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Information Security Management Individual Contributor at First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A highly scalable, cloud-based email and collaboration solution with good stability features and seamless integration
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature as it encompasses all aspects of collaboration, communication, reporting, and storage."
  • "There is room for improvement in terms of security, as it could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use it for email authentication, and I believe we've adopted nearly all the associated features and updates that have been implemented.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature as it encompasses all aspects of collaboration, communication, reporting, and storage.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in terms of security, as it could be better. Enhancing end-user knowledge is crucial, as it often requires multiple steps and can become intricate when trying to meet our expectations.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for ten years.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
August 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The system has maintained a high level of stability, although managing licenses and testing can be a bit challenging, especially for large organizations like ours. The downtime occurrences have been relatively rare, with any issues that arise being promptly and effectively resolved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's highly scalable and you can easily expand your licenses and integrate new capabilities and modules. We can also tap into other solutions by simply using plug-ins, which provide the capabilities we need, and scalability remains a straightforward process.

How are customer service and support?

We occasionally rely on tech support, and while they often meet our expectations, there are instances where our anticipated resolution timelines are not met. This can be attributed to the prolonged engagement period. On a positive note, the overall experience with support has been satisfactory, with most interactions going smoothly. I would rate it eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward and not overly complex

What about the implementation team?

The deployment process doesn't differ significantly from other solutions. It involves integrating with our online domain controllers for authentication and setting up the system. It's a straightforward process without complex steps or unique challenges, we collaborate directly with the OEM, without involving external consultants.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I find it reasonably priced.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Solutions Architect at Vvolve management consultants
Real User
An easy-to-use platform providing mail tagging and other top-notch security measures
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is stable."
  • "The cost is very high, and not every customer can afford licenses."

What is our primary use case?

It's a messaging card with the assembly solutions. I manage multiple platforms and upgrade and migrate the environment on-prem to online.

What is most valuable?

It is an easy-to-use platform. It provides both browser-based and desktop versions, accessible through a single license or up to three licenses. Additionally, with enterprise plans, you can use desktop licenses. It includes mail tagging and other top-notch security measures. You can manage mailboxes and utilize many other features based on your needs. Shared mailboxes are also available and can be used freely.

What needs improvement?

The cost is very high, and not every customer can afford licenses. Many customers only require the desktop version, so they don't opt for desktop licensing. Also, Exchange lacks a tunneling system. We need to explore third-party solutions and tunneling systems.

They are improving the new version of Outlook. It's free, and we provide the desktop application. This can be quite resource-intensive on the desktop level. When you open Outlook, it heavily utilizes your internet connection, slowing down your email access. Another issue concerns security features. There have been reported bugs in Microsoft's security features where emails marked as spam may still get through, leading to concerns about spoofing.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for 11 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. However, some certain limitations and issues arise, particularly with the desktop application and related functionalities. Recently, Microsoft announced an issue with email invitations not functioning correctly in Exchange Online, leading to duplication and other disruptions.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We must procure licenses and ensure we have everything required based on the requirements. However, this also depends on the network. For instance, scalability and other issues may arise if we have fifteen users and a network speed of ten Mbps from our ISP.

How are customer service and support?

I experienced an issue with Microsoft Exchange Online, where creations are typically sorted out within 15-16 days.

How was the initial setup?

I've worked on involved setting up Microsoft Exchange Online. We implemented DMARC, DKIM, and other essential email authentication protocols. Additionally, we focused on configuring API access to enhance security measures. We also redirected all mail services to Office 365, a standard procedure. Our approach included reconfiguring settings according to best practices for Exchange Online.

The deployment spans one month at maximum, depending on specific requirements. For me, it is crucial to meet all prerequisites, such as domain names, DMARC policies, certificates, and other necessary configurations. Once these are prepared, straightforward implementations can be completed within seven days, barring unforeseen complexities. Integration with licensing structures, email gateways, and potential hybrid environments adds further considerations. Understanding hybrid configurations is essential and tailored to meet client-specific needs for an optimal online deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

All of that is managed within the pipeline. The cost-saving aspect involves reducing licensing requirements. For instance, if you have fifteen licenses, you must evaluate which licenses are unnecessary for non-required production. Reducing those licenses will reduce costs.

