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System Administrator at KREBS+KIEFER
Real User
Jul 24, 2023
The tool has diverse functions and excellent support
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft has many consultants who can provide support."
  • "It is tricky to integrate Microsoft Exchange Online if you are in an infrastructure provided by other vendors."

What is our primary use case?

I work for civil ministries, and we exclusively use Microsoft products because we get them for a low price.

I handle security with Fortinet, and I run virtualization with Citrix. Those are my main tasks.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft has many consultants who can provide support.

What needs improvement?

Some of the Microsoft implementations of protocols are far from standard. They make their own standards, and you're out if you can't convert to them. With other Unix-based solutions, we had more flexibility to react to special problems we needed to solve. We can only solve the problem now if the problem is solvable with Microsoft.

Similarly, it is tricky to integrate Microsoft Exchange Online if you are in an infrastructure provided by other vendors. We have had an alternative solution to Exchange since 2016, and if we had problems, it was never a problem with Microsoft. It was a problem with the alternative product. The problem is that Microsoft has a standard, and you need to stick to it.

Even if the reason for the problems is Microsoft, the SMTP stack in Exchange is far from the RC of SMTP. If the alternative solution makes extensions to DNS for their active directory and if you use an RC DNS server, you would have problems with some of the records that Microsoft produces. They are not replicated. If you begin with Microsoft, you make everything Microsoft. It is difficult to mix Microsoft with other vendors or with other products. And you get less support if you want to choose a solution other than Microsoft.

Moreover, Exchange Online should work on integration with other services like Teams because when they work together, you gain benefits that other companies might not be able to give you.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online since 2012, and we will use it in the future.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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

We formerly worked with Unix-based mail servers. The positive side is that you're flexible. You could use different hardware. You get limited with Microsoft.

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

Microsoft solutions are expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I prefer to use solutions like LibreOffice since they are free and cheaper, but our partners might have problems reading our data, and we would face difficulties cooperating.

The main problem with Microsoft products is that we get very dependent on them. Until 2016, I had to make decisions for the budget for the Southwest of Germany, and when you work with Microsoft, your budget is fixed to them, and you lose your ability to work with other solutions. That was a bad situation for us.

If you don't plan to use other solutions in the future, it's a good product. Otherwise, you have to be prepared that some problems may arise. Once you get married to Microsoft, it's a fierce divorce if you want to leave. I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten.

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
Feb 28, 2023
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
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.
SahilSharma1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at PayU Payments Private Limited
Real User
Feb 8, 2023
Easy to use, and straightforward deployment, but is not stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "The stability of the solution has room for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of the solution is for email and SharePoint.

How has it helped my organization?

We are beginning to explore Office 365 Online Exchange and Azure, which are part of Microsoft 365. We intend to create our Active Directory and Domain Controller on Azure and integrate OnTime Active Directory with Azure Active Directory.

What is most valuable?

I haven't encountered any downtime with Exchange Online so far. Last week, the entire Azure portal experienced an outage, which caused some disruption, but thankfully, we haven't had any issues with 365 yet.

What needs improvement?

The stability of the solution has room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for over four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I give the stability a seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

We have thousands of people using Microsoft Exchange Online.

How are customer service and support?

We have a limited amount of time to contact tech support, but we usually communicate with the vendor. If I have an issue, our Microsoft partner can help us with problem-solving.

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

We previously used Google G Suite before switching to Microsoft Exchange Online.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house with the help of our Microsoft partner.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment since we are taking advantage of the license and Microsoft Exchange Online's useful features.

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

The cost of our annual license for the solution is moderate. I would give the cost a five out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a seven out of ten. Microsoft Azure has experienced outages at times, but it can be comparable to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

I strongly suggest using Microsoft Office Exchange due to its ease of use and maintenance, as well as its increased reliability and added security features.

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
Dec 16, 2022
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
Rob Moore - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Saint Tammany Parish Hospital
Real User
Nov 5, 2022
A stable solution with a good storage capacity
Pros and Cons
  • "It has helped us because we don't have to worry about servers crashing."
  • "It has helped us because we don't have to worry about servers crashing."
  • "The mail-blocking feature is not great and could be improved."
  • "The mail-blocking feature is not great and could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for the solution is focused on the email team. We are currently in a hybrid environment and have some users on cloud and some on-premises. So we are migrating everybody from on-premises to the cloud by the end of this year.

