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Senior Manager at Havells
Real User
Jun 8, 2022
Initial setup straightforward, high availability, and performs well
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its performance."
  • "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its performance."
  • "There is an annual enterprise subscription could improve by having more features."
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online support can be optimized further. They should put some more efficient technical engineers to support end customers."

What is our primary use case?

Microsoft Exchange Online is used for all the emails and the software is used by all employees to send emails to others and to corroborate with other people over the email.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its performance.

What needs improvement?

There is an annual enterprise subscription could improve by having more features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for approximately 10 years.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange Online
April 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Microsoft Exchange Online is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found Microsoft Exchange Online to be scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Microsoft Exchange Online support can be optimized further. They should put some more efficient technical engineers to support end customers.

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

I previously used Microsoft Exchange on-premise, and we switched because we wanted to use the cloud.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online is straightforward.

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

There is an annual enterprise subscription to use Microsoft Exchange Online. The price is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Microsoft Exchange Online a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Carlo Du Plessis - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Specialist at Engen
Real User
May 7, 2022
Easy to use and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution."
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution."
  • "We would like to have more automation with Microsoft Exchange Online."
  • "We would like to have more automation with Microsoft Exchange Online."

What is our primary use case?

I am using Microsoft Exchange Online for email.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution.

What needs improvement?

We would like to have more automation with Microsoft Exchange Online.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange Online for two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 3,000 used in my company using this solution.

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted support.

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

I have not used other solutions previously.

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

There is an annual license required to use this Microsoft Exchange Online.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Microsoft Exchange Online an eight 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
Microsoft Exchange Online
April 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange Online. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director - Testing CoE at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Apr 29, 2022
Hosted messaging solution that is well built and offers an intuitive user experience
Pros and Cons
  • "The features of Microsoft Exchange Online are very intuitive and well-built, keeping the user experience in mind. The usability and the accessibility are the best aspects of this solution."
  • "The features of Microsoft Exchange Online are very intuitive and well-built, keeping the user experience in mind."
  • "The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises. The data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags."
  • "The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises, the data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags."

What is our primary use case?

I use this solution for mail exchanges, calendars, and setting up meetings.  

What is most valuable?

The features of Microsoft Exchange Online are very intuitive and well-built, keeping the user experience in mind. The usability and the accessibility are the best aspects of this solution.

What needs improvement?

The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises. The data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for 15 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution. 

How are customer service and support?

We have never needed assistance from the customer service team. 

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

I have previously used IBM Notes and Google Gmail.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Key Account Manager at Bechtle
Real User
Apr 27, 2022
Provides a secure login and is intuitive but needs to be more user friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "Intuitive and easy to use."
  • "The design is intuitive and better than the solution we had previously used, and once it was configured it was very easy to use."
  • "Using this solution is initially quite complicated."
  • "This is a single solution and if it's the first time you've used Exchange, it's extremely difficult to get users onboard because it's much more complicated than you'd have with 365, for example."

What is our primary use case?

This product provides us with a secure login and enables us to gather information from our users. We are resellers and I'm a key account manager. 

What is most valuable?

The design is intuitive and better than the solution we had previously used. Once it was configured it was very easy to use. 

What needs improvement?

This is a single solution and if it's the first time you've used Exchange, it's extremely difficult to get users onboard because it's much more complicated than you'd have with 365, for example. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've only just started using it, it's been a week. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, we have around 100 users. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex and took us around two weeks. We deployed in-house; it's in the cloud so there's no maintenance required. 

What other advice do I have?

The problem is that it's a little complicated when you first start using it. It's important to read up about it and figure out whether it's the right solution for you. 

I rate the solution seven 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?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
GlennHutchinson - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - Infrastructure at a government with 201-500 employees
Real User
Apr 26, 2022
It's a highly scalable, essential product for our business, but it could be more flexible and integration could be more seamless
Pros and Cons
  • "Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product."
  • "Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business; it controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that, and it's an essential product."
  • "The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online. There's still a disconnect between mailboxes and the cloud."
  • "The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online."

What is our primary use case?

Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product.

