Our current use cases for Office 365 include using it as our email handler as well as for MDM, and we also have offline office which is very important for doing our regular work such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and all. We get help from the E5 plan and we are using MDM for more than 50 people in our team. This is because there was an incident where a data breach occurred in our organization. After that, we decided we should implement the MDM solution to protect personally owned devices. After implementing MDM, we are now secure enough to prevent leakage of our organization data.

The most valuable feature or capability of Office 365 that I found is the legal hold feature, which is excellent for customers to maintain regulatory compliance. Deleting data is a common occurrence; people can delete their data from their device, and it will be moved to the recycle bin for a certain period of time. After the email is deleted, we found that if legal hold is enabled for a particular user, Microsoft offers unlimited archival, meaning any email that comes to that email ID will be stored, and we can easily use the E-Discovery feature to check the emails, their history, and export them in a PST file, which is very beneficial for customers during audits.

Overall, Office 365 brings organization efficiency, as these tools are very helpful for every organization to maintain their records, organization data, compliance, and collaborations. Everything that is basically required by an organization is already taken care of in the Office 365 products.

The areas of Office 365 that need improvement include the organization sharing option in Teams, which we found to be limited. If the organization does not enable it, we cannot get the IM details in Teams. If Microsoft can make it more reliable similar to social media - for example, if I am dealing with customers and I already had a meeting with them in Teams previously, the customer account should be visible to me along with their current status, such as busy, away, or available.

It would be easier for us to communicate with our customers or colleagues because it works within the organization. I am specifically referring to cross-functional connectivity for other organizations that we work with.

We have been using Office 365 for almost two and a half years.

The stability of this solution is very high, and I would rate it a full 10. I have been using it for the last three years and have not faced any issues during this time, leading to 100% uptime.

I would rate the scalability of this solution as nine out of ten.

I rate the technical support for Office 365 at about four to five out of 10 maximum. The support center is in China, and making them understand our issue is a hectic challenge. Every time we log a ticket, a new agent comes, and we have to describe the problem again. It is common that when the shift changes, the new staff does not have the case history, and we have to start explaining again. Customers expect quick solutions rather than reading KB articles.

With tools such as ChatGPT allowing us to find the same KB within seconds, we question why we spend so much time waiting for responses from Microsoft support. I suggest improving regional support for India, making it easier for customers to connect. Additionally, when we log cases, the support should check known issues quickly and engage with us directly when addressing unknown issues rather than just sending us basic help articles.

Positive

The initial setup of Office 365 is easy. Though I don't have hands-on experience, I can share our thoughts. During implementation, it took very little time and was very easy. We did not face any issues. We found that email delivery, which was being held, got delivered after three or six hours. I would give it at least eight out of 10.

Regarding similar service providers available in the market, we used Zoho previously, and we found it to be a wonderful product. However, we are more comfortable with Microsoft's UI, which influenced our choice to move to Microsoft instead of using Zoho.

The feature of Office 365 that has proven most beneficial for collaboration in my team is definitely Microsoft Teams. It is a commonly used platform throughout the organization, serving all our collaboration and instant messaging needs.

For the maintenance of Office 365, we only need one person.

Regarding pricing, I would give Office 365 an eight. It is pretty expensive.

The licensing is complicated because when we ask for pricing, the Microsoft team presents 10 to 15 different plans with almost the same features but different prices. It is difficult for customers to differentiate, especially since we are dealing with specific use cases. We need the application for specific purposes, and Microsoft has 20 options. Customers generally tend to choose the least costly option, resulting in missing out on crucial features and needing to upgrade through the pricing tiers again. If Microsoft can simplify the licensing, it would be easier for customers to opt for their services.

Overall, I rate Office 365 eight out of 10.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

Office 365 is used primarily for document management, reporting, and cross-functional collaboration. While our current data volumes are manageable, we complement Office 365 with Power BI for reporting and Azure Data Factory for data processing tasks. These tools help us analyze trends across projects, resources, and operations.

Team collaboration is streamlined using Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. We co-author reports in Excel, integrate links through platforms like Jira, and share updates instantly. This real-time collaboration accelerates feedback loops and reduces delays in communication and delivery.

Office 365 has significantly enhanced collaboration and productivity through integrated tools like Teams, Excel, and Power BI. The cloud-based setup has also improved data accessibility and sharing efficiency across departments.

Seamless Cloud Integration: Eliminates the need for VM-based transformation environments, particularly when paired with Azure Data Factory.

Real-Time Collaboration: Teams and SharePoint enable efficient document sharing and co-authoring.

Power BI: Offers strong visualization and reporting capabilities.

Overall ROI: We’ve seen notable value in terms of productivity and operational efficiency.

A key enhancement would be integrating AI-based prompting directly within Microsoft Word or Office apps. The ability to generate structured content using AI prompts would save time and improve document creation workflows.

I have been using Office 365 for about one and a half years. Our organization recently migrated to it from an on-premises Microsoft setup.

The platform has been reliable. A rare instance of downtime was resolved by Microsoft support within a few hours.

Office 365 handles our current needs well. For larger datasets or transactional systems, integration with platforms like Azure Data Lake would be more suitable.

Our experience with Microsoft support has been positive. Issues were addressed quickly and effectively.

Positive

We previously used on-premises Microsoft tools before migrating to Office 365 for a cloud-based experience.

Our migration from on-premises to Office 365 was smooth and straightforward.

Office 365 is managed internally by our organization under an enterprise licensing agreement.

Office 365 delivers strong value in terms of both cost and productivity gains.

Licensing and pricing are handled by our admin team, and the details are not directly visible to us.

Other options may have been considered, but I cannot recall the specific details.

I would recommend Office 365 to other professionals for its comprehensive suite of tools, strong integration, and cost-effective cloud performance. I rate it 9 out of 10.

Private Cloud

Microsoft Azure

The bank gave us Office 365 to work with. I used Google for personal use, but in the bank, I exclusively used Office 365.

Office 365 has excellent facilities, it's familiar, and it's easy to comprehend when sending messages.

I recommend it for the facilities as it's familiar to users when they see it and makes it easy to find items and features that we can use.

The scalability of Office 365 is good.

I would rate Microsoft technical support as 3 or 4 out of 10. This rating is mainly because I didn't need much support since it works efficiently, though sometimes internet connectivity affects the experience.

I have approximately 4 years of experience with Office 365.

The setup process for Office 365 is easy.

For stability, I would rate it 10 out of 10.

The scalability of Office 365 is good.

I would rate Microsoft technical support as 3 or 4 out of 10. This rating is mainly because I didn't need much support since it works efficiently, though sometimes internet connectivity affects the experience.

Positive

The setup process for Office 365 is easy.

For stability, I would rate it 10 out of 10.

I would recommend Office 365 to others.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Office 365 as 10.

Private Cloud

Microsoft Azure

My use case for Office 365 is because it is most suited to our environment. Most companies in Singapore use Office 365 because it is easier to use, and most people have grown with Microsoft solutions from the start. The solution has evolved to Office 365 because it is easier to use and seamless. Especially now with Office 365, you can access your files always on the go. You do not have to use your laptop or connect to the company network. As long as you have a device, even a mobile device, you can actually use it and access your emails.

I am currently focusing on productivity and have started using Microsoft Planner. I have had issues with time management because we are dealing with end user support, meetings, projects, and ad hoc activities. Sometimes, it is difficult to track via email and using tasks. I researched online for the easiest way to manage this without paying, which led me to discover Microsoft Planner.

Teams is quite effective because it has tremendously improved in terms of video conferencing and integration. You can use it to call an outside number, making it easier to interact within your company and call mobile phones via Teams. With the implementation of online federation, you can contact or add contacts that are not within the same tenant, making communication easier.

What I would suggest Microsoft improve is creating a one-stop shop where you can see everything in a single pane of glass. For example, in Microsoft Intune, you have to access the Entra ID separately, and you have to access Microsoft Intune separately. Although these features are available on one website, if they could create a seamless integration to see everything in a single pane of glass, it would be more efficient. I believe they are working on this already or have plans to implement it.

I would rate the stability of Office 365 as nine. I have been working in IT for about 15 years and we have experienced crashes on the solution, especially with Outlook and the Office 365 suite. Overall, it is quite stable.

I would rate the scalability of this solution as eight out of ten. Now many applications are using SaaS, and when Microsoft developed Office 365, it was a huge step for SaaS solutions, especially during COVID. If we were using on-premise solutions, it would have been difficult for users to work from home, as they would need to install desktop applications to access Outlook and other Office applications. With the integration of Office 365, when you access your files, you do not need to log into your laptop. If you are outside, you can simply access your phone, open your email, and open PowerPoint easily.

I seldom contact Microsoft regarding technical issues, but when I have, they have been quite helpful. Sometimes you have to wait for a while. If they could improve their response time, it would be better. Normally in IT infrastructure, you can have 24/7 ticket prioritization. Perhaps to them our issue may not be P1. However, as a customer, they need to understand it is very important for us to resolve issues, especially if it involves our VIP users. I would rate their technical support as seven, based on my experience.

Neutral

I used another solution before Office 365 a very long time ago. We used Lotus Notes in our previous company.

Based on my experience, I would recommend Office 365 to other people, even to my family. During the COVID period, my sisters and their children had to do schooling at home because they could not go out. At that time, I purchased the family Office 365 so I could share with them, which made things easier. I give Office 365 a rating of 10 out of 10.

Having the Copilot implemented recently in Office 365, Microsoft has some edge on that.

Having the Copilot implemented recently in Office 365, Microsoft has some edge on that.

Teams and SharePoint are the best features for my team's collaboration in Office 365.

The Copilot integration in Office 365 stands out by providing various different kinds of support to daily users utilizing AI help on other products.

To make it even better in the next release, they can improve the categorization and utilize AI help to suggest mail descriptions and everything to categorize mail in different ways, depending on the priorities of a user, and so on.

They still need to improve their email categorization, and their AI capabilities have room for improvement.

I have implemented Office 365, and it has been already a few months.

We have not faced any issue with the integration of Office 365.

It is already implemented and being used.

I am generally satisfied with my current solution.

I rate Office 365 eight out of ten.

I have another call and meeting in five minutes.

I am just a user. It is on the cloud, so it is much better. I can use it wherever I want.

Office 365 is a pretty stable solution. It is in the cloud, so I can use all the documents that I have anywhere I want. There is one very good feature that I have. When I use SharePoint along with it, it makes life a lot easier for us, especially when I have to share documents or files with other clients.

There is really not much difference between Office 365 and standalone MS Office. However, regarding PowerPoint, while the icons are there, I wish it was as good as Apple's presentation software because it is easier to create PowerPoint presentations with Apple's equivalent software. They could have done better work if they had provided that functionality.

To be very honest, we use Cute FTP to transfer most files, and if they had FTP portals which they could guarantee were secure, that would be a great help. Then I would not have to start Cute FTP and perform all those operations. I do not know whether Office 365 has that functionality because I have not seen it, but it would have been quite beneficial if it was there.

It is easy to deploy. It is not rocket science, but deploying information over the cloud is something that I am very skeptical about. I usually use Cute FTP or FTP-type solutions, as it is more secure compared to sending or sharing information. I do use cloud sharing, but only for documents that are not secretive or sensitive. I mainly use FTP to load or unload sensitive data. Other than that, insensitive data is just a matter of using a shared drive.

Regarding productivity gains, we have no issues with Microsoft. It is a very good service that they provide. The only problem I have seen is that Windows 11 gives many problems, especially when it updates your software. Everything slows down, every application slows down. I have reverted back to Windows 10 because Microsoft Windows 11 is not working for me. Let us see how things work out.

It is very difficult to get hold of Microsoft support people or any support people, including Amazon. There are too many automated processes that you need to go through, and even then you do not know whether you will be able to speak to them.

It is pretty good, to be very honest. In PowerPoint, if I just use it as a standalone software, the number of icons available is comparatively less in standalone Microsoft PowerPoint compared to Office 365. Additionally, it is easier to integrate other icons into Office 365 than into normal, standalone PowerPoint presentation solutions. It is not that I cannot do it. We have developed a tool through which we can integrate it completely, but it took us a while to figure things out.

There is not much difference in Excel or Word, at least I have not come across much difference. We are not doing much with AI as yet.

Public Cloud

Other

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.

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.

I want to improve my knowledge of Microsoft Intune.

I have 1 year and 8 months of experience with Office 365.

I would rate the stability of Office 365 as perfect because I am familiar with it and it is the best product platform.

I would rate the scalability of Office 365 as excellent.

I would rate technical support from Microsoft as excellent.

Positive

I find the initial setup of Office 365 easy because I am very familiar with it.

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.

Hybrid Cloud

Microsoft Azure

I use Outlook, PowerPoint, Office, and Excel for my normal tasks.

We have enhanced security in Office 365 because our data resides in the cloud. Security is better now, but a good internet connection is required to have a good experience.We have bigger mailboxes now, so there's no need to keep PSTs on the local machine. Everything is in the cloud.I believe we currently have 100 gigabytes each in Office 365, though this might be based on what the company subscribed to.

It does my job, that is what I will say. It accomplishes the tasks I need it to do.

We have been working with Office 365 for two to three years now.

It is very stable. I would rate it eight for stability. If you have your internet connection and a good laptop, it works efficiently.

I would rate it 10 for scalability because many people are adopting Office 365 as it helps them reduce admin costs. The cost of administration on-premise is removed to an extent. It has to be scalable for so many people to be adopting it.

I have experience with technical support from Microsoft, but the product is stable, so I don't have any reason to contact even the local IT because it works effectively.

Positive

When I went to the mall to purchase Office 365 for my personal laptop, I noticed it depends on what you're looking for. I saw various options including professional and basic versions.The price tag is fair because significant innovation and research has gone into it. It is proper for the developers and Microsoft to be remunerated.I can recommend Office 365 to people because it allows them to concentrate on their core job while Microsoft handles any problems from the cloud.I rate Office 365 a 9 out of 10 overall as I don't experience problems with it.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

I'm an IT consultant, so I work across the board with various industries including retail, healthcare, and military government. There is really no specific target area, and right now I have a big Power BI project with a large retail store helping them with some of the Power BI reports.

For me, the most valuable features in Office 365 are the integration between all of the various apps and how you can still communicate even without third-party apps. The integration of tools such as Power Automate with SAP or Salesforce, and the connectivity coming out of Teams based on requests is my biggest takeaway; I really appreciate that Office 365 is cloud-based.

SharePoint, which is my bread and butter, integrates seamlessly with Teams to enhance project management. I started with building out SharePoint sites and having them connect with Teams to offer a user-friendly experience for those less comfortable with SharePoint. SharePoint serves as the backbone for Teams, storing all their content and capitalizing on workflow pieces; I enjoy working with Teams and SharePoint.

SharePoint acts as a glorified portal with extensive integration options not only between Office 365 apps but also third-party applications. For instance, building a Power App linked to a SharePoint list is quick and easy without needing a SQL database, resulting in tremendous cost savings as well.

Currently, I recommend that the focus remains on improving Teams since its interface still lacks certain features when compared to Skype, which has been retired. Chat-switching can be a bit challenging. While I enjoy that Teams serves small to large groups and integrates well with other Office 365 products, the user interface is where I see the most room for improvement.

On the SharePoint side, allowing more customization options would greatly enhance functionality; simpler out-of-the-box versions are fine for some scenarios, but customizing SharePoint can be super challenging with newer Office 365 versions compared to previous on-prem ones.

We are typically Microsoft consultants because people usually come to us for assistance. I find that tier one support is somewhat lacking, often focusing on what's in front of them without considering the bigger picture. If I had to rate it on a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten the highest, I would give tier one a score of six and a half, whereas I would rate tier two and three higher, around eight or nine. Sometimes tier one can even drop to threes or fours, depending on who you reach that day.

The overall rating would be seven and a half.

Positive

The return on investment with Office 365 is pretty good; it's usually positive when I look at continued usage. I've been involved with this for more than a year without it becoming stagnant, unlike some Salesforce work that has come and gone. Since my company focuses on Microsoft products, the same products keep coming up repeatedly, indicating ongoing assistance is required.

