I use Microsoft Exchange for professional emails, and the collaboration tools, such as Teams, and SharePoint.
Avanade Global Managed Security Services (MSS), Cyber Defense & Growth Markets Security at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Stable operations and useful collaboration tools
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the collaboration tools."
- "Microsoft Exchange could improve security. They can elevate a lot of security features."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the collaboration tools.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Exchange could improve security. They can elevate a lot of security features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for approximately 10 years.
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Microsoft Exchange
October 2024
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814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange is stable.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used the support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Exchange an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
CoFounder/CTO at Hybrid Tech
Good logistics and very user friendly
Pros and Cons
- "I like the logistics and the Microsoft protocol of reaching Outlook anywhere."
- "Load balancing is lacking."
What is our primary use case?
I'm the CDO and we are resellers of Microsoft Exchange.
What is most valuable?
I like the logistics and Microsoft protocol of reaching Outlook anywhere. It's a user-friendly product.
What needs improvement?
Load balancing is lacking. If you need to use it, it requires preparation of the Windows IIS services for load balancing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with this solution for close to five 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?
You can add multiple lots and expand the solution so it is very scalable.
How was the initial setup?
It depends on the customer's architecture but in general, the setup is quite straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are multiple competitors in the market and I think the price is a little bit high but it has many benefits.
What other advice do I have?
We've just stopped providing advice for on-premise products because customers are moving to cloud-based products which saves a lot of preparation time.
That said, I rate this solution nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Solutions Architect at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
Good integration with other services, fair price, and makes work much easier
Pros and Cons
- "It gives me benefit in terms of integration with other services such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. It makes my work much easier."
- "There are limitations in terms of the number of emails that can be sent in a minute, which makes it a little difficult for the marketing folks."
What is our primary use case?
I use it as a customer, and I also do implementations for my customers. I mostly go with hybrid deployments.
What is most valuable?
It gives me benefit in terms of integration with other services such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. It makes my work much easier.
What needs improvement?
There are limitations in terms of the number of emails that can be sent in a minute, which makes it a little difficult for the marketing folks.
The products or the updates that come in are more frequent. If I want to move from Exchange on-prem to Exchange Online, there are prerequisites that need to be met. They always have prerequisites for the latest one, but not all customers will have the latest infra. They might have a six or three months old version, but the expectation is the latest one. This prerequisite is a little inconvenient for those customers who wish to migrate to the cloud.
The response time of their support can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for seven to eight years.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not contacted them recently. I used to contact them four or five years ago. I would rate them a four out of five. One point is for the delay in their response.
How was the initial setup?
It depends on the organization. If it is an SME, it is going to be straightforward. If it is an enterprise, it is going to be complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is fair.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend others to go with the complete suite instead of going for just Exchange. If they go with Office 365, which is a bundled service, they will get more flexibility and collaborative workspace. It will enable their users to work without moving around the apps.
I would rate Microsoft Exchange an eight out of 10. Obviously, not everything is 100% satisfactory, but there are a lot of improvements happening.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
Sr. Microsoft Engineer at nournet
A user-friendly email and calendaring server with lots of features
Pros and Cons
- "It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration."
- "From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users."
What is our primary use case?
We use Exchange for email services and collaboration services.
What is most valuable?
It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration. You can share documents through emails and more. There are lots of features, and it's very user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for about ten years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are some limitations when it comes to scalability, but Microsoft always continues to improve it. Now I'm serving more than 2,000 users, and I think my company serves about 10,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward for the small use cases. Each case is different, but for the most part, it's almost straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft doesn't have a unit price, it's based on the quantity, and they offer great discounts.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise potential users to go with Exchange. Exchange Online is also very similar to Office 365.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Microsoft Exchange a nine.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Controls Engineer at C-Tech Controls
Easy to set up but doesn't work very well on a virtual machine
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to set up."
- "It doesn't work very well on a virtual machine. We had to move it around. There are also issues when you try to move it between computers."
What is our primary use case?
We use it just for email.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to set up.
What needs improvement?
It doesn't work very well on a virtual machine. We had to move it around. There are also issues when you try to move it between computers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for around ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is not so great. We can't move mailboxes because of a corrupt file or random issues, which causes headaches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We didn't have any need to scale it. We have got the same number of people in our company. We have 20 users at the moment. They are accountants and engineers at the job sites.
How are customer service and technical support?
We don't really use them. We use a local IT company for any major issue.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've had the same solution for a long time.
How was the initial setup?
The setup program is straightforward, but there are hiccups when you try to move it between computers. You come across different issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is okay.
What other advice do I have?
I would 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.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Good technical support, simple to set up, and easy to scale
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is very simple."
- "In the version we have, I would like to see better communication between the end device and the Exchange server."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use is for email and communication. We also implement this product for our customers.
What needs improvement?
In the version we have, I would like to see better communication between the end device and the Exchange server.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Exchange for the last 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We use Exchange on a daily basis and most of the time, it is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Exchange is very easy to scale and we have approximately 1,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
If we have an issue where a support ticket is escalated to level three then we will contact the vendor. The technical support is good and we haven't had any issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not personally worked with other similar solutions.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
What about the implementation team?
We are a partner and deploy this product on our own. There is four or five staff who are system administrators.
We provide level one and level two technical support for our customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
With respect to pricing, this product is somewhere in the middle. Everything is included in the standard licensing fees.
What other advice do I have?
This is a good product but our version is reaching end-of-life. I would recommend using the most recent version of Exchange.
I would rate this solution a nine 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.
Systems Developer with 1-10 employees
It integrates well with calendar and scheduling, it's easy for employees to plan agendas
Pros and Cons
- "It integrates well with calendar, scheduling, etc. It's easy for employees to make meetings and plan their agendas."
- "Deployment should become a bit easier, the process is a bit complicated. You have to have done it one or two times before you get it right. The first time you do it, it won't be perfect. There are a lot of complications compared to Gmail For Business, which is a bit easier when it comes to configuration."
How has it helped my organization?
It helps because it's easier for the employees to exchange emails. Instead of their using their personal emails, at least now they are using the company email.
What is most valuable?
One thing I like about it is the support. Microsoft is very good at providing support. I also like that it integrates well with calendar, scheduling, etc. It's easy for employees to make meetings and plan their agendas.
What needs improvement?
It requires a lot of maintenance. I think the cloud solution would be better and easier to manage as well.
Deployment should become a bit easier, the process is a bit complicated. You have to have done it one or two times before you get it right. The first time you do it, it won't be perfect. There are a lot of complications compared to Gmail For Business, which is a bit easier when it comes to configuration.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. But at certain times you find that fixes and patches which they release can mess things up. But so far, I haven't come across any major issue.
The support is there with the number of people using it. It's very easy to get solutions when you're stuck. Somewhere, someone is going through the same problems. They're willing to help you with the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
At the time I joined the organization, they didn't have an email solution in-house. Employees were using their personal emails. Some of were using Yahoo!, some were using Gmail. If someone left the company, they would take with them the emails they had received from clients. We needed an in-house email solution like Exchange so that if someone leaves we are able to keep the emails.
To me, the most important criteria when selecting a vendor are maintenance and support. Features also matter. Then I look at the pricing. Is it too costly, is the organization going to be able to afford it? So cost plays a major role. When I go to the Director and say I want to buy this solution, the main thing he will look at is the pricing. He will ask, "Why are you getting these features, it's very expensive. Why aren't you going with this other option, it's cheaper?" But again, if the support is great and the pricing is a bit higher it's worth it.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was simple and straightforward. We didn't have any hiccups. It went fine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with.
What other advice do I have?
If you don't really mind the cost then go for Microsoft. You can never go wrong with them, their solutions are very good. They're stable. They're all tested, so when you start you know it has already been tested. There are many people using it, it's comfortable, it's stable. You won't have any hiccups. I would recommend it.
One thing I've been doing is, before I deploy it to a production environment, I always create a "lab" where I try it out and make sure everything is working properly.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
System Administrator at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
It is now better at balancing the load on the backend, but its administration is too cumbersome
Pros and Cons
- "The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend."
- "Currently, its administration is too cumbersome. It's unwieldy. It's slow. It consumes too many resources. Configuration needs to be much more streamlined and administratively automated."
What is our primary use case?
I use it for email, contacts, and calendar.
What is most valuable?
The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend.
What needs improvement?
Currently, its administration is too cumbersome. It's unwieldy. It's slow. It consumes too many resources. Configuration needs to be much more streamlined and administratively automated.
In terms of additional features, on the administration side, I would like them to incorporate a security console to focus on all of the security aspects in one place.
For how long have I used the solution?
It has been in use for 10 to 15 years.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a six out of ten. It's very cumbersome. It's not lean by any means.
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.
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Download our free Microsoft Exchange Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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Updated: October 2024
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