsoft Exchange.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have been using Microsoft Exchange for a long time. Prior to this, we were using a solution called Thunderbird.
What about the implementation team?
Our internal team does the maintenance of Microsoft Exchange, such as managing the group policy.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Exchange a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Principal at Creative Technology and Management Services
It's easy to use and the built-in calendar is helpful
Pros and Cons
- "Exchange is easy to use. It also has a built-in calendar for all the stuff I'm supposed to be looking at and doing. Exchange tells you if you have a doctor's appointment or a scheduled call. It also has a place to store and manage your contacts. If I want to add a new contact, it will put in information about that contact stored anywhere within the Microsoft Suite."
- "They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days. They finally got it up, but there are still lots of quirks."
How has it helped my organization?
Email is something we constantly use.
What is most valuable?
Exchange is easy to use. It also has a built-in calendar for all the stuff I'm supposed to be looking at and doing. Exchange tells you if you have a doctor's appointment or a scheduled call. It also has a place to store and manage your contacts. If I want to add a new contact, it will put in information about that contact stored anywhere within the Microsoft Suite.
What needs improvement?
They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days. They finally got it up, but there are still lots of quirks.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Exchange is about 90 percent stable, but they're working on it. In the next two or three weeks, they should be able to do it. I know what they're going through.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft has teams in different countries, so they will help you depending on your problem. If you have an issue with something else, they will email you a link that puts you into contact with the team you should talk to. I gave them a lot of issues, and they're working on them. They're saying they will do everything they can to make it work.
The only issue is that the phone connection is sometimes bad because it's a foreign country. It's something you have to live with. You can repeat what they said and ask if you heard them correctly, but they're accommodating.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Exchange nine out of 10. My advice for prospective Exchange users is to have an experienced person deploy it and show you how it's done. They should give instructions on how to make it into a server. That's critical. If you set up a server and think that's the end of it, you could go down the wrong alley.
You'll want some help initially, but on the other hand, you definitely want to learn to use the solution yourself. I recommend getting a support contract with someone who knows the solution. There is so much specialization in this world. For example, a veterinarian and a cardiologist are both doctors, but would you see your vet about a heart problem?
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Improves collaboration between our organization and contractors through the ability to exchange information and tasks
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are that you can exchange information, tasks, attachments, and enhance the process in a short amount of time."
- "For the next release, there are some features on the cloud-based Exchange that aren't included on-prem. It would be great if these features were made available in the next release. For instance, integration between Exchange and its on-prem calendar is not available for the on-prem solution."
What is our primary use case?
Our entire organization uses Microsoft Exchange. We are using Microsoft Exchange 2016. The solution is deployed on-premises.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution has improved the collaboration between our organization and our partners and contractors.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are that you can exchange information, tasks, attachments, and enhance the process in a short amount of time.
What needs improvement?
The security for the email technology could be improved.
For the next release, there are some features on the cloud-based Exchange that aren't included on-prem. It would be great if these features were made available in the next release. For instance, integration between Exchange and its on-prem calendar is not available for the on-prem solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think Exchange is one of the most stable products from Microsoft.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good. We're covered with the technical support maintenance agreement with Microsoft.
How was the initial setup?
Most of the process is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We used a consultant for deployment. We are working directly with Microsoft partnerships.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We renew the product license with Microsoft every three years. The cost is included within a bundle of services. It's an enterprise agreement with Microsoft.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution 10 out of 10. It has enhanced the process of exchanging information between our organization and others.
I recommend this solution for others to use the auto implement. It's a good product. You can use this product through cloud, and it will be more valuable than on-prem deployment.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Architecture Director at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
We're confident in the solution because the support is always there for us
Pros and Cons
- "Exchange's interface is good. All of our engineers like it and are accustomed to using it."
- "The main problem with Microsoft products is that we're constantly required to install patches and fixes."
What is most valuable?
Exchange's interface is good. All of our engineers like it and are accustomed to using it.
What needs improvement?
The main problem with Microsoft products is that we're constantly required to install patches and fixes. In fact, Microsoft frequently publishes, which is in itself a guarantee of quality, security updates especially for the OS that we are forced to apply. The problem is, this causes us to do a lot of testing before we go into production to make sure that our systems continue to function properly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've worked as an administrator of Microsoft Exchange for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven't identified any serious problems with Exchange.
How are customer service and support?
We have always used Exchange. That's a strategic choice for our company. We are confident in Microsoft because their support is always there for us.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was easy. When we first deployed Exchange, we had some guidance from Microsoft, but now our engineers use it effortlessly.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Exchange eight out of 10. I hope Microsoft will continue to support the on-premises versions of their products because they are increasingly orienting themselves toward Exchange in the cloud. Unfortunately, cloud services are unavailable here in Nigeria.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
More mature than competing solutions but it has trouble integrating with other operating systems
Pros and Cons
- "I find Exchange's basic mail features to be highly valuable."
- "The calendar integration in Exchange is not that great. The email features are okay, but it doesn't integrate well with the calendar and appointments, especially Zoom appointments. It integrates fine with Microsoft Teams, but Zoom is a challenge."
What is most valuable?
I find Exchange's basic mail features to be highly valuable.
What needs improvement?
The calendar integration in Exchange is not that great. The email features are okay, but it doesn't integrate well with the calendar and appointments, especially Zoom appointments. It integrates fine with Microsoft Teams, but Zoom is a challenge.
Maybe the problems with integration are Apple's fault. The calendar doesn't integrate well with Apple's iOS. When I make appointments in Outlook, they don't necessarily transfer to the Apple Watch or the iPhone. If a meeting is canceled or rescheduled, it doesn't pick up at all. It's still showing appointments that were canceled months ago.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Microsoft Exchange for seven or eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange's stability is okay. I'm about the jinx it, but it seems fine. I'm not really having problems with it, and I've got over 200,000 emails.
How are customer service and support?
I've contacted Microsoft support. They're overseas in India, I think. They usually solve the problem but not quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. I even let them access the computer remotely, and they do whatever. I would rate them average. They're okay but not great. It takes more time than necessary, it seems.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I still use Gmail, but I don't use it much. I'm not that impressed. Gmail isn't robust enough. I use the integrated mailbox for iPhone. It's okay but not great. Outlook is the best, but it could be better.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I pay about $100 for a license, but I'm a single owner.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate Exchange seven out of 10. It has challenges with integration, whether it be through Android or Apple. We've been heavily using Zoom and Microsoft Teams this year, and that hasn't been great. It's passable. At the same time, I would give iOS Mail only a five or six, but then again, it's straightforward. It doesn't propose to do much else. The nice thing about iOS Mail is that you don't have to sift through different accounts. They all come up in the sandbox, which is cool. That's helpful for work.
If you're using Microsoft Exchange, make sure you have technical support. You need someone to call if you have problems. I pay for a technical support license from Microsoft.
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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