Analyst at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Online collaboration improves coordination for educational tasks
Pros and Cons
- "Teams is really helpful because my university uses Microsoft Outlook, and integrating with Teams and coordinating with my team members is very useful."
- "The recent addition of having the online version of Microsoft Word is really good, as it now closely resembles Google Docs, and the connection with the sheets and integration with Teams for coordinating with my team members is also very useful."
- "Regarding improvement, in Microsoft Word, I suggest addressing the difference in page length between the offline and online versions."
What is our primary use case?
I use Office 365 for making documents and PowerPoints. This was primarily during my college days and continued after I graduated with my Master's. I am still in the education industry, so the use hasn't changed significantly.
What is most valuable?
The recent addition of having the online version of Microsoft Word is really good. It used to be not as effective, but now it closely resembles Google Docs. The connection with the sheets is also a valuable feature. Teams is really helpful because my university uses Microsoft Outlook. Integrating with Teams and coordinating with my team members is very useful.
What needs improvement?
Regarding improvement, in Microsoft Word, I suggest addressing the difference in page length between the offline and online versions. When I download and open a document on Windows, it may show as a one-page document. However, the spacing might differ online, and I often need to re-edit to ensure it appears as one page online.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Office 365 for about seven to eight years, starting from my college days.
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
There were no issues during the deployment. It is pretty straightforward.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. It's the most efficient thing.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Office 365 is widely used, so it has good scalability.
How are customer service and support?
I have never tried to interact with customer service or technical support, so I have no idea about it.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Google Docs and other Google applications back when I was in my home country. I am currently using Microsoft Office 365 because my peers are using the same.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing seems decent. I'm currently using a free version provided by my university. I am not familiar with the paid version cost, but the product seems good, and it’s okay to pay.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
For documentation purposes, I used Google Docs along with Microsoft Office. For spreadsheets, I had a different experience between Google Sheets and Excel. Google is slightly easier, while Excel offers better automation tools.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Office 365 to businesses, especially those using Outlook and Teams heavily. If they are using Outlook and Teams a lot, then they definitely have to have Office 365. I rate the overall solution an 8 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Vice President at Fluentgrid
Collaboration and productivity have improved through effective use of standard tools
Pros and Cons
- "Office 365 improves productivity and collaboration."
- "Office 365 improves productivity and collaboration."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Office 365 for collaboration, their mail services for communication, and the Office 365 suite for fulfilling all client requirements.
What is most valuable?
The effective collaboration within our management through Teams is beneficial. Even though email is standard, Teams has significantly helped with collaboration. The tools such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel assist in documentation and presentations. Office 365 improves productivity and collaboration.
What needs improvement?
PowerPoint could have more features to assist users in design. AI features within Word and Excel could be improved as well. Enhancements to AI-based summarization in Teams would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been dealing with Office 365 for a long time.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Office 365 is stable. We do not have any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Office 365 is scalable. We started with fewer numbers and have scaled up as needed.
How are customer service and support?
Our Technology Services team coordinates with Microsoft for ticket resolutions. Personally, I haven't dealt with tech support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
What was our ROI?
We see value for money in improving productivity and collaboration.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not part of the cost management. The cost is handled by the admin team, and I do not have insights into it.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate my overall experience with Office 365 as 8 out of 10. I would recommend Office 365 for its capabilities in handling collaboration, secure document sharing, and using standard tools like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for documentation and presentations.
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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Office 365
March 2026
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885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Extensive experience fosters seamless user management and efficient compliance backup
Pros and Cons
- "Office 365 is the best business platform for startups or small companies."
- "Office 365 is the best business platform for startups or small companies."
What is our primary use case?
The common use case for Office 365 exists because everything in today's world is on the cloud. When a user logs in anywhere, they have access to their data. In Office 365, there are different types of licenses, such as Business Basic and Business Premium. Every license has different storage capacities. In Business Basic, users get 5 GBs of storage, 50 GBs of primary mailbox, and 50 GBs of archive mailbox.
In Business Standard, users have access to web and desktop applications, with the same storage allocations. OneDrive storage is 1 TB. Business Premium is a more expensive license that covers all the features of Business Basic and Business Standard. Additional licenses include Entra P1, which is used for Entra Admin Center regarding login, MFA, and conditional access policies. Entra P2 is available for advanced settings for tenants. Other licenses include Microsoft Intune, EMS E3, and various add-on licenses.
