Org Explorer vs. OneDirectory: What’s the Real Difference?

Microsoft recently made some noise in the market by announcing Org Explorer, a free, built-in org chart viewer available to every Microsoft 365 user. On the surface, that might seem like great news.

But here’s the reality: not all org chart solutions are created equal. 

Org Explorer is great for quick checks and immediate look-ups. However, it can’t compete when it comes to being the reliable, go-to employee directory and org chart solution your company genuinely relies on day-to-day.

Let’s dive into the details and unpack where each solution shines, and where they clearly don’t.

Org Explorer: Good for Quick Glances, But Falls Short Elsewhere

Pros of Org Explorer:

• Free and Built-in: If you're already on Microsoft 365, it's right there in Outlook and Teams, with no extra costs.
• Basic Structure at Your Fingertips: Quickly see who someone’s manager is or direct reports are. Handy for immediate hierarchy checks.
• “Works with” Feature: Quickly see colleagues someone frequently collaborates with, nice for basic context.

But here’s where it gets frustratingly limited:

• One-dimensional navigation: You can only crawl up or down the reporting line one click at a time. No jumping to departments or people, no "highlight path" feature.
• No advanced reporting structures: Assistants, dotted-line relationships, and complex matrix structures? Nope, not visible at all.
• No export capabilities: Need that org chart for your upcoming board presentation or quarterly review? Prepare to take screenshots and piece them together manually... Org Explorer won’t help.
• Static appearance: No branding options, layout customization, or visual flexibility. It's Microsoft blue or nothing.
• No integrated directory: You can’t search by skills, departments, or locations effectively. All you get is a very basic profile card.

Bottom line: Org Explorer is handy for quick checks, but it’s far from a robust, scalable org chart solution.

OneDirectory: Built for Real-World Company Use

OneDirectory is not just another org chart tool, it’s a dedicated platform designed for medium-to-large companies that rely heavily on accurate and accessible employee data.

Where OneDirectory excels:

• Interactive & Comprehensive Org Charts: Easily navigate, zoom, and visually explore your entire org structure. Highlight reporting paths instantly, pick your starting point, and easily manage matrix structures including assistants and dotted-line reporting.
• Powerful Search & Directory Integration: Find colleagues not only by name but also by skill, department, location, or custom attributes. OneDirectory offers a complete directory experience, integrated directly with your org chart.
• Quickly Export & Share: Effortlessly export your org charts to PDF or PNG for presentations, meetings, and strategic planning. Customize the appearance and choose layout options that match your unique organizational style.
• Rich Employee Profiles: Every employee gets a dynamic, visual employee profile with photos, bios, skills, and custom fields, far more engaging than Microsoft’s basic profile card.
• Visual Office & Department Pages: Create branded pages for each location or department, showcasing employees clearly and visually, ideal for fostering connection in distributed teams.
• Enterprise Scalability: Handle thousands of users seamlessly. Quickly navigate and search massive organizational structures without performance issues.

Microsoft Org Explorer vs OneDirectory: Feature Comparison

Who Should Use Which Tool?

Here's a quick guide to help you decide which tool fits your organization:

The True Cost of “Free”

Choosing Microsoft Org Explorer simply because it's free might seem like a smart financial move at first, but it can lead to several hidden problems for your business:

• Wasted Time: Employees spend too much time clicking through endless layers just to find basic information, slowing down productivity.
• Missed Opportunities: Without easy ways to discover skills and expertise, valuable knowledge stays hidden, making it harder to collaborate effectively.
• Messy and Fragmented Data: Teams often end up creating spreadsheets or maintaining separate lists because Org Explorer doesn’t offer comprehensive directory functionality. This can lead to errors and outdated information.
• Poor First Impressions: New employees face an impersonal and dull experience rather than an engaging, welcoming introduction to their colleagues and organizational structure.

When Does OneDirectory Pay for Itself?

• Onboarding & Retention: Immediate access to engaging, rich profiles and clear org structures helps new hires integrate faster and stay longer.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Instant skill discovery accelerates projects and promotes internal collaboration.
• Management & HR Visibility: Exportable, customized org charts streamline reporting and strategic decision-making.
• Data Quality & Accuracy: OneDirectory helps improve your employee profile data by making the data quality quickly visible and quick to update.

Final Thought: Feature vs. Platform

Org Explorer is essentially a basic feature within Microsoft 365, a quick reference that works for minimal needs.

OneDirectory is a powerful, fully integrated org chart and employee directory solution built for dynamic, growing businesses that require reliable, scalable, and visually engaging organizational management.

Choosing between the two should be straightforward:

• If a quick reference is enough, stick with Org Explorer.
• If your organization needs a robust, visual, and integrated org chart and directory solution that truly scales, OneDirectory is clearly the right choice.

Don’t settle for the basics. Explore how OneDirectory can transform your org visibility - Start your free trial of OneDirectory today.