What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Exchange Online serves as a unique platform for us. We use it to receive and send emails within our organization and to others.
We use it in conjunction with Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, leveraging the comprehensive capabilities of Microsoft 365.
How has it helped my organization?
The integration with other Microsoft products is a major reason we chose this solution. It offers a single account that links to all other Microsoft services.
For example, I don't need to create a separate email address to share something with you. I can access and retrieve information within the same platform via the same email. It just makes everything synchronized perfectly, allowing me to get most things done and ensure my clients can reach me easily.
Overall, the solution has improved our communication efficiency.
The calendaring functions in Exchange are good. For example, if I want to schedule a meeting and the other person isn't available during that time, I can see their availability and diagnostics. This helps me know if they're busy or need time on their calendar. The calendar admin is awesome, not just on the desktop but also online.
I've integrated it with a network monitoring solution before. It's quite seamless. Overall, it's pretty straightforward for me to use.
What is most valuable?
I like its user interface. I don't struggle or face any challenges while using it.
The design interface is simple. I haven't had any trouble managing it for a long time. Even if I encounter a challenge or two, I can always reach out to Microsoft for help. So, overall, it's been a very positive experience.
Having everything under one account was valuable. I just had to go through cybersecurity for licensing and download everything. With one account, you can download Office and use Online features directly from your Exchange.
There are security solutions in place, and we take customer data very seriously. For example, if I accidentally create a forwarding rule or send an email with an image attached, I get a notification immediately.
Compliance-wise, it's quite good online. We can do many things. Even if I can't click on something or upload a specific file type, it'll still be stored for compliance or investigation purposes. So, subscribing to these features.
The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track communication and see user activity. Those are the key points that have proven to be beneficial.
What needs improvement?
The price could be an area of concern for many, but I do feel I'm getting value for what I'm paying for.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using it for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is quite stable. One good thing about Microsoft is that whenever there's downtime with your tenants, Microsoft will announce it. Most of the time, even during outages, it's resolved within a few minutes because they're on top of things.
In my experience, the only downtime I remember was two weeks ago when we couldn't receive emails from external domains. I saw the notification in my tenant and refreshed, and it was fixed within five minutes.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's highly scalable. For example, if you have two licenses and want to add more, say four or five, it's simple. Just go to your billing and add the additional licenses you want for another year. It's pretty good in that aspect.
Currently, there are 55 end users in my company. We just renewed and budgeted for additional licenses. So far, we have certified that many users are on the platform.
How are customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use Microsoft 365, including DNS. We also utilize Azure.
I've used Zoho Mail and Google Workspace before switching to Exchange Online five years ago.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was straightforward for me, and the interface design is user-friendly. I've managed it for quite some time without significant challenges. On the rare occasions when issues arise, Microsoft support has been helpful.
What about the implementation team?
For the deployment process, it's very simple and you don't need to contact anyone. First, you need to get a tenant. Second, you need to have a domain available and your secure mail information to populate your MS record, company name, point of contact, and so on.
Once your domain is already set up, there's a Microsoft link where you go to add your domain and configure your SIP domain with your domain provider. Then, you can add your users. However, before you do that, understand your needs because there are different plans - Basic, Standard, and Enterprise.
Once you identify your needs, you can set it up yourself. It doesn't require much technical expertise. But Exchange on-premises, that's a different story. For the cloud solution, it's pretty easy to set up.
I'm the only one managing it. Since it's online, we don't need many resources. Because of my experience with Microsoft Intune and Azure cloud infrastructure, I can manage it and ensure we don't have any server challenges. So, I handle everything on the engineering side.
What was our ROI?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Exchange Online is very expensive. While it might seem a bit expensive, the benefits outweigh the cost for us. We wouldn't consider changing unless absolutely necessary.
We pay yearly. It's roughly around $22.00 per user per year for the cluster with over a thousand users.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
It was a management decision.
Another reason was that simple accounts to access all these. With a single account, we use Microsoft Office as well. I want my users to be able to use Microsoft Office, online or offline, and also check their emails seamlessly. So, the reason we went with Microsoft is because it is the one account that cuts across everything.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Microsoft is an amazing organization with unique solutions. They don't compromise on security, and that's important. It's also very easy to use. The interface is simple and clear. You can even switch to dark mode if you prefer. Now, the cost might be a concern for some, but it's relative.
Security-wise, there are frequent updates, especially when compared to other options. So, it's user-friendly, easy to use, and has a simple UI. That's what I can recommend.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure