Reply by n/a from Hoplite Business Systems on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 14:24

Microsoft Exchange is what you need.

Reply by Alan Norris from FNS-NetSYS on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 14:24

Hi There, the best option is Microsoft Exchange, which ConnectingUp can supply, feel free to call me on 1300 016 197 to discuss further.

Reply by Jürgen Mertin from Parish IT on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 14:25

Don't buy anything! Microsoft has made Office 365 (hosted Exchange) plans free for eligible NFPs. This is the enterprise grade solution and the best option for mobile users, shared resources and collaborative work. And because it's hosted by Microsoft themselves, you have the highest industry SLA. Happy to discuss this with you further!

Reply by Troy Robinson from Queensland Business Technolgies on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 14:35

If you are no a registered Charity you cannot take advantage of the free service, you can however get Non Profit pricing for Office365. An alternative is a third party piece if software called ShareO. Developed by 4Team. Happy to explain further. Cheers Troy

Reply by Patrick from Community How on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 14:57

What do you currently use for email? Exchange is good, but if your email is currently elsewhere there might be other options. I've worked with a number of NFPs that use Google Apps which includes Gmail & Google Calendar, which sync very nicely with Android, Apple & Windows phones, and has SMS notification for people without smart phones. A few more things to consider include the number of users, the IT skill of the person responsible & if everyone has a smart phone or you need to support older Nokia/Motorola/Siemens phones. Contact me on 0416 366 613 if you wish to discuss further.

Reply by Michelle Wu from Interlinked on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 15:00

Most common approach to this is to purchase Microsoft Exchange Server and configure calendar sharing to work with Microsoft Outlook. Another option is to configure Cloud based calendar sharing using products such as Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps. We have implemented similar solutions for other NFPs and are happy to chat with you about an approach that will fit your requirements.

Reply by from Consult Point Pty Ltd on Thursday, 24 October, