The primary use case is sending and responding to email.
Senior Consultant/Project Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
The access by any user with mobile or laptop is a huge selling point.
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use and we can allow many users because now our users are scattered They over a wide area. We can use it from anywhere. That is the main benefit for us."
- "In terms of probability, every now and then there are changes coming and going. The changes are not that frequent because every month they got updates back, so that is an issue."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Our primary use is protection of email. Email is the primary mode of communication. With Exchange, the user can access it anywhere on mobile or laptop. It becomes easy for them to communicate with their vendors and consumers. So that is why we chose Exchange.
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use and we can allow many users because now our users are scattered They over a wide area. We can use it from anywhere. That is the main benefit for us.
What needs improvement?
In terms of probability, every now and then there are changes coming and going. The changes are not that frequent because every month they got updates back, so that is an issue.
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Microsoft Exchange
September 2025

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For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We always have a higher variability configuration ready and we've got two mailbox servers, so even if one goes down, we can use it, we can still access our mail. As far as variability in internet we've never had any major issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not had scalability concerns. We had already planned for scalability and everything, and when we started we were only ten user accounts but we got thousand users so we planned for a thousand users so we never had any issue. We still have room for expansion so it's not an issue for us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Google gmail. But,we have a lot of expertise with Exchange. And the thing with Google, or any dormant solution, is that we are a semi-dormant algorithm and we can't have our data out on the cloud.
How was the initial setup?
It was a straightforward implementation. We just had five or six servers off Exchange and never had any issues. It was a very straightforward thing for us, we just made sure that we found it well and we went by the phases and a small issues moving from the old version of Exchange to the new version of Exchange, but it was small DNA. No major issues along the way.
What other advice do I have?
VNA redundancy has grown in the data, VNA data variability has grown, even in case VNA found the server goes down, and users can still access their email. So basically everything is good. The feature VNA almost as good as having your own Outlook, although it's better VNA.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Systems Developer with 1-10 employees
It integrates well with calendar and scheduling, it's easy for employees to plan agendas
Pros and Cons
- "It integrates well with calendar, scheduling, etc. It's easy for employees to make meetings and plan their agendas."
- "Deployment should become a bit easier, the process is a bit complicated. You have to have done it one or two times before you get it right. The first time you do it, it won't be perfect. There are a lot of complications compared to Gmail For Business, which is a bit easier when it comes to configuration."
How has it helped my organization?
It helps because it's easier for the employees to exchange emails. Instead of their using their personal emails, at least now they are using the company email.
What is most valuable?
One thing I like about it is the support. Microsoft is very good at providing support. I also like that it integrates well with calendar, scheduling, etc. It's easy for employees to make meetings and plan their agendas.
What needs improvement?
It requires a lot of maintenance. I think the cloud solution would be better and easier to manage as well.
Deployment should become a bit easier, the process is a bit complicated. You have to have done it one or two times before you get it right. The first time you do it, it won't be perfect. There are a lot of complications compared to Gmail For Business, which is a bit easier when it comes to configuration.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. But at certain times you find that fixes and patches which they release can mess things up. But so far, I haven't come across any major issue.
The support is there with the number of people using it. It's very easy to get solutions when you're stuck. Somewhere, someone is going through the same problems. They're willing to help you with the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
At the time I joined the organization, they didn't have an email solution in-house. Employees were using their personal emails. Some of were using Yahoo!, some were using Gmail. If someone left the company, they would take with them the emails they had received from clients. We needed an in-house email solution like Exchange so that if someone leaves we are able to keep the emails.
To me, the most important criteria when selecting a vendor are maintenance and support. Features also matter. Then I look at the pricing. Is it too costly, is the organization going to be able to afford it? So cost plays a major role. When I go to the Director and say I want to buy this solution, the main thing he will look at is the pricing. He will ask, "Why are you getting these features, it's very expensive. Why aren't you going with this other option, it's cheaper?" But again, if the support is great and the pricing is a bit higher it's worth it.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was simple and straightforward. We didn't have any hiccups. It went fine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with.
What other advice do I have?
If you don't really mind the cost then go for Microsoft. You can never go wrong with them, their solutions are very good. They're stable. They're all tested, so when you start you know it has already been tested. There are many people using it, it's comfortable, it's stable. You won't have any hiccups. I would recommend it.
One thing I've been doing is, before I deploy it to a production environment, I always create a "lab" where I try it out and make sure everything is working properly.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Engineer with 501-1,000 employees
We have customized the tool for our company, utilizing it for managing meetings and conference rooms. Tech support is just average for it.
What is most valuable?
EWS support, through which I have customized, e.g., response for my device to display meeting info on device.
How has it helped my organization?
Using EWS support, we have created a custom UI to display meeting info on our local portal to utilize and manage meeting and conference rooms effectively.
What needs improvement?
It is overall all good, though technical support is just average.
For how long have I used the solution?
Two and a half years. Currently, I am not working in the specific project. so I am not using it, but the company is using it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No.
How are customer service and technical support?
Just average.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously used Lotus Domino and moved to this box of support. We switched because of the help that we easily get from it.
How was the initial setup?
Not applicable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Not put on the team managing this.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Manager of Infrastructure at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The Exchange Toolbox comes with many useful tools for exchange administrators including Message Tracking, Tracking Log Explorer, and many more.
Valuable Features:
The mobile version of exchange keeps getting better as the product develops and synchronizes with today's latest mobile hardware. Security wise this gives local administrators control over these devices if stolen or lost.
The Exchange Toolbox comes with many useful tools for exchange administrators including Message Tracking, Tracking Log Explorer, and many more. Exchange really shines by allowing third party apps to manage and integrate with many software's geared towards the Outlook environment.
