The solution is for general protection, specifically for email scanning to protect against threats.
Consultant at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Effective scanning and integrated right into Office 365 but needs better support
Pros and Cons
- "It is scalable."
- "The biggest issue that I experience is that Microsoft keeps moving things around, and it's very inconsistent as to where you find the information when you're trying to work on different pieces."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The value of the solution is the fact that it's completely already integrated into the Office 365 environment so you don't have to go do different things to manage and be able to control, configure, and integrate security as part of the overall Mailpack.
For some customers, they don't feel comfortable having all their eggs in the Microsoft basket. Some prefer to have another scanner to do the scanning for protection.
What is most valuable?
The scanning is quite effective.
It's integrated right into Office 365.
The solution is stable.
It is scalable.
What needs improvement?
The biggest issue that I experience is that Microsoft keeps moving things around, and it's very inconsistent as to where you find the information when you're trying to work on different pieces. The fact that they keep changing it, keep changing the portals and moving things around, gets to be very frustrating when you're trying to get something configured for customers.
Technical support needs improvement.
The solution is a bit pricey.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for quite a while at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had no issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We've had no problem with scalability.
How are customer service and support?
We deal with support all of the time. Technical support could be better.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
How was the initial setup?
The implementation is somewhere in the middle of easy and difficult. You do need to know what you're doing, and you're not always sure of both the level of the spam policies and the protection you're putting on, for example, what it's actually gonna do to mail. It takes experience. Somebody new is not generally going to figure it out quickly.
The level of maintenance depends on the size of the organization. That said, it doesn't take a lot of care and feeding once it's set up properly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is moderate. I'd rate them five or six out of ten. They are a bit expensive, considering I'm already paying for staff in the portal.
What other advice do I have?
I spend 99% of my time working with Microsoft products. We do resell Microsoft. We're a small business partner.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner

Solutions Architect at One Click
Protects our customers from spammers
Pros and Cons
- "It has a really nice web-based administration console."
- "I think the implementation could be more streamlined."
What is our primary use case?
It's a spam filter and an antivirus solution. It protects our clients from spammers.
What is most valuable?
It has a really nice web-based administration console. Thanks to this, our clients are not tied to a particular server or workstation. They can just hit a URL anywhere in the enterprise and view the console.
The included patch management system is really good. It keeps itself up to date which is critical when you're dealing with anti-virus and spam filtering. Overall, I think it's really a great product.
What needs improvement?
It kind of has a heavy footprint — in terms of an implementation footprint. I think the implementation could be more streamlined. The implementation could be more flexible in terms of allowing users to pick and choose where they want to deploy.
Personally, I like to be able to pick and choose what I'm implementing and where I am implementing it in the environment instead of having to install the whole stack.
In the next release, I would like to see them add some features beyond just spam and anti-virus. Maybe some bulk email tools — in terms of being able to send them from within the environment. Send group emails, send information to the administration team; I'd like to see them add some MailChimp kind of functionality or mailing lists.
Instead of just providing spam and anti-virus filtering, I'd like to see them add more feature functionality. The one thing that I don't like is that it's very much a point product. It just does what it does, very specialized. I think this industry as a whole is going away from point products and heading towards suites — integrated suites that do a number of different things. I think that they would be wise to fold this into a broader overall suite of products.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection for roughly 15-16 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is exceptionally stable. It scales excellently for what it's used for.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is outstanding.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What was our ROI?
ROI-wise, this solution has been great.
What other advice do I have?
If you're interested in using this solution, make sure you understand the technical requirements and deploy it somewhere where it will have access both inside and outside that it needs. Inside, it needs to see the mail stores, and outside it needs to be able to download the packages that it needs to provide the spam and anti-virus filtering with protection.
Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Cloud Analyst at Cloud2Go
Is stable, scalable, and easy to administer
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier."
- "The security compliance features need to be improved. Sometimes, a client's mailbox becomes full because of retained information and not because of mail. I would like to see improvement in block rules as well."