Real-time co-authoring in Office 365 is beneficial because users with a Business Basic plan can log in on any platform through portal.office.com and access all applications. However, without a license, mail IDs are not functional.
What is most valuable?
Office 365 is the best business platform for startups or small companies. Within the M365 tenant, administrators can create users, track all user mailboxes, check licenses, and reset passwords. Administrators can create PST files if someone leaves the organization, obtaining backups from the Compliance Admin Center. Mail IDs can be converted into shared mailboxes for future use. Shared mailboxes allow multiple members to use the same ID configured in their Outlook simultaneously.
What needs improvement?
I want to improve my knowledge of Microsoft Intune.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have 1 year and 8 months of experience with Office 365.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Office 365 as perfect because I am familiar with it and it is the best product platform.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of Office 365 as excellent.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate technical support from Microsoft as excellent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I find the initial setup of Office 365 easy because I am very familiar with it.
What other advice do I have?
The price of Office 365 is high, though improvements in pricing might occur in the future. The integration capabilities of Office 365 include co-pilot. It is very compatible with Microsoft products, though it may have limitations with third-party tools. Both AI-enhanced features, such as the editor and designer in Office 365, are useful and beneficial. I recommend Office 365 to other people. My clients are usually enterprise-size businesses. I would rate this solution overall as excellent.
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?
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
manager at SSDU Innovations
Collaborative document editing and seamless online file sharing elevate productivity
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Office 365 for me include online file sharing and real-time document editing where multiple collaborators can work on the same document and see changes in real-time."
- "The most valuable features of Office 365 for me include online file sharing and real-time document editing where multiple collaborators can work on the same document and see changes in real-time."
- "There is no direct return on investment as IT is a cost center."
What is our primary use case?
I use Office 365 for standard office tasks such as word processing, Excel, presentation, and email productivity. Additionally, I manage the system as an administrator for my company.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Office 365 for me include online file sharing and real-time document editing where multiple collaborators can work on the same document and see changes in real-time. These features were integrated, likely inspired by Google Docs' success in implementing similar functions.
What needs improvement?
Office 365 could improve by providing better integration with Azure Active Directory to streamline user management. It would also be beneficial if they could offer additional support for non-ABC characters like the Malay Arabic script, known locally as Jawi.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Office 365 for more than two years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
There were no significant issues during migration, but users initially had some complaints about file accessibility. After several iterations of the OneDrive client, the process became smoother with fewer requests or complaints.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Office 365 is very stable with no network downtime experienced in my region in the last couple of years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Office 365 is a scalable tool. The scalability is straightforward as it works as soon as I pay for additional licenses.
How are customer service and support?
We use a third-party managed service provider (MSP) for support, who are generally okay but are not well-versed in newer technical details like Azure Active Directory.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Google solutions such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Meet before switching to Office 365.
How was the initial setup?
The setup process is generally easy, especially on newer devices with Office already installed. However, older devices can take up to two hours for downloading and installing updates.
What was our ROI?
There is no direct return on investment as IT is a cost center. The alternative is using free open-source solutions, which makes quantifying the ROI in terms of support man-hours difficult.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Compared to the services provided and the multi-device capabilities, the price of Office 365 is reasonable. A loyalty program offering discounts or additional features for long-term users would be a beneficial addition.
What other advice do I have?
For those considering Office 365, it is advisable to implement Active Directory services for better user management. For students or family users, it is a good subscription due to the variety of available productivity suites. Overall, I rate Office 365 a nine out of ten as there is room for improvement.
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.
Head Of IT / Erp System at Innerio Heat Exchanger GmbH
Collaborative capabilities improve productivity and secure document sharing
Pros and Cons
- "One of the most valuable features of Office 365 is the collaboration capability; multiple employees can work on the same document at the same time, which enhances productivity."
- "One of the most valuable features of Office 365 is the collaboration capability; multiple employees can work on the same document at the same time, which enhances productivity."
- "I think it would be better if Office 365 enhanced communication about update policies."
What is our primary use case?
We utilize all the business features like sending emails with Outlook, receiving documents, and providing information with Word. We also handle smaller databases and export and calculate spreadsheets in Excel. Additionally, we use Microsoft Forms for surveys and Power Automate, Power Workflow, and Power Apps on the Microsoft 365 cloud.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features of Office 365 is the collaboration capability. Multiple employees can work on the same document at the same time, which enhances productivity. This collaboration definitely impacts our efficiency positively and helps in secure document sharing and communication between companies.