Exchange is an ever growing environment that will always have stronghold in the world of communicating and organizing information that is reliable.
Improvements to My Organization:
I would have to say the biggest improvement is communication. Communication is a big factor in any business. Email allows us to have history on communication and real time communications. Shared calendars are a great way to reserve rooms and share your meetings with team members. Distribution groups are becoming more popular for group communication. Outlook/Exchange creates a very open environment for communications and archiving information when needed. Exchange is a ever growing application that will only get better over time and will evolve and adapt to our everyday communications needs now and in the future.
Room for Improvement:
The issue with Exchange has always been storage. Users by nature do not like to delete anything and it shows. So we have to create local polices to counter this issue and possibly 3rd party software to properly manage archiving for the users. We also are looking into upgrading the Exchange environment in 2016/2017. This would be an improvement overall as Microsoft latest release was in 2013 and we are still on version 2010. This would also give our environment improvement as we are building a new Exchange environment from scratch with a Microsoft partner.
Deployment Issues:
We've had no issues deploying it.
Stability Issues:
We've had no issues with stability.
Scalability Issues:
We've had no issues with scalability.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Exchange 2010: Feature Rich Product
Pro
High Availability:
DAG provides high...
Exchange 2010: Feature Rich Product
Pros
High Availability:
DAG provides high availability within same datacenter as well as across datacenters.
Reduced IOPS requirement:
With 70% reduction in IOPS requirement, it gives an option to go for less expensive storage solutions.
Cons
Customers upgrading from exchange 2003 need to invest more since it is supported only on x64 hardware.
Little bit complex to design. Specifically larger environments.
Exchange 2010 will be preffered solution for customers with large number of mailboxes due to its robust design and high availability features
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Stable, and it just works
Pros and Cons
- "It's very well integrated with OneDrive and Teams Calendar."
- "More AI features would be good."
What is our primary use case?
I just use it for email.
How has it helped my organization?
The security and compliance features have impacted our organization. We use multifactor authentication with mobile authentication for the first use on any PC or device. We also have a feature that requires re-authentication if you haven't logged in for a certain amount of time.
It's very well integrated with OneDrive and Teams Calendar. We are using Microsoft 365, so the integration is very good.
Until now, I think integration with the Copilot AI would be good.
What is most valuable?
I like its reliability. It's very stable, and it just works.
The events and meetings feature are the most beneficial for managing communications.
It is synchronized automatically with our organization's calendar, and everyone is aware of the event or meeting. We can meet in person or through Microsoft Teams.
What needs improvement?
More AI features would be good. For example, maybe AI could suggest sentences or enhancements to paragraphs while writing an email.
So, the CoPilot integrations could be further improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for about ten years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. Scalability is one of the powerful features of all Microsoft products.
There are about 700 users in our organization who use Exchange.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Mail Enable. The integration with the calendar. The other solution was a little bit hard.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. The setup us not complex than it needs to be. It works smoothly.
I work with the on-premises version of Exchange. It is deployed across multiple locations.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment and maintenance part is covered by another team.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
3rd Level Support Engineer at Valeo IT
Enables effective email communication between the users and the clients
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its communication capabilities."
- "Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable."
What is our primary use case?
We mainly use Microsoft Exchange for email communication between the users and the clients and for some other capabilities.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its communication capabilities. It also works really fine performance and stability-wise.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable. Also, the solution has some bugs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Exchange for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Microsoft Exchange a nine out of ten for stability. The stability of Microsoft Exchange could be better.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate Microsoft Exchange a ten out of ten for scalability. Approximately 2,000 users are using Microsoft Exchange in our company.
How are customer service and support?
Sometimes our problems are not solved because Microsoft Exchange's customer support doesn't give the right answers.
How was the initial setup?
We needed two people for the deployment and maintenance of Microsoft Exchange.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Users have to pay a yearly licensing cost for Microsoft Exchange. I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
Microsoft Exchange is a good and useful solution that users can use without any problem for smaller or larger companies.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Exchange a ten 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.
3rd Level Support Engineer at Valeo IT
A scalable and affordable solution that enables efficient communication
Pros and Cons
- "Communication is the most valuable feature of the solution."
- "The support needs to be more knowledgeable."
What is our primary use case?
I use the product to send emails and communicate with users and clients.
What is most valuable?
Communication is the most valuable feature of the solution. It's a good solution. We can use it without any problem. It's useful for every company, whether small or large.
What needs improvement?
The support needs to be more knowledgeable. The support's answers are sometimes wrong, and they do not solve our problems. We have to find a workaround when we do not receive the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution’s stability is fine. We face some bugs sometimes. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is fine. In our organization, 1000 employees use the solution.
What about the implementation team?
We need two technical people, two managers, and seven first-level support employees to deploy the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay a yearly license fee for the solution. The product is quite cheap.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the solution a ten on 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.

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Updated: September 2025
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Hi Alin
Always avoid 32bit hard ware while running production servers - you never know how much resources you're going to need!
Like Jas said only you should only install Exchange management tools on a 32 bit machine so you can remotely manage your infrastructure - also a 32 bit machine is needed when it comes to exporting mailboxes directly from an exchange database using EMC.
A big problem I faced was when we decided to expand a DAG over two datacenters - Microsoft did not want to support our config because a 1Gigabit port connection is required for a DAG setup, so it was a very difficult choice - however we still went for it and not had any issues so far...
A quick note - also always avoid having a database larger than 1 TB (Enterprise Version) in a DAG - use smaller databases instead.
Wissam