We are also shifting toward big data solutions and A.I.-generated everything, so I'm trying to redirect my focus beyond just being an Office 365 expert, considering how A.I. can improve Office 365.

The pricing for Office 365 nowadays could be better. While they have some decent offers, they're more beneficial for larger clients. For smaller companies just getting started, I believe they should offer more affordable packages, but it is what it is.

I am familiar with competitors of Office 365, such as various content management systems that often provide poor security. I find that many can be quite challenging to navigate, and systems such as Drupal are complicated and often limited to on-prem setups, even though there are cloud-based solutions. Office 365 is the most mature option, and if I were to recommend a solution, it would be the easiest for clients to get started with.

I would recommend Office 365 to others primarily for larger companies. For smaller companies, I would ensure that they have the available budget first before making a recommendation, as cost is the primary limitation.

I have not yet played with Microsoft Security Copilot or Copilot for security. I am currently dealing with Copilot as I'm working on a demo today to build my own chatbot. I want to showcase the ease of building it and discuss the associated pains and struggles while also demonstrating to the group why we should use Copilot and where we should go next.

This is just the Copilot Studio accessed via office.com under Power Apps; I did not go through GitHub. I deal a lot with Gemini and use ChatGPT frequently. I consider ChatGPT my extra voice of support for inquiries, but I trust but verify what it provides, as I have encountered incorrect information from it several times.

On a scale of one to ten, I rate Office 365 an eight out of ten.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

My most common use case involves starting my day with Office 365, specifically with Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Teams is very good, and I am trying to get used to the new user interface because it changed a bit, but I spend a lot of time in Teams and, of course, also in Outlook. I also use Microsoft Loop for structuring and organizing meetings that I have with my colleagues. It's a very handy way of keeping the information without being over-structured, and I use Loop because I prefer to note something down instead of just saying 'Oh, I will remember this' and not writing it anywhere. Rather than using a very complex, huge application that needs time to open and has a very big structure, Loop is something in between, and I find it a very useful tool that I also use on a daily basis. If I would have to pick three, they would be Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Loop.

In terms of advanced features, those are things that we usually do with Power Platform. We try to avoid building super complex Excel templates when we can use another more suitable tool or build a Power App for that.

What I appreciate in the Office 365 world is having Copilot as an assistant that can help automate many things. For example, if you need to translate something and want to ensure the translation looks professional and has a specific tone—formal, informal, friendly—then you can use Copilot for that or get a first idea and then edit the result. It helps to summarize meetings in Microsoft Teams and points out the most important key aspects discussed in the meeting.

If you have people who were not able to join the meeting, you can copy the summary and the next steps and send it to them. I find the extension with Copilot very good. One of my favorites is Copilot in Microsoft Outlook, which helps you find a meeting with people who have very busy calendars. I have a lot of appointments, and it's difficult to find a free slot. When I need help finding a slot that works for three or four colleagues with busy calendars, Copilot in Outlook helps with that.

In terms of improvements in Office 365, there might be things that need to be improved in many tools. I have some improvement suggestions for Copilot, but not the actual product itself, because I grew up with these tools. I did not know it differently. I had to use Outlook, and I learned how to do it, and now it's the default for me.

Sometimes there are simple bugs. For example, I create an appointment, and it disappears or is differently showcased in Microsoft Teams because Teams also has a meeting section as opposed to Outlook, but these are just temporary bugs. In general, these tools are very synchronized with each other.

What I would to be able to do is copy-paste meetings. If I want to send several blockers or potential meetings to the customer, I create the first one, and I want to be able to paste this first blocker on another day as blocker two, just paste and change the title. That's difficult to do. This is not something which works with Outlook yet.

I have been working with Office 365 for 7 years.

Regarding whether I consider Office 365 a cost-effective solution, I would say that if in the normal packaging, using AI—which will become the norm and the default in the near future—costs extra in Outlook, it would be nice to have those integrated in the licensing and not have to pay extra for Copilot or extra AI features. AI should be an intuitive thing and a daily job, and perhaps Microsoft should find a way to make the model still financially beneficial for them without raising the price just because we have new features and AI capabilities.

The name of the company is Orbis SE now. It's just the company change; the rest remains the same. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Office 365 an eight out of ten.