Email, Calendars and Instant Messaging

4. Shared Calendars

4.1 Shared calendars make it easier to arrange meetings and plan ahead.

• A shared calendar system gives everyone in your business an online diary.
• Each of your employees can record their appointments in their calendar, just like a normal diary.
• However, because the calendars are shared, everyone in your business can see when their colleagues are busy or free.
• This makes booking meetings much easier, because there is no need to confirm with each person.
• Meeting requests can simply be sent and accepted or declined by email.

4.2 You can run a shared calendar on your network server.

• Most shared calendar systems come as part of a complete mail solution.
• The most common shared calendar system for network servers is Microsoft Exchange.
• Other systems are available too, including IBM Lotus Notes and Zimbra.
• Your IT administrator or supplier will need to set up these systems.

4.3 Alternatively, you can use an online calendar service. This option is ideal if you do not have a server in your business.

• Free calendar services such as Google Calendar are available. They are generally accessed through a web browser.
• Alternatively, you can subscribe to a shared calendar service. The company which hosts your website may be able to provide this. Subscription shared calendars are generally paid for monthly. The price depends on the number of users you have.
• With a subscription service, all your diary information is hosted on servers owned by another company. You pay them to access your calendars across the internet.
• The most common subscription shared calendar is Microsoft Hosted Exchange. The calendar usually comes as part of a complete hosted email service, which is charged monthly, per user.

4.4 Although shared calendars are very efficient, switching to them can be difficult at first.

• People may be nervous of making the schedules more public. Most calendars have a 'private appointment' option for personal appointments.