Microsoft Shared Calendars
Microsoft Shared Calendars
Get Everyone on the Same Page With a Shared Calendar
Wouldn’t it be great if there were just one calendar in the world that had every event in the world no matter how large or small? Rather than have multiple copies of events floating around in every calendar program for every participant, you could have one consolidated view of the master schedule so that everyone can be in synch. If someone needs to change the calendar entry, it would be great if everyone else were updated on the change automatically.
Are there Any Good Free Shared Calendars?
Businesses have had solutions for this for a long time. With solutions like Microsoft Exchange Server, Lotus Notes and others, employees can automatically book time in everyone’s personal calendar, automatically update calendars if anything changed, manage RSVP’s with ease and book common resources like meeting rooms from the comfort of their own desk or even on the road with a PDA.
For groups of people outside of work, it becomes a lot more difficult. Purchasing and managing an Exchange server like solution is a definite non-starter for even some of the most largest clubs and gatherings. Unlike businesses, most groups have no funds to purchase and maintain such solutions. In addition, they need solutions that require no training. In the business world, there are significant resources for employee training plus the heavy hand of the boss if a solution needs to be adopted. In people’s personal lives, there are no such carrots and sticks to compel someone to use a solution. In addition there are so many different types of email applications and “standards” that are in use unlike a business who can consolidate on one solution. This makes synching calendars effortlessly almost impossible.
Shared Calendars Get You Organized
While nobody has come close to a perfect solution, shared calendars such as ones on Qlubb can significantly help a group get better organized.
Shared calendars provide numerous benefits:
• Single, web-based place to publish the latest information about upcoming events
• Shared editing so that anyone can contribute information about the event
• Sign up lists attached to events so that you can also plan the event all in one place
• Automatically generated invitations
• RSVP’s so that you know who can make it
• Reminders so that everyone knows where and when the event is as well as any responsibilities they may have signed up for
Most people have tried using email to coordinate events which is extremely time consuming, particularly if anything changes. Evite handles RSVP’s nicely but doesn’t have online signup sheets nor does it have any continuity for follow on activities you may want to do with the same people. Other solutions like Google Groups and Yahoo Groups are full of features but are often considered too cumbersome to use. Qlubb is great for most any small to medium sized group who meet regularly.
Each group has its own needs and should carefully consider what solution is going to get them the most adoption, usage and utility. Shared calendars are a great way to improve efficiency (less emails!) while reducing miscommunications and misunderstanding.
About the Author
Andrew Yang works for Qlubb, a provider of social collaboration Web tools for real-life groups.
Share Outlook Calendar on Network Attached Storage?
Is it possible to share a calendar from Microsoft Outlook by putting it on out Buffalo Terrastation? If so, how do I set that up?
yes, I am using a POP account. I thought that the calendar would be a separate file that I could keep on the network and anyone could access and edit info on it. I do not have Microsoft Exchange.
You did not specify if you are using Outlook on a POP email account or using it connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server.
If in fact you are just using it on a POP email account, this is quite a difficult task.
Outlook stores all the emails/calendar and contacts in one file with the .PST extension.
You can move this file and allow other user's with Outlook to open it, however no more than one person at one time can have it open.
If you are only updating your calendar once in a while, you can EXPORT your calendar to a file, and allow other Outlook user's to IMPORT it.
Microsoft Shared Calendars
BPOS-S: How To Configure and View Shared Calendars
Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite
In today's competitive market, businesses of all types require excellent communications and email solutions in order to meet the needs of their clients and enable their employees to perform at peak efficiency, while at the same time keeping costs down. Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) provides innovative cloud hosted communication answers so that your business can increase productivity and realize cost savings at the same time. BPOS enables cost savings at several levels. Operating from a cloud hosted system rather than a self hosted system means that there is no up-front capital expenditure for software and hardware. Rather, businesses can purchase based on their current personnel needs, and expand their communications capacity as the business expands and more employees are hired. Employees who spend little time in the office can be set up with the deskless worker option at reduced expense. Predictable monthly expenses take the place of emergency software purchases, allowing for a more stable bottom line from month to month. With the online meeting place and communications abilities provided by BPOS, company productivity will be increased and employees' can operate more efficiently from home or office. Many work hours can be saved across the company by allowing employees access to their email, shared calendars, and instant messaging capabilities from personal PCS, laptops, and smartphones. Email and phone tag will be a thing of the past as employees utilize the presence awareness capabilities of Office Communications Online. In addition, travel expenses can be drastically reduced since employees in different locations can hold virtual meetings via web conferencing rather than traveling to a central location. In addition, the need for onsite servers will be eliminated since applications are cloud hosted, meaning that IT personnel will be available to target company needs rather than monitoring the servers. It also means you'll see increased uptime, allowing for the most efficient office function and productivity. This allows significant cost savings by reducing work hours spent on the servers and allowing the IT department to function at its best and most efficient capacity. Migrating to the Business Productivity Online Suite is a quick and painless process with migration services included via Active Directory integration. Switching to BPOS will give your company the technological edge you need at a cost you can afford, and without the headache of maintaining onsite hosting. Take your business to the next level in performance, communication, and efficiency and remain on the cutting edge of business technology with the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite.
About the Author
En Pointe is a Microsoft Gold Certified Reseller and offers BPOS. Follow En Pointe's technology blog to stay up-to-date.
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Microsoft Shared Calendars