What other advice do I have?

The compliance features are crucial. We have options such as rights management, marking as confidential, and restrictions on sending emails. Additionally, we monitor tunneling systems for security threats such as malware and employ spam filtering and anti-spam measures. These practices are designed based on industry best practices and tailored to meet customer requirements, including regulatory compliance. Retention policies are also implemented online for five to ten years, depending on customer and regulatory requirements.

It can be integrated using the Graph API. Third-party tools like IronPort and Mimecast can also be integrated with Exchange Online. These integrations often utilize Azure APIs for connectivity.

It requires maintenance based on our needs. Unnecessary licensing can become an issue, especially in large environments with multiple users. Therefore, it's essential to manage licenses effectively, such as by removing licenses from groups based on usage. Regular maintenance involves disabling users, removing sync, and adjusting licensing accordingly. Security features like spam filtering should also be upgraded quarterly to ensure optimal protection.

I recommend using Microsoft Exchange Online because it offers a straightforward environment. Administrative tasks are easily manageable at the L1 and L2 levels. However, it's important to note that Exchange Online operates primarily through a UI-based control interface. If issues like data corruption occur on the backend, we lack direct control to fix them ourselves. In such cases, we must report the issue to Microsoft for resolution.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
August 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Manar Shihab - PeerSpot reviewer
System and Network Engineer at Pointec
Real User
Top 10
Reasonably priced and used for sending and receiving emails between companies
Pros and Cons
  • "The best thing about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's integrated with the Outlook application."
  • "The configuration of the solution's on-premise version is a little bit difficult, and its troubleshooting is more difficult than the installation itself."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Exchange Online for sending emails between companies.

What is most valuable?

The best thing about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's integrated with the Outlook application. Google also has the same solution, but Microsoft is more integrated with Outlook because the Outlook application is its own product.

What needs improvement?

The configuration of the solution's on-premise version is a little bit difficult, and its troubleshooting is more difficult than the installation itself. You need to configure load balancing, high availability, databases, and user policy to complete the configuration. If anything happens, it will take a very long time to troubleshoot.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for ten years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

All of our users are using the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for the solution's on-premise version is a little bit slower.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution's pricing is reasonable. It's not very cheap, but it's reasonable somehow. It depends on the plan because the cloud users do not buy Microsoft Exchange Online separately. They take a Microsoft 365 plan. It's very rare that a customer comes and says that he needs only emails.

Customers purchase the plans of Microsoft Office, including Windows license from the cloud, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint. All these products come with the bundle of Microsoft 365. So, the pricing depends on the plan you are going through.

What other advice do I have?

Most of the customers want to send emails securely. Things changed when the cloud came. Microsoft Exchange Online is still important as on-premise for the government of Saudi Arabia because they have a policy that they don't allow their data to go on the cloud.

Most of our customers use Microsoft Exchange Online, which is a great solution because it reduces the headache of technical support. Very few users who deal with the government still use the solution's on-premise version. I would recommend the solution to other users to send and receive emails. It's a very great solution.

Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid 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. customer/partner
PeerSpot user
Innocent Ohiaru - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Administrator at James Hope College
Real User
Top 5
A stable and user-friendly solution that provides various productivity tools and enables communication
Pros and Cons
  • "The product enables us to have remote meetings."
  • "The solution must provide better security features."

What is our primary use case?

I manage the tool. All of our business activities happen with the help of the tool. We also have SharePoint integrated into it. We have several other packages listed on the Exchange platform.

What is most valuable?

The product enables us to have remote meetings. Several valuable resources like SharePoint are available to us. It has been our basic tool for communication in an enterprise environment. It's user-friendly. The interfaces are quite friendly. We can navigate around interfaces and tasks. It has several productivity tools attached to it. I can have it deployed on the local computer and the cloud. As long as we have access to the internet, the tool is accessible anywhere in the world. It is a seamless and excellent product. It is a critical support platform.

What needs improvement?