What needs improvement?
I think it would be better if Office 365 enhanced communication about update policies. Providing the possibility to delay or skip updates would also be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Office 365 since 2015, considering our history before migrating to Inario. Our company itself has used it since May 2021. Overall, we have been using it for about nine years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
The deployment time varies depending on company size. For smaller companies, it takes a few hours, but with larger, multi-location companies, it can take two weeks or more due to the need for more configurations and security compliance.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Office 365 is quite satisfactory. Occasionally, there are minor issues, but nothing very noticeable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is straightforward. Licenses are purchased and allocated via Entra, and users are ready to go. Scaling is quite easy, and I would rate it a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite easy for normal business use, which I would rate as a nine. However, on the administrative side, more time is needed to configure and check compliance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing for Office 365 is reasonable, though slightly reducing the cost by ten percent would be welcome.
What other advice do I have?
The collaboration with other companies through Office 365 allows for secure document sharing and access to another company’s data once compliance is met and access is approved. The overall rating for Office 365 is nine 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?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Manager at a consultancy with self employed
Reliability and seamless collaboration elevate team productivity
Pros and Cons
- "The return on investment is always an improvement, and I think it's a significant improvement due to the many integration options available."
- "The return on investment is always an improvement, and I think it's a significant improvement due to the many integration options available."
- "Currently, Microsoft can improve Office 365 by enhancing the persistence of the user experience from platform to platform and screen to screen, ensuring that wherever you log in, whatever you're doing, everything is still readily accessible and intuitive, as you left it."
What is our primary use case?
Some of the use cases I focus on include collaboration, communication, and information sharing as well as project management.
In terms of industries, I focus on health care and manufacturing.
What is most valuable?
Some of the most valuable features I found with Office 365 include Teams integration with various applications, allowing for the addition of various Teams apps into Teams channels for managing teams and collaboration.
The SharePoint integration has proven beneficial.
SharePoint impacts my project management by providing shared collaborative information where people can refer back to it without having to move the information around; you can just send links instead of needing to download documents all the time.
What needs improvement?
Currently, Microsoft can improve Office 365 by enhancing the persistence of the user experience from platform to platform and screen to screen, ensuring that wherever you log in, whatever you're doing, everything is still readily accessible and intuitive, as you left it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've had experience with Office 365 since it's been released, since its existence.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Office 365 as reliable and stable. I haven't had any significant outages or application errors or failures, so once you put it in service in your enterprise, there's not a whole lot of product issues, mostly user issues.
How are customer service and support?
I really don't go to technical support very often, as we usually handle our own in-house support, but when I've escalated to Microsoft on occasion, they've been very responsive, so I would say they're adequate.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am familiar with other types of collaboration tools, such as Google platforms, although I haven't used them in a while, so it's come a long way since my last experience.
The main difference between Office 365 and perhaps Google is that Microsoft products are much better integrated across all those platform products.
How was the initial setup?
Setting it up is fairly well thought out for the end-user experience at the moment, especially for the initial engagement. They've developed a lot of on-demand help and training resources for new and casual users, so I believe they've done a good job with it.
What was our ROI?
The return on investment is always an improvement. If they don't have it, it's a huge improvement going from no collaboration to a collaborative platform, and I think it's a significant improvement due to the many integration options available.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
As for the pricing for Microsoft Office 365, it can always be cheaper.
The cost is probably at least in the upper two-thirds range.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Office 365 to others.
Office 365 utilizes AI, and while it's just getting started, I think the integration is still in its beginning stages; there's likely to be a whole lot more integration across all the application stack within the next year or so.
Using AI has proven to be a good resource for creating a first draft when we start getting stuff started.
On a scale of 1-10, I rate Office 365 a 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Managing Partner at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Collaborative tools empower remote teamwork despite minor integration challenges
Pros and Cons
- "Teams is the most productive feature out of everything in Office 365, thanks to the combination of chat with meetings and centralized file sharing, along with the ability to embed other applications within Microsoft Teams."
- "Teams is the most productive feature out of everything in Office 365, thanks to the combination of chat with meetings and centralized file sharing, along with the ability to embed other applications within Microsoft Teams."