How has it helped my organization?

It has helped us because we don't have to worry about servers crashing. Everything has been stable since we began migrating to the cloud.

What is most valuable?

We have found the availability of large storage valuable.

What needs improvement?

The mail-blocking feature is not great and could be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for approximately three years and are currently using Microsoft Exchange 2013.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable, and we have not had any downtime in the last three years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and approximately two people are required for deployment and maintenance.

How are customer service and support?

We rate customer service and support an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We have not previously used other solutions.

How was the initial setup?

I cannot comment on the initial setup as a third party did it for us.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it via a Microsoft third-party vendor.

What was our ROI?

We have seen a return on investment.

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

The licensing cost varies. For example, we have E1 and E3 licenses. Currently, it's approximately E3 $20 per user.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a nine out of ten. The solution is good, but the mail-blocking feature can be improved. I advise new users considering implementing the solution to consider using a third-party vendor for the implementation process.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1975452 - PeerSpot reviewer
COO at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
Real User
Oct 2, 2022
Reasonably priced, reliable, easy to install, and helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "When you used to write to someone, you would often begin typing their name and their email address would appear; you would simply click and you would have the correct email address. That has been working for a while, but having the location address appear was a pleasant surprise. It was amazing."
  • "When you used to write to someone, you would often begin typing their name and their email address would appear; you would simply click and you would have the correct email address, but having the location address appear was a pleasant surprise and it was amazing."
  • "I couldn't delete an email account because it was identified as my primary account by the application."
  • "I couldn't delete an email account because it was identified as my primary account by the application."

What is our primary use case?

I use Microsoft Exchange Online for email.

What is most valuable?

I was talking to my dentist this morning, and I was manually entering the appointment into my calendar, and I was impressed that Exchange would actually give me the address. 

It wasn't always this way, but now it's all connected in some way. I just entered the name without checking to make sure I didn't have a typo, and my calendar was able to give me the address, it just popped up. 

When you used to write to someone, you would often begin typing their name and their email address would appear; you would simply click and you would have the correct email address. That has been working for a while, but having the location address appear was a pleasant surprise. It was amazing.

What needs improvement?

I have been having problems with Exchange. Sometimes there are issues with emails, most likely from a POP3 server, and some of the email accounts, I am not sure which one, but emails stop coming in at some point if I don't update. 

Not all of my email accounts are affected, but I have a few, and I am wondering if it is not my Gmail account on Exchange. There will be an upgrade at some point, and if I put it off, emails will stop coming in. That is a problem I have seen before, but then you do the upgrade, restart or restart the application, and usually, when you do the upgrade the problem is gone, and the emails are coming in.

Sometimes they change the interface. This has happened recently, and I'm not sure if it was something I did or something else. They don't ask for your opinion when they do this, and I am not a child anymore, and I despise it when they change the interface without consulting me. 

I am sure they had good reasons for the last interface change, but now you have the mail calendar people and tasks on a very narrow vertical bar on the left-hand side of the screen when Exchange is open full screen, and it used to be on the left side of the screen, but near the bottom, and I used to select them there, but for some reason, it has changed.

Aside from that, it's a good product. I recently added a new email account. I now have four email accounts attached to my main computer from which I receive emails on a regular basis, which is beneficial. I was able to add email accounts on my own. 

I had an issue with a delayed email account at some point. That was a long time ago, and I am not sure if the problem is still present; it could have been two or three years ago.

I couldn't delete an email account because it was identified as my primary account by the application. 

I am not sure why any of my accounts should be considered my primary account if I haven't explicitly told the app that they are. I was unsuccessful in removing it.

I needed to figure out how to change which of my accounts was the main account so that I could delete the one that the machine thought was my main account. But that was three years ago, so I'm not sure if it's still that way, but I was irritated at the time because I wasted half a day figuring out how to do this.

How are customer service and support?

