Steve Krull

Google Calendar Sync
April 20, 2008

Synchronizing your Outlook calendar does not have to be a costly pain

I truly don't like the fact that I am sounding yet another Google trumpet, but darn if the tools aren't just cool sometimes.

Two weeks ago I was confuffling about trying to figure out how to make my Outlook calendar iCal accessible without jumping through hoops, using a Microsoft server, paying an Exchange hosting provider or worse yet installing exchange.

You have heard me jabber on how much I love Backpack and Basecamp in the past, but the Calendar function of Backpack just doesn't have the flexibility it needs to. Hats off to the folks at 37Signals for their simplicity, but sometimes it becomes a burden. Their calendar just can't accept meeting requests or turn an email into an appointment or task.

Solving the Outlook iCal problem for free

The operative term became "UGH" and I kept mustering nasty things about Outlook and about using the M$ service to Sync. Then by chance I recalled that my pal Josh over at TableXI had recently given me access to his Google Calendar. Stopping to scratch my noodle, I said to myself "Hey, Josh uses Outlook. What's he got that I haven't got"? An quick IM conversation later, Josh tells me he was using a 3rd party tool to sync the two.

He went one step further and let me know that Google had recently released "Google Calendar Sync" for Outlook.

I hoofed on over to Google and installed the tool - voila! I now sync my Outlook calendar with my Google  Calendar automagically. Then from Google Calendar I can share with anyone I want via a simple iCal link.

It couldn't be any easier to set this thing up. Install it. provide your Google account information and it works. There are some basic settings (see below), but nothing complex.

If you're asking "what the heck does this mean for me" and you work for a small company this tool is just for you. It's perfect if you don't have a shared calendar service (and need one), or you need to share with someone outside the company. Plus, if you are working on a project, each member of the project team can publish calendars - across different companies - so you can check schedules before sending the meeting request.

In all fairness I should mention a couple of the other products capable of doing this calendar sync:
Companion Link
SyncMyCal

Both of these products do a very nice job and add some great features on top of the basic synching that Google Sync does.

- Steve

Steve Krull founded The Krull Group in 2006 after several years managing various technology, Web sites and Search Marketing as part of both Bank One, ConsumerGuide.com and HowStuffWorks.com. Today, Steve and his team manage Search Marketing programs for a variety of business to business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) clients.

Posted by Steve Krull on April 20, 2008 | Comments (0)