What needs improvement?

The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online. There's still a disconnect between mailboxes and the cloud. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Exchange Online for the last 20 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Exchange Online is pretty scalable. We have about 6,000 users at our company.

How are customer service and support?

I rate Microsoft support six out of 10. 

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

We were using a Windows NT 3.5 20 years ago and an on-prem version of Exchange.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Exchange Online is straightforward. I rate it eight out of 10 for ease of installation. The total time of deployment was a couple of days. I have eight staff looking after it.

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

There's a licensing cost, but it's included in our Azure pricing, so I'm not really concerned about it.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Exchange Online seven out of 10. There's no alternative to it unless you want to use some Unix system, like Apache. People don't use Apache for wide-stream things like email and stuff like that. The only equivalent is a Linux-based or Unix-based solution, and who wants to do that?

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
Ololade Olotu - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Dell Technologies
Real User
Top 20
Apr 8, 2022
Great for collaboration and syncing calendars with good reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has been stable with good performance on offer."
  • "Microsoft takes care of the back end while companies can focus on their day-to-day work and be more productive."
  • "The solution could be a bit cheaper."
  • "The solution could be a bit cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

We use Microsoft Exchange for sending emails and running calendars. With the calendars, we are able to check other people's calendars and be sure of their availability so that they can deploy solutions. That's what we normally use it for.

What is most valuable?

The solution is great for collaboration purposes. 

The calendar capabilities are great.

The solution has been stable with good performance on offer.

The product can scale. 

What needs improvement?

The solution could be a bit cheaper. 

I'd like it to be more voice-activated and to have more AI so that it becomes easier to use. The world is moving toward more AI and machine learning, and likely they will adopt more of it in the future. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We just migrated to the solution. We've used it maybe for about a year and a half so far. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I've not had any problem with it personally in terms of scaling. Due to the fact that it's connected, it pulls everything down. I'm able to do whatever is needed of me with it without stress. 

Everybody is using it now in the company. If it was not scalable, I don't believe over 100,000 staff members could be using it without issues. It has to be scalable.

If we want to increase usage, we simply purchase more licenses. 

How are customer service and support?

I've not had any contact with tech support. It's been very stable for me. There has been no need.

How was the initial setup?

I'm not part of the team that does the installation. That said, I know that Exchange should be good in terms of implementation. In the mailing lists that I used to install, the installation was straightforward. If you get your configurations right, it works. It works well without any trouble. This is Mircosoft. I'm sure it's fine to install.

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

You do need to pay a licensing fee in order to access the solution. There are also enterprise agreements where companies would have to agree to a certain level of volume. 

It could be less expensive. If it was, more companies would use it. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user.

I would recommend the solution to others and rate it at a ten out of ten. It's in the Cloud; people don't need to have anything on-site or to worry themselves with problems any longer. Microsoft takes care of the back end while companies can focus on their day-to-day work and be more productive.

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
Wondwossen Abebe Kebede - PeerSpot reviewer
Program and performance manager at Ethio Telecom
Real User
Feb 12, 2022
Simple, easy to use, scalable, and easy to install
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is very simple and easy to use."
  • "Microsoft Exchange Online is very simple and easy to use."
  • "For non-technical people, some configurations might be a little bit difficult. We can use it on our laptops or our portable devices like mobiles and others gadgets, but we have had repeated problems with syncing. That is, when using different gadgets and devices, there are issues with syncing. The configuration could definitely be improved."
  • "For non-technical people, some configurations might be a little bit difficult."

What is our primary use case?

We use SharePoint and Active Directory, meaning that all telecom users and customers are authenticated. We use it as a gateway.

What is most valuable?

Microsoft Exchange Online is very simple and easy to use.

What needs improvement?

For non-technical people, some configurations might be a little bit difficult. We can use it on our laptops or our portable devices like mobiles and others gadgets, but we have had repeated problems with syncing. That is, when using different gadgets and devices, there are issues with syncing. The configuration could definitely be improved.

Technical support is needed for any log-in credential problems and other related issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it since 2008.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. We have around 16,000 users in our company.

How was the initial setup?