What is our primary use case?
I'm using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection to reduce cost because I won't need another solution to check the edge malware and spam.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier.
What needs improvement?
The security compliance features need to be improved. Sometimes, a client's mailbox becomes full because of retained information and not because of mail.
I would like to see improvement in block rules as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution, and I would give stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection's scalability is good, and I rate it at ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate Microsoft's technical support at ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection was easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Microsoft Exchange Online Protection and rate it at ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Efficient Email safety, but gray email handling needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The pre-set policies and configuration analyzer are the most valuable features."
- "When you're using a Microsoft product solution, you can scale it, but if you're not, there are limitations."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection's use case can be email collaboration, data protection from various threats such as phishing or malware, and deploying anti-spam policies and anti-malware policies to ensure user safety. Additionally, the attack simulation and training features within the solution can be used to train end users across different campaigns happening over the internet. Other features like saved attachments, saved documents, and disabling options in Microsoft Exchange Online Protection can also be utilized.
What is most valuable?
The pre-set policies and configuration analyzer are the most valuable features in my opinion. The configuration analyzer is a great function to bring about strong external protection, and one can either turn on the pre-set policies or take help from the configuration analyzer to get recommendations for better protection.
What needs improvement?
One area that could be improved is handling gray emails, which are emails with attachments or newsletters that are not necessarily malicious, but are coming from different providers and are being received by various customers. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection may not be fully capable of stopping these emails until submitted for investigation over a specific period of time by Microsoft experts. This process needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the product for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of this solution is quite good. It's been working well for a long time. Microsoft is constantly updating it and adding more features. I would rate it a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate its scalability a seven out of ten. There are certain restrictions. When you're using a Microsoft product solution, you can scale it, but if you're not, there are limitations.
If a company is doing business transactions, sending and collaborating, or choosing teams, I suggest they use Exchange Online Protection. But it may not be enough for any organization that is doing its best, as many threats are happening through different communication channels. I suggest using Office 365 as well, which comes with more advanced functionalities.
How are customer service and support?
The experience with customer service from Microsoft varies. For example, if you open a ticket and get good engineers or support representatives, the experience is obviously good. It really depends on the quality of the support you receive. Overall, my experience has been average. Sometimes I get very bad responses from engineers or developers who don't understand the service or may not be properly trained on it. It can be hard for someone like me to explain everything so that they can understand the problem, and they may need to consult their team or do some research before providing a solution. These things take time. But if you get a good representative who is knowledgeable, then the experience is very smooth.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. There are certain policies within the environment that will do the job automatically if you don't do anything. Moreover, every organization has default policies that are automatically applied if you don't do anything, but Microsoft provides documentation if you want to customize the policies. It is easy to work around the default policies if you need to make changes.
What about the implementation team?
EOP is mainly deployed for the public cloud and there is no on-premises version available. However, if an organization has an on-premises email solution, they can choose to connect it to EOP to protect their emails with external protection. Organizations can reroute their emails through EOP so that all inbound and outbound emails go through the EOP solution and get filtered accordingly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate it a seven out of ten. It is a low-price solution.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection a six out of ten. It is a good product. However, it may not meet all the requirements of today's business world. But if you combine it with different solutions in production, then it becomes a lot more effective.
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.
Senior Information Security Analyst at Rewterz
Quick support, easy to use, and simple setup
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."
- "The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
What is our primary use case?
I work in a financial institution and we use Microsoft Exchange Online Protection to protect our CEO's emails and all users' emails from phishing and other threats.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities. Additionally, the solution is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is stable.
How are customer service and support?
We have had some issues and the support we received was good and quick.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used other solutions, such as Carbon Black and Trend Micro Deep Discovery Email Inspector. I found that Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a much better solution because the search time is quicker and there are more alert results.
How was the initial setup?
The configuration of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier than other solutions.
What about the implementation team?