The solution must provide better security features. It provides two-factor authentication, IPSec, security payload, and other authentication and encapsulation. I want more consignment of the access to identify users.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for about 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool’s stability is excellent. The server hardly goes down. In ten years, I hardly recall any downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have more than 300 to 400 users.

How are customer service and support?

The support is excellent.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We chose the solution because our sister companies and other associates were using it.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was not difficult. We created a domain and implemented it with the help of a third-party company that is a partner with Microsoft. I do the annual renewal of our licensees. We have moved from enterprise licenses to educational licenses. Educational licenses have certain benefits and discounts.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The product is very cheap. It is relatively affordable.

What other advice do I have?

If someone plans to use the solution, they must consider the number of users. They must choose the license model depending on their organization. The documentation must be put together in detail, and the right model must be chosen. Overall, I rate the tool a ten 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 does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Fadi Bathish - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Siren Analytics
Real User
Quite convenient access from anywhere but the UI could be improved
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is quite convenient because you can access the web version anywhere."
  • "The UI could be improved to look more like the desktop version for ease of use."

What is our primary use case?

Our company used the solution as an alternative to desktops for accessing emails remotely. It is a front-end email application that can be accessed from the web.

The solution allowed us to create new emails, collaborate via online surveys, and get feedback from a group of engineers on a specific items. We had 2,000 users across our company. 

The solution more or less is an online collaboration tool.  

What is most valuable?

The solution is quite convenient because you can access the web version anywhere. You aren't tied to a company-provided laptop where you have your Outlook desktop.  

What needs improvement?

The UI could be improved to look more like the desktop version for ease of use. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I used the solution all the time as an end user with my prior employer. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable with no issues. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable because it is on the Microsoft cloud. The sky is the limit. 

How are customer service and support?

As an end user, I contacted our internal support team. They actually handled reaching out to Microsoft's technical support. The process didn't take a lot of time and was quite transparent. We received feedback within 24 hours. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution is cloud-based and accessed via a website so there is no setup. You just point to the URL, provide any extensions, and log in to the solution. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution in-house. 

Our IT department deployed by installing exchange server and enabling a shared configuration item. This allowed all users to access the solution via the web. 

Deployment shouldn't take more than two hours because you just enable the web for the online exchange. Then you share a link or the URL so users can access the solution. 

What was our ROI?

Our company achieved ROI by using the solution. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is based on a yearly contract and a floating license option is offered.

What other advice do I have?

I strongly recommend using the solution. 

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 does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
BENDER BENEDICT - PeerSpot reviewer
L3 Technical Support Engineer at SV Gaming Limited
Real User
Useful sandbox feature; quite cheap
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a fantastic solution."
  • "In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for Exchange Online is managing users and their mailboxes, resources, and contacts. We also use it to manage email communication within and outside the organization.

How has it helped my organization?

Exchange Online has helped us properly manage email communications in the company and also from employees to other users outside the company. Microsoft has deployed a lot of newer features on Exchange Online that have helped improve security, email management, email trace, mail flows, and all else. This has been very helpful for us.

What is most valuable?

The features I find the most valuable are the rules, the mail flow, the reports, and the shared mailbox. I most appreciate the shared mailbox feature.

What needs improvement?

I think Microsoft could add more security features in terms of managing spam emails, because for us as an organization, we've had to deploy that trace to complement the Exchange Online security feature.

In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for over three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of this solution a 10, one a scale of one to 10, with one being not stable and 10 being very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of this solution a 10, one a scale of one to 10, with one being not scalable and all and 10 being very scalable.

We plan on increasing the usage of this solution in the future. As we increase the number of our employees, we also increase the usage of Exchange Online.

We currently have about 700 users and above.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate their customer service a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being very poor and 10 being very responsive.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I would rate the initial setup a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being very complex and 10 being very straightforward. It was really straightforward.

What was our ROI?