There are no problems with the installation, but when you finish the installation and get to the authentication part of the log-in, there may be problems. It needs improvement.

A team of not more than ten is needed for deployment and maintenance.

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

We have yearly licensing costs.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Microsoft Exchange Online at eight on a scale from one to 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
reviewer1220712 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Cloud Architect at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Jan 25, 2022
Reduces maintenance, has zero downtime and is fairly reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever. You use the software and don't have to worry about the details."
  • "I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever."
  • "I don't really like the response time of the web GUI for administration."
  • "I don't really like the response time of the web GUI for administration. All this seems a bit slow and not responsive enough."

What is most valuable?

The experience has been rather good. We've had nothing major happen to us. We've had no major downtimes. We haven't lost mail so far, which is good.

I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever. You use the software and don't have to worry about the details. You're not concerned with administration tasks other than managing users, which, of course, our team does on a daily basis, basically.

The pricing is okay.

The solution is stable.

The product scales well.

The user interface isn't too bad.

What needs improvement?

There were a few short outages where mail delivery was flaky.

I don't really like the response time of the web GUI for administration. All this seems a bit slow and not responsive enough. They should provide a far simpler solution for sending mail from machines as this is not really intuitive.

Due to the restrictions that Azure and Microsoft impose on sending mail, for example, if you have an Azure-deployed server that is sending out mails (for a shop system or something like that) it's not really simple. Also, it is not really scalable to use Office 365 as a relay server.

There's not really a useful backup tool that comes along with Exchange Online. You have lots and lots of storage for each user, yet you have to buy extra backup tools just to back it up with an Exchange on-premise. You could do this just with onboard tools, however, there's no such thing in cloud deployment.

For how long have I used the solution?

We completed the migration from Lotus Notes on-premise to Microsoft Office Online or Exchange Online last year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good. We haven't dealt with bugs or glitches. it's pretty reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I expect the product to scale well. That is what we are paying Microsoft quite a bit of money for. They have to address scalability, reliability, and things like that. We have the service-level agreement and it's their business to do it. That's what they get the money for. 

We have about 3,500 physical users currently using Exchange. There are 1,500 more that are not interactive (for example, service accounts, group mailboxes, and accounts for machines that send mail and things like that). That makes the total number of users 3,500 persons and about 1,200-1,500 users that are not necessarily people.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had any direct contact with technical support, however, I have not heard complaints as to their services.

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

We used to have an on-premise deployment of Lotus Notes, however, we discontinued using this and swapped over to Microsoft Exchange Online with the help of an external consultant as there was a lot of mailbox migration to do. That was a quite lengthy process due to the fact that we had several terabytes of mail storage that had to be migrated.

How was the initial setup?

We had a partner help us migrate everything over. 

The deployment times depend on a few factors. From the first start to the last migrated mailbox, for us, the deployment took over half a year. That said, actually, it wasn't that long, as we deployed in several waves taking one user group at a time and migrating them over.

Therefore, the real transfer time was much less than the seven months. In total, if you take the net time, it might have only been one month of actual migration.  However, we made a point of migrating only on weekends to keep user satisfaction high and disturbance to daily business low.

What about the implementation team?

We had a partner assist us with the process.

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

Pricing is good. However, it's also not exactly cheap.

It's my understanding that we have a contract that runs for two or three years with an enterprise agreement backing all this up. We do not buy on a yearly basis. That would be unusual for our company to buy for such short term.

What other advice do I have?

Since the project was finished, I'm no longer in an administrative role with Exchange Online. I have passed it on to other colleagues. The administration part is no longer in my hands, for which I'm quite grateful. I don't have to do the daily tasks anymore. My main job is to be the principal cloud architect for the company. I'm, to a lesser extent, concerned with daily administration tasks.

I'd recommend potential new users just go ahead and do it. It reduces the on-site administration chores by quite a bit. It's reliable enough to be used without second thoughts for business if you can handle the cost that comes with it, as Exchange or the whole Office 365 is not exactly cheap, especially when you count in the cost for security-related services that come with Office 365 if you pay for them.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. It works well, just not perfectly.

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: April 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.