Sr. Microsoft Engineer at nournet
Real User
A user-friendly email and calendaring server with lots of features
Pros and Cons
  • "It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration."
  • "From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users."

What is our primary use case?

We use Exchange for email services and collaboration services.

What is most valuable?

It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration. You can share documents through emails and more. There are lots of features, and it's very user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Microsoft Exchange for about ten years.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are some limitations when it comes to scalability, but Microsoft always continues to improve it. Now I'm serving more than 2,000 users, and I think my company serves about 10,000 users.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward for the small use cases. Each case is different, but for the most part, it's almost straightforward. 

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

Microsoft doesn't have a unit price, it's based on the quantity, and they offer great discounts.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise potential users to go with Exchange. Exchange Online is also very similar to Office 365.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Microsoft Exchange a nine.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Owner at a security firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
A reliable tool for archiving and organizing a large database
Pros and Cons
  • "Now, we manage to serve almost 99% of the information."
  • "When we started using Exchange on the cloud, we had a lot of initial problems relating to our main database and we also experienced issues with the accidental deletion of inboxes, amongst other things. In fact, many of the files we had moved to the cloud had disappeared. There also seems to be a problem with the retention of information."

What is our primary use case?

We mostly used Exchange for sending emails and for document management. We also used Exchange to get information from a user's profile but we didn't use Exchange for filing.

    What is most valuable?

    Personally, I'd say Outlook is a good feature. We used it for scheduling appointments, for storage and archiving, so we could easily find old mail and documents, even ECF documents. A lot of people like using Outlook as a personal archive. 

    What needs improvement?

    When we started using Exchange on the cloud, we had a lot of initial problems relating to our main database and we also experienced issues with the accidental deletion of inboxes, amongst other things. In fact, many of the files we had moved to the cloud had disappeared. There also seems to be a problem with the retention of information. For example, if you delete something, you may have a problem restoring the entirety of the inbox, so if somebody leaves and you want to backup your data, you need to download it to your local servers. This is a big area for improvement. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Currently, we are using Office 365, but we used Exchange for more than 20 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    As I mentioned earlier, we have a very big database which can lead to some problems. Due to the algorithm, we tend to experience a lot of issues restoring and fixing problems. For example, we would have to retrieve all of the mail from our database and load it into a new database. We only had that problem in the beginning because of the algorithm, not because of Exchange. Now, we manage to serve almost 99% of the information. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We get our support through a third party. We have an Enterprise Agreement with Microsft but we don't receive customer service directly from them. Our third party company receives support from Microsoft, and when we have a problem, we deal with them; however, I've only used them once or twice. Other than that, my own systems engineer solves our problems.

     As we had more than 40 users, we had four or five people who handled maintenance.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was complex. When we set up Exchange on one server, it was very simple. Keep in mind, you need to be an expert to install the Exchange server because of all of the connections, the TLS-ing, connecting to the internet and ISP; it just wasn't simple at all. 

    Microsoft may tell you that deployment is as easy as " a click of the mouse", but this is not the case. 

    If done at the same time, deployment takes roughly five hours. After that, if we are migrating from an older version of Exchange to a newer version, it takes a very long time. In other words, migration takes much, much longer than the initial installation, which takes roughly four to five hours. When it's working, it's very stable; however, this was not the case 15 years ago, but in the last 10 years, it's been okay. When we experience a problem, it is strictly due to the algorithm. 

    What other advice do I have?

    It depends on what the user's needs are. A lot of people can now use Gmail or they can use Exchange on Office 365 with a license, there are a lot more options available nowadays. If you're thinking about installing Exchange on-premise, on behalf of a client, a lot of people have now moved to the cloud, to Azure or something similar. If a client asked me to purchase a 365 license, including the Exchange server, I might decline. If they want to hold meetings or something similar, I'd suggest that they use a professional service like Gmail for businesses. It's a much cheaper option because a lot of people that work with Microsoft office end up buying one or two 365 licenses which include Exchange, so they use it. 

    Because I have a lot of experience using Exchange, I would rate it between eight and nine out of ten. It's not a perfect ten, but for our purposes, it was perfect.  

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft Exchange
    April 2024
    Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Exchange. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
    768,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Consultant/Project Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
    Consultant
    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?

    The primary use case is sending and responding to email.

    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.

    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: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    System Administrator at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    It is now better at balancing the load on the backend, but its administration is too cumbersome
    Pros and Cons
    • "The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend."
    • "Currently, its administration is too cumbersome. It's unwieldy. It's slow. It consumes too many resources. Configuration needs to be much more streamlined and administratively automated."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use it for email, contacts, and calendar.

