Syncing calendars between a SaaS product and Exchange

Copper Contributor

First off, please forgive my ignorance on anything Microsoft related. My company just pivoted in to the enterprise space, and wouldn't you know it -- everyone uses office and exchange!

 

That said, our product is a cloud based scheduling solution, and we keep getting requests to add calendar syncing. Most (if not all) of these requests have come from companies that are using Exchange 2010. 

 

Is gaining access to exchange from outside their business even possible? If not, what sort of options do we have? Ultimately I'm looking for a starting point and / or potentially a lead to someone that can assist with this initiative. 

 

Thanks in advance!

5 Replies
Users can access Exchange remotely through a number of different methods such as Outlook on the web (OWA), ActiveSync mobile clients, and the full Outlook desktop client.
It comes down to what access is given to the server.
If you want to have your product sync at a server level, then you can use Exchange Web Services (EWS) to talk directly on behalf of the users.

Hi Loryan!

 

Thanks for the reply. I did a quick google in an attempt to educate myself on Exchange Web Services, and I suspect that might be our best option. It looks like most of our potential clients are running Exchange 2010 -- I'm not certain how rich the web services are for something that old, as I can only find on-premis references in the documentation for Exchange 2013. 

 

In short I just want to sync calendars in our system with those found on Exchange. Am I out to lunch with Exchange 2010?

To be honest I wouldn't recommend spending too much effort on 2010 - it's quite old and will soon be unsupported. I'd suggest telling customers that the minimum requirement is Exchange 2013, and ideally Exchange Online. :)

Thanks Debbie! I reached out to them and have started a conversation. Sounds like they've helped others in our sitatuation! I appreciate the help greatly!