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Microsoft Exchange vs OpenText GroupWise comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Ranking in Wireless Email
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
File Archiving (3rd)
OpenText GroupWise
Ranking in Email Applications
12th
Ranking in Wireless Email
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText GroupWise is 1.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Harry Murdani - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps with email services and communication with internal and external contacts
Everything is useful. The only useful thing Microsoft Exchange could do is give us more of a discount on pricing because it's so expensive. Regarding the calendaring functions of Exchange, there is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day. When you click the whole day event, the scheduling doesn't really work. For example, if I schedule a meeting with you and block your whole day, instead of just putting a time from morning to afternoon, other people can still block your time, which results in double booking. It's kind of a bug that allows people to double-book. So, the scheduling isn't working properly yet. We also faced challenges with backup services. You need to use a third-party backup solution to back up the whole Exchange server properly. You can't use the native Windows backup services. It's like they're forcing me to buy another product, which means additional costs. The backup solution and the double booking issues. If Microsoft Exchange can fix these two things, then it will be very good.
JN
Great security, stability, versatility expandability and low cost of ownership
About the only thing I don't like about GroupWise is the lack of a modern Linux client. Micro Focus stop their development of the Linux Client a long time because there wasn't enough demand for it. Most other solutions do not have the Linux client. I would really like to see OpenText add a modern GroupWise Linux Client back. But until they do there is the Web Client to be used in a browser.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."
"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."
"It is user friendly."
"The availability group settings are better, so it has inherent scalability. In 2010, they added several sensible rules."
"It has a feature that allows you to retain an email and recover it as an administrator. When you activate this feature, even if a user deletes an email, the email is still in the system, and we can retrieve it as an administrator. It is a very useful function. We turn this feature on for some of the mailboxes because we need to keep all the records. I like the way emails are classified in this solution. It makes it really easy to take a look at the most important messages. This is a really good functionality. Some of the emails directly exchanged with you are marked as important and shown in one tab, and everything else is in another tab. We usually don't have any issue with Exchange. It can be integrated with different solutions."
"The technical support is fine."
"Our customers are satisfied with the features included in Microsoft Exchange."
"On-premises Microsoft Exchange is good because it protects data privacy."
"I like the ease of logging best in Micro Focus GroupWise. I also like its proxy capabilities from a user level. I also like how secure Micro Focus GroupWise is."
"Very secure with great storage capacity."
"The cost-effectiveness of the solution is most valuable."
 

Cons

"Nothing is perfect, that's why I am giving Microsoft Exchange a nine."
"Microsoft Exchange needs to improve how it handles and assigns policy and security."
"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."
"If it was the same product, and slightly cheaper, that would be amazing."
"We are not able to use Microsoft Teams due to connection issues. Thus, the product integration with Teams could be improved."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve the price."
"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."
"The management of .pst files and archiving need improvement."
"What I don't like about Micro Focus GroupWise is the removal of the Unix client. Micro Focus took that function away about ten years ago because there wasn't enough demand for it."
"The WebAccess feature is somewhat lacking and could be improved."
"Their support can be improved. It is not as good as it used to be."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay for the license annually."
"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."
"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."
"I have Outlook 365 Professional, and Exchange comes in the bundle with other solutions, such as Word and OneDrive. I pay for the use of the bundle monthly and I can imagine if you are a company with many licenses the pricing model would be a lot different."
"Its price is fair."
"Microsoft Exchange itself does not require a license, but users who will have mailboxes will require a license. It depends on the number of users to choose which license. If you exceed 2,000 mailboxes, it's preferable to get the enterprise license."
"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. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."
"It was a part of the suite, so it was very cost-effective. There were no costs beyond the licensing fee."
"Micro Focus GroupWise is the most affordable solution on-premises. Versus Microsoft Exchange on-premises, pricing is 20:1, so there's no comparison. Micro Focus GroupWise is cheaper, though, for my clients, it's not about the cost but the stability and security of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
23%
University
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?
Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
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Also Known As

Exchange, MS Exchange
Micro Focus GroupWise, GroupWise
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Heritage Oaks Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. OpenText GroupWise and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.