We see a whole lot of return on investment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would advise being aware of the organization's requirements. Also, an in-house technical person that can help in terms of managing is a necessity, because Exchange Online requires a continuous management process. The solution is not one that can just be deployed one-off and let go; it has to be continuously managed. Also, Exchange Online is quite cheap.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate Microsoft Exchange Online a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being poor and 10 being excellent. It is a fantastic solution.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Saad Zarkout - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at BUTEC s.a.l.
Real User
Helps reduced IT operations, scalable, and simple setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is it helps the IT department with problems."
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online can improve message delivery. There are times we receive a message that the email failed to be delivered, and there is no reason given. We sometimes have emails that are flagged as spam that are not. We cannot do anything about it because it's not managed by us, it's managed by Microsoft."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Exchange Online for email, such as sending and receiving emails. Our critical people are on the cloud and our non-critical people are on the premise.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is it helps the IT department with problems.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft Exchange Online can improve message delivery. There are times we receive a message that the email failed to be delivered, and there is no reason given. We sometimes have emails that are flagged as spam that are not. We cannot do anything about it because it's not managed by us, it's managed by Microsoft.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We can experience some glitches but this could be the fault of our ISP and not the Microsoft Exchange Online. Other than this experience it has been stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Microsoft Exchange Online is good as long as you are paying for the approximate usage.

We have approximately 800 people using this solution in our group. We have many types of users, such as managers and architects.

How are customer service and support?

I have not used the support from Microsoft Exchange Online.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online is very simple.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online is approximately $4 to $36 per user. They do not give a discount which is not good. The solution is expensive if you have 800 to 1,000 users. They should give discounts when you have a lot of users.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I evaluated Microsoft Exchange on-premise, and it has a lot of glitches and needs a lot of maintenance. I chose Microsoft Exchange Online to cut this risk on our day-to-day operations for organizational communication with clients. We decided to move forward with migrating most of our users from Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft Exchange Online, where those critical users would be not in a risk position in case anything happened on the Microsoft Exchange on-premise.

What other advice do I have?

I chose to use Microsoft Exchange Online because of the disaster recovery, and clustering, and to make sure that our users are eligible for the business continuity process.

This solution is good if you have a critical business, you don't want to have any kind of down communication, you are located in multiple regions, your IT team is not large enough to maintain an Exchange on-premise servers or you don't have the large infrastructure to have clusters.

I rate Microsoft Exchange Online a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
SunilAgarwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Vice President and Global Head of Research and Development at Bqube Global
Real User
Secure with good support and an easy implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "It's not hard to set up."
  • "We'd like to see more integration with other platforms."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using the solution for Office 365 and various other Microsoft products. It's used for any integration of any applications. Multiple company domains have been configured on a single exchange. It helps us standardize and consolidate connectivity. 

What is most valuable?

We like the standardization we can get across all of our companies. We can put all domains on one exchange. The user can then have one single ID instead of creating five emails for one user. 

It scales well.

Technical support is helpful.

It's not hard to set up.

The solution is stable.

The product offers good value for money. After a few years, we have seen an ROI. 

What needs improvement?

There are no features that are missing.

We'd like to see more integration with other platforms. We'd like to explore the feature of SSO and Artemis. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for more than three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It's very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale well. It's cloud-based, which makes it very simple. We just have to approach our reseller and add on more licenses. You can have 50 users or 50,000 users, and it will work just as well. 

We have about 1,000 or more users on the product currently. We do have plans to increase it to 1,500 by the end of the year. 

How are customer service and support?

We may have used technical support previously and were able to resolve any issues within a week. They are very good. They are helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not previously use a different solution. Past colleagues may have used something else. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup takes two to four weeks. It's pretty straightforward. We take each domain and consolidate everything on the exchange. We can migrate everything in one go, and usually, we migrate each company each week and migrate one by one, so that end users are not disturbed. 

What was our ROI?

We have experienced an ROI after three to four years. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay for the solution annually. The price is a bit expensive. However, it offers good value for money. The implementation cost is minimal. Also, now it is on the cloud, we don't have to worry about storage, maintenance, or hardware. The cloud is highly secure, and it helps save us money in the long run. 

What other advice do I have?

This is the latest version. We are using the cloud version, and it is constantly updated. We are using all of the standard features that come with the cloud-based product. 

This is a very user-friendly enterprise solution. Everything is very secure according to GDPR needs. The product is scalable, and its offering good value for money. Everyone can use it. It's a great product.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Exchange Online Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: August 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Exchange Online Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.