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HCL Verse vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Verse
Ranking in Email Applications
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Verse is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 12.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online12.8%
HCL Verse1.6%
Other85.6%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

MR
Stable, scalable, and good interface
HCL Verse has a nice interface and it is a practical email solution. There are a diverse set of features, such as the search bar on top of the screens. The usability from the old applications to the new version has been very good. It was great that we were able to migrate applications from the older version to the new one.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective collaboration achieved with versatile features and good customer service
There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary. I am not an IT person; I am an educator, a trainer, a user. I want to get the work done. However, I find that the Exchange Server and possibly the way our company has set up access permissions require extensive programming knowledge. It might take six to eight weeks to get a programmer's time to build something, whereas I can use something like Smartsheet that will do everything I want without needing a programmer. Smartsheet is more end-user friendly compared to a Microsoft product. Microsoft believes an expert IT person should manage everything, however, I want to manage things on my own in a simplified way. That is not easy using the Exchange Server or Microsoft Office. It is not end-user friendly for development, and a programmer is needed. Once set up, using them as an end-user is fine. I find that the automations are not robust, and the FedRAMP systems are not robust. I have a few issues with Exchange and Office, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the mail server."
"HCL Verse has a nice interface and it is a practical email solution. There are a diverse set of features, such as the search bar on top of the screens."
"The solution is stable."
"What I like about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's a very convenient solution because it's part of the Microsoft business suite. This is the first email service I've used that lasted for many years, and I'm still using it because it's very convenient and it's suitable for my needs. Microsoft Exchange Online is the best product in the world for me because I don't remember any other service that's so well-accepted."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is very simple and easy to use."
"It is a stable, and highly scalable product."
"The overall usage was all good."
"I would rate Exchange Online's stability nine out of ten."
"We also create technical presentations, so most of the time we are dealing with MS Word and Excel. Sometimes, we also use Visio for diagramming. Our overall experience is good."
"Exchange Online is consistent. It's easy to deploy and scale out to all of our organizations."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve by allowing us to use a color that we want in the editing boxes."
"Security is very important to us, so improvements to this functionality are welcome."
"From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process."
"I have found that Microsoft has vulnerabilities when it comes to Exchange Online. It has become the port of a lot of hacker attacks."
"The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved."
"Exchange Online has issues with its mail flow and content search."
"Cloud security is always a concern and the solution can always increase their security."
"The price could be cheaper."
"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."
"The UI could be improved to look more like the desktop version for ease of use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an affordable solution but the price could be improved."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The license for the solution is cheap, but it could be more affordable in the long term."
"The pricing is based on a yearly contract and a floating license option is offered."
"The pricing is a bit more expensive than other solutions."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"I think that the price is a little high, especially considering that Google have a similar, free email solution."
"They have raised their prices, and obviously, it hits our customers. Some of them are deciding to step back from Office 365. For customers who have bought the annual subscription, they are moving to the monthly subscription."
"The licensing price is ok, I'd rate it as four out of five."
"My company needs to make monthly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product. I feel that the price of the product is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
25%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise40
 

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?
The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a particular employee, there are a few challenges in terms of the role assignment o...
 

Also Known As

Verse, IBM Verse
Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Canon Marketing Japan Inc., Australian Trade Commission, BTC, Havas, Canal Barge Co.Inc., RAVInvest, Elemental Path, WDR mediagroup
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Verse vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,561 professionals have used our research since 2012.