    What is most valuable?

    The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend.

    What needs improvement?

    Currently, its administration is too cumbersome. It's unwieldy. It's slow. It consumes too many resources. Configuration needs to be much more streamlined and administratively automated.

    In terms of additional features, on the administration side, I would like them to incorporate a security console to focus on all of the security aspects in one place.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    It has been in use for 10 to 15 years.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate it a six out of ten. It's very cumbersome. It's not lean by any means.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Project Manager at a transportation company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Easy initial setup but lacks online functionality
    Pros and Cons
    • "The initial setup is quite a straightforward process. I don't think it is a very complicated solution. Plenty of things could be more complex, but the ordinary, general settings are quite simple."
    • "In terms of what should be improved, they should probably move to a cloud option like Office 365. We would like to get this functionality without the need to deploy complex hardware and software solutions. This should be the next thing, making Exchange more related to Office products, which are more cloud-oriented, less on-premise or desktop-oriented solutions, like the direction Google is strongly moving towards."

    What is our primary use case?

    At the moment, our primary use case is mostly for mailing, but in the near future we will be more focused on collaboration, as well.

    What is most valuable?

    There is nothing special that I like with Exchange. They made a system that works in business. It is quite normal that companies use Exchange.

    What needs improvement?

    In terms of what should be improved, they should probably move to a cloud option like Office 365. We would like to get this functionality without the need to deploy complex hardware and software solutions. This should be the next thing, making Exchange more related to Office products, which are more cloud-oriented, less on-premise or desktop-oriented solutions, like the direction Google is strongly moving towards.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Microsoft Exchange for about five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    In terms of stability, if you are a user or if you have a number of users, especially a big number of users, there will occasionally be some bugs in the product. That is a normal situation.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    In terms of current users, I think we have about 3,000 or 4,000.

    They are not dedicated solely to the Exchange. They are also supporting other software technology solutions.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    My experience with tech support is that they are mostly good enough.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is quite a straightforward process. I don't think it is a very complicated solution. Plenty of things could be more complex, but the ordinary, general settings are quite simple.

    What other advice do I have?

    My personal preference would be a Google solution. It is not a big difference. My advice to anyone considering Microsoft Exchange would be, stay with your product because switching to another product can be costly and a complicated task.

    On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate Microsoft Exchange a 6.

    It may be that some nice features are missing.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user397617 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Manager of Infrastructure at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Vendor
    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: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Delivery manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
    MSP
    A stable and scalable solution with good technical support, but should be easier to deploy
    Pros and Cons
    • "The technical support is fine."
    • "The solution should be easier to deploy."

    What is our primary use case?

    I believe I had used my previous version in 2010 or 2016. Subsequently, more people switched to Office 365, Exchange Online. 

    Microsoft Exchange is exclusively an email solution and this is what we use it for. 

    What is most valuable?

    The performance is good.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution should be easier to deploy. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have used Microsoft Exchange for a couple of years. I'm now using Office 365, Exchange Online.

    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 can scale up to whatever number of users one desires. This depends on one's infrastructure.

    The solution is scalable. 

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support is fine. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The deployment could be easier. 

    I believe the installation lasted a couple of hours. However, further integration takes time and this can vary with the additional features one wants, customization which is based on the ETA, the rules and one's desire to make the solution visible to others. 

    Once the solution is wholly deployed, there is not much need for further intervention. 

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

    We pay for the license annually. We could take advantage of it throughout the course of the year, although it is now online, meaning subscription-based, by which the person can receive all the bookings, save for the mailing system. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm currently using Office 365, Exchange Online.

    The solution can scale up to whatever number of users one desires. This is wholly dependent on one's infrastructure.

    We have approximately eight to ten thousand users making use of it in our organization. 

    I would recommend the solution to others. People are gravitating towards it. 

    I rate Microsoft Exchange as a seven out of ten. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Information Officer with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Can be easily installed and is stable and scalable
    Pros and Cons
    • "We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."
    • "I think it could be more scalable."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Microsoft Exchange Server for the users in our company.

    What is most valuable?

    We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install.

    What needs improvement?

    I think it could be more scalable.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Microsoft Exchange is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable. We currently have 2000 users.

    How was the initial setup?

    It's easy to install and took about three to four hours.

    What about the implementation team?

    We were able to install it ourselves. A team of three handled the installation and maintenance.

    What other advice do I have?

    On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Microsoft Exchange at ten.

    It is easy to install. A team of three people were able to handle the installation and maintenance. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Exchange Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: April 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Exchange Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.