Diligent Boards vs. Microsoft 365

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Diligent Boards
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Today’s directors need fast, informed decision-making and seamless governance workflows. Diligent Boards automates board and committee meeting creation, streamlines preparation and enhances collaboration with secure, integrated tools. More broadly, Diligent solutions provide a growth trajectory on the path to good governance and bundle capabilities that support the evolution of forward-looking boards and leadership teams. Save time by digitizing meeting materials and…N/A
Microsoft 365
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiligent Board Plans include... Essential: Built for organizations looking to embrace governance best practices and digital transformation Pro: Built for organizations that are looking to embrace end-to-end security around key governance processes like board meeting preparation, communication, and questionnaires. Enterprise: For high performing boards looking to maximize effectiveness of committees and prepare for proxy season.*When billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
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Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
Small Businesses
Dropbox DocSend
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Score 9.6 out of 10
Google Workspace
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Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.6 out of 10
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Enterprises

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Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
9.4
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.7
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.2
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.9
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Diligent BoardsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
Diligent is pricey, so it is suitable for large-size organizations with sufficient funding. Universities and colleges would be good clients. Diligent is not suitable for small organizations or not-for-profit organizations due to the pricing. There are other options to distribute and share documents, such as Google format, so I think pricing is the key to expand the market for Diligent.
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I usually recommend Microsoft 365 to my clients to keep them away from the Exchange server (sorry!) Our business has a lot of issues with exchange email functions and copy machines. I always recommend they download the desktop version and use the online version as needed. You never know when you will be without an internet connection, but you can usually trust your laptop will have a decent charge, and you can still be productive! Let it sync when the powers are back on - or your connection is alive.
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Pros
  • Customer service is great. if any of the built resources are not sufficient to resolve a challenge, reaching out to Diligent, there is always someone ready to assist till a challenge is resolved
  • Assistance is readily available at any given time
  • Diligent is progressive, always creating ways to ease how we do work
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  • keeps me extremely organized. It is so easy to link calendars, emails, and documents.
  • keeps me well connected. It is so easy to send a quick message on teams or send an email to a group (for example, my particular team within the company).
  • easy to use. Everything is straightforward, making it easy to find an answer to a question. There is even a search option to figure out how to do something within Microsoft.
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Cons
  • I am using one click, it would be nice to see what board members see
  • I mentioned before I would like to be able to sort documents by various parameters like importance, date, type
  • Talking to other assistance i find that everyone knows something different about quicker ways to load, maybe a weekly/monthly tip would be beneficial.
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  • I wish it was a little simpler to integrate things from one Microsoft Feature into another one. Perhaps I just don't know the tricks for that yet...after all these years of using it.
  • I didn't like how it defaulted to saving the document automatically with changes, like Google Docs, but it seems that has now changed, and is better now.
  • Generally, I really like how the suite works as is.
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Likelihood to Renew
We find the Boards portal to be an effective tool for our board meeting documents. It is user friendly and allows for amendments, additions as needed without compromising documents that have already been uploaded. Additionally, our Board members are comfortable with the platform and confident in their ability to navigate it.
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I am completely satisfied with the product, and helps me on a daily basis. I do not the exact cost (it is not a cheap suite) but on the medium and long term the return on investment is guaranteed.
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Usability
It is very easy to use
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It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.
The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.
It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.
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Reliability and Availability
Great service!
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No answers on this topic
Performance
Quick service, specially on loading.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
The turnaround time is great, and the customer support team usually resolves queries in one go. However, customer support can improve by suggesting additional helpful activities to improve user experience, rather than limiting it to the specific requests made. Overall, it has been a positive experience with the customer support team.
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Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
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Online Training
The training was executed through a Deligent meber.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I think our Diligent Boards implementation went well
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Everything works and I use it all the time.
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Alternatives Considered
Diligent Entities is already great, as I used it before Diligent Boards, and it was very helpful and very cost-effective as a product provided to my previous team that used it. So I can only vouch for the platform and note that Diligent Boards is also fantastic. It certainly is.
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BTE, this search bar is not the best; I couldn't find Google Suite. In any case, it's challenging to find a suite with advanced tools that serves as an office. Google comes close, no one uses OpenOffice (hyperbole), and there isn't much else to use. If you add to that the recent collaborative functionalities, nothing really stacks up or compares; this has everything a person in an office (oversimplifying) needs to get work done.
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Scalability
It is really worth it.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Diligent has improved the time spent on training new board members as the app is user-friendly and self-explanatory, especially for IT-savvy Directors.
  • The app has cut down the cost of sending notifications to directors on material added on the app, as directors automatically receive notifications as soon as material is available.
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  • Microsoft 365 has really been effective and cost saving option for our organization in terms of managing the mailboxes, collaboration and messaging.
  • There is multiple must have features which comes all together in one package and therefore is cost effective.
  • The only negative impact according to me is its inability to protect the environment or domain from external attacks effectively.
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ScreenShots

Diligent Boards Screenshots

Screenshot of collaboration on sensitive documents across the organisation in preparation for the board meeting, while safeguarding information in Diligent’s secure ecosystem.Screenshot of an additional layer of security to known processes with key integrations like Microsoft 365. Documents can be shared and users can collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders.Screenshot of the centralized platform where users can take, record, review and share minutes.Screenshot of board evaluations and questionnaires.Screenshot of D&O questionnaire requirements, which are managed in a single application experience.Screenshot of communication with leadership teams. This occurs in real-time on an encrypted, uncluttered channel to signify importance and urgency.