Online is the Future!
October 17, 2019

Online is the Future!

Ivan Sytchev | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Microsoft Office (Installed)

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Office 365

We primarily use Office 365 Pro Plus at the moment and will be moving to Exchange Online and SharePoint Online in the future. The entire organization uses O365, primarily Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams. The option of offering multiple installations per user has made licensing issues non-existent. With a subscription model, it is also nice to get the latest software updates and features. Managing users and subscriptions is also a breeze with the Office 365 portal.

Pros

  • User management from an administrative point of view is really intuitive and easy. This also applies to license management as it is very easy to see who has what license and compliance is no longer an issue.
  • There are frequent updates and features released that constantly enhance applications and services.
  • The O365 eco-system is great, where everything is connected and can be accessed easily. For example, the integration between Office applications and One Drive / SharePoint and Teams are built-in allowing for quick access to files from any application.

Cons

  • The hybrid environment between Skype for Business Server and Teams has some issues. Presence is not updating correctly and Teams Meetings are not available in Teams client until the user mailbox is in Exchange Online.
  • Microsoft is very aggressive in trying to get people to switch from on-prem to online. This causes the hybrid setups to be very flaky until completely moved to online.
  • Some organizations are not ready to 100% integrate Windows with O365 so a lot of features in Win10 are not usable without 365 Online services.
  • Licensing compliance and reduced complexity in software licensing in general.
  • Relatively smooth transition for end-users with very little disruptions to their work schedules.
  • Administrative tasks are way quicker and easier to achieve. Unified portals for management make it easy to manage online services and users.
It's still a Microsoft product, but the Online model is far superior to the on-prem offerings. Especially with Microsoft focusing on their online platform over their on-prem servers. Migration from these on-prem services is fairly simple and Microsoft has done a great job to try to make that migration as painless as possible.
I have not had any experience or need to contact support for O365 yet. The provided documentation is very detailed and there is no shortage of articles and guides on various configurations and settings. Admin guides are easy to follow to set up services or set up hybrid environments. There are also lots of official MS videos for end-users to get familiar with the applications.

Do you think Microsoft 365 delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Microsoft 365's feature set?

Yes

Did Microsoft 365 live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft 365 go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft 365 again?

Yes

VMware ESXi, Windows Server, Citrix ADC (formerly NetScaler ADC), Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenDesktop)
Office 365 is great for any organization that uses Microsoft products. If you have Exchange and/or SharePoint servers, moving to 365 is a great move. Everything integrates with everything else, so it makes everything work easier and more efficient. However, the cost of 365 might not be justifiable if there is no reliability on other Microsoft products.

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