I contacted technical support and was surprised that Microsoft contacted me.

I had some account, login account issues on my Xbox One, and I remember being able to talk to someone in Microsoft, which was also amazing.

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

I used Google Hangouts briefly, but I have been using Microsoft Teams for conferencing.

I am not well versed in Google Hangouts. I have issues when it is not Teams, which is why I use it all of the time. 

When it's not Teams, I sometimes have issues with the desktop that I am using, and the microphone and speakers are not always properly configured. 

I have a camera with an integrated microphone attached to my desktop, as well as speakers connected to the desktop, and there is occasionally an incorrect selection in the inputs for the microphone. 

I am not sure if this is a problem with Google Hangout, Zoom, or something else. I know that Teams always works and that my computer always knows which option is the correct one.

At the start of COVID, when I started using these applications more, like everyone else. I recall attending a meeting where my camera was turned on but I was completely silent because I couldn't figure out how to make my microphone or select the input, and the meeting had already begun, my colleagues took over and I was there, people could see my face, but I couldn't speak.

Now that I've gotten a lot better at this, if the audio doesn't work within the first few minutes of the meeting, I can usually fix it by going into settings and selecting, trying every input until I can actually test and see that, the microphone is now picking up my voice.

Microsft Teams works great for finding the microphone on my machine, or the microphone associated with my camera, but not so well for other applications.

In addition to Microsoft Exchange Online, we use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel Teams, and sometimes PowerPoint.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was all done online. I subscribed, received a link, and installed the application. It is not an online version, but it is online in a browser. 

As it was not installed with a disc, I consider it online. I subscribed to Office 365 or 360, and then I received links to install all of the available applications. They are on my machine, but they were not purchased at a computer store.

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

We have an Office 360 subscription.

I'm not sure. It's somewhere between $100 and $200, but I couldn't tell you.

I didn't install it on my computer. The app is a resident on my computer, but it's a Microsoft Office subscription with automatic updates, and it's not like a version of the application that I purchased and installed on a disc on my machine.

I don't own the application because I pay an annual subscription to use it.

Previously you had to buy it at a computer store and own it until you purchased the next version. That is not the case. I pay approximately $120 or $150 per year, and as long as I pay that amount, they will do regular updates so that I always have the most recent and greatest version of the application.

What other advice do I have?

It's a good product, I would rate Microsoft Exchange Online an eight 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
Saad Zarkout - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at BUTEC s.a.l.
Real User
Aug 27, 2022
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."
  • "I chose Microsoft Exchange Online to cut this risk on our day-to-day operations for organizational communication with clients."
  • "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."
  • "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."

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
Muhammad_Irfan - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at ACMC
Real User
Apr 27, 2022
Enables us to integrate with other Microsoft applications and use as a hybrid solution
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to use and there is more integration."
  • "Integration with the Microsoft applications is the key for us."
  • "The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved."
  • "There are a lot of issues with security."

What is our primary use case?

I cannot put everything on 365 because it's obviously not as fast. We have Microsoft Exchange because we have a lot of emails. Most of our emails, about 80%, are on Exchange Server locally, and just 20% are on 365. We use Microsoft Exchange as a hybrid solution. The users who are accessing from outside and the users who are on our priority list outside of the organization are on 365. But the other people that are local are on Exchange Server.

There are more than 200 people using this solution in my organization.

What is most valuable?

It's easy to use and there is more integration. We have Dynamics and 365 as a hybrid solution. Integration with the Microsoft applications is the key for us. It has better integration with other solutions.

What needs improvement?

The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved.

There are a lot of issues with security. We had one issue, a bug, with the Active Directory services.

The cost of the license could be lower, and the security features could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Microsoft Exchange since 2016.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's quite stable.

It's a core product from Microsoft, so it's quite stable because of that.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. I chose this solution because it's easy to scale services. Services like Active Directory and ActiveSync aren't available in other solutions.

We don't have plans to increase usage right now.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good.

How was the initial setup?

Installation is easy. 

For installation, we have only two admins that can work on this solution.

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

The pricing is really high. It's higher compared to other services.

The license is yearly.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

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: March 2026
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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.