We did the deployment of the solution in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
There is no maintenance needed for this solution, but we have analyzed the results from the findings from the alerts.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Cyber Security Consultant at HCL Technologies
An easily scalable, cloud-based solution that would benefit from an update to its in-built policy application
Pros and Cons
- "We like the holding facility that is available for potentially suspicious URL's. This allows a real-time review to be performed before the email reaches a users inbox."
- "We would like the solution to have more in-built intelligence in the way that it reviews potential security risks, rather than our team constantly having to update the policies."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product to provide full email security protection policies.
What is most valuable?
We like the holding facility that is available for potentially suspicious URLs. This allows a real-time review to be performed before the email reaches a user's inbox.
What needs improvement?
We would like the solution to have more in-built intelligence in the way that it reviews potential security risks, rather than our team constantly having to update the policies.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for around 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have found the stability of this solution to be good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be easily scalable when new users need to be added; this is a multi-tenant product.
How are customer service and support?
We have found the support to be good. However, the default first line of issue resolution for this product is the online community and FAQ pages.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward due to the solution being completely cloud-based.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licenses for this solution are available as packages of different tiers. The package will differ depending on the features that an organization wants, but all packages come with some default features included.
What other advice do I have?
We would advise organizations who wish to build customized policies that this will increase the implementation time for this solution.
We would also advise organizations to carry out extensive testing before implementing this solution; this will ensure that it is set up exactly the way that they need it to be.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Consultant
Server Technician at Matupunuka ICT
A stable and scalable filtering solution
Pros and Cons
- "We use the solution to receive emails. We do not use the calendar function as our clients are slow adaptors to the latest features."
- "When the product is being updated, it changes some of the setups. The support team is also not good."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to receive emails. We do not use the calendar function as our clients are slow adaptors to the latest features.
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
When the product is being updated, it changes some of the setups. The support team is also not good.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection since 2019.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. I've recommended the solution for small, medium, and large enterprises.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. But if you do not know what you are doing then it can be troublesome. There are a lot of terms that they use for their online product. But we need to familiarize ourselves with the old jargon.
The customers try to deploy it on their own and when they fail they involve us. The deployment takes a day because you still have to document everything you did. You still have to show the local admin what to do, and how to manage it. I can do the deployment myself, but I do it together with the local guys so that we can all be on the same load.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the solution is reasonable. We are usually local, and most of our clients are in the development phase. So they're taking the governmental discount. We do not pay for extra support.
What other advice do I have?
I advise people to use it. I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Software Engineer at Eighty 20 Solutions
Helpful safe links, reliable, and plenty of features
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection are the EOP, ATP, safe links, fishing, and antispam."
- "Not all settings can be configured automatically and most still require manual configuration. However, there is an automation tool available that can be used to input all the configurations either as a script or a tool it would be helpful."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection for the migration of users from on-premise to the cloud.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection are the EOP, ATP, safe links, fishing, and antispam.
What needs improvement?
Not all settings can be configured automatically and most still require manual configuration. However, there is an automation tool available that can be used to input all the configurations either as a script or a tool it would be helpful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is good. We have not had many issues.
I rate the stability of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection a nine out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Mimecast. I do not have a lot of experience in Mimecast.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection can handle a more broad range of areas than Mimecast.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection and streamlining is complex. When we use a feature and we try to streamline them based on its outcomes can be difficult, such as false positives.
We often use third-party tools for the deployment. We try and use Microsoft native tools, such as Office Configuration Analyzer.
What about the implementation team?
I help my customers implement the solution and it typically takes one week with two consultants.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
If you're looking for recommendations, I suggest selecting the standard or strict settings provided by Microsoft for configuring Microsoft Exchange Online Protection. You can start with the standard settings and gradually increase the blocking and other settings such as spam confidence level based on your experience over time. It's important to keep in mind that further tuning may be required based on false positives and other factors, which will require manual adjustments based on experience. This configuration process is not a one-time setup and will evolve based on your customer experience.
I rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner

Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
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