- "The stability for Office 365 is around a seven or eight; it could be more stable, especially when doing co-authoring; applications may freeze or changes may not get reflected quickly enough on the remote end."
What is our primary use case?
My use case for Office 365 nowadays is collaboration generally, specifically for emails, SharePoint, and OneDrive, as I collaborate with my team.
Having Teams as my central workspace, especially while working remotely, is essential.
What is most valuable?
Teams is the most productive feature out of everything in Office 365, thanks to the combination of chat with meetings and centralized file sharing, along with the ability to embed other applications within Microsoft Teams.
Personally, I now build solutions, which reflects how my role has changed. I build solutions that I'll be launching out soon.
Currently, it's majorly around the use of productivity tools, such as Office 365 and the similar tools, including Teams, Teams Planner, and Power Automate.
What needs improvement?
Based on my experience, I think Microsoft could improve the onboarding process for Office 365, particularly for end users who are not as technical, by providing more technical onboarding similar to what was done in the past with labs or demos that showcased capabilities.
There's much less video content now; it's more marketing content than technical content, which is not ideal for an end user.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Office 365 since 2014.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
The setup process for Office 365 is simple; it's definitely simple.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability for Office 365 is around a seven or eight.
It could be more stable, especially when doing co-authoring; applications may freeze or changes may not get reflected quickly enough on the remote end.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability for Office 365 rates as an eight or nine; it's pretty much up there.
I can use Office 365 for businesses with over 2,000 users as well as for businesses with only five users, so the experience is consistent across the board.
How are customer service and support?
I've rated Microsoft technical support a seven; they don't necessarily get all the answers, but they do refer when answers are not available.
The quality of support remains at a seven.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
What other advice do I have?
I'm working with VMware solutions that haven't really changed from what I was making use of previously, so it's still pretty much the same thing. I'm also looking to get more in depth with Nutanix and its solution, majorly from a price comparison perspective.
I'm using a Cloud-based deployment model for Office 365.
I'd rate the pricing for Microsoft as a five.
I'm not using any AI integration with Office 365 at the moment.
I think Microsoft does a very good job with integration compared to other vendors, although I don't use their products as much as others, and I acknowledge that Google is improving on their identity security.
Overall, I'd give Office 365 a mark of eight.
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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
DGM. Technical Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Emails and teamwork have enhanced productivity through effective calendaring and collaboration
Pros and Cons
- "Office 365 is a reliable and feature-rich platform. To fully benefit from it, users need to explore its various tools, which enhance productivity."
- "Office 365 is a reliable and feature-rich platform and, to fully benefit from it, users need to explore its various tools, which enhance productivity."
- "Compared to other solutions, it may be perceived as expensive, though the decision was made at a corporate level."
What is our primary use case?
Our main use case for Office 365 is its use for emails and Teams meetings. We have integrated our Active Directory, specifically through Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Office 365 for our team include email and Teams. We use calendaring, which plays an essential role in our productivity. Additionally, Microsoft Intune is a part of our usage, albeit it's not directly linked to Office 365. Another beneficial aspect is the integration of selectively using Copilot with Office 365.
What needs improvement?
I would suggest the inclusion of a data insights feature. In the past, there was a digest that provided insights into time distribution in emails and company mail, such as whom I communicate with most. There should be more relevant insights on the collaboration platform. It would be helpful to have an archive or a dashboard showing how much time is spent on collaborations or meetings.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Office 365 for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not faced any significant downtime. There was an outage about three years ago, but it was resolved quickly and was widely reported. Overall, Office 365 is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Office 365 is very scalable for our company. I would rate it ten out of ten for scalability.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Gmail in a previous company, but now I am used to Microsoft tools and prefer them.
How was the initial setup?
I was not part of the initial setup process, but the onboarding and engagement process for new recruits has been smooth.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is determined by our company's policy to align with Microsoft. Compared to other solutions, it may be perceived as expensive, though the decision was made at a corporate level.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have used Google tools before, specifically Gmail, in another company.
What other advice do I have?
Office 365 is a reliable and feature-rich platform. To fully benefit from it, users need to explore its various tools, which enhance productivity. It would be helpful to have a popup or widget providing training tips or news about features, like what used to appear for Windows products. I would rate the overall solution an 8 out of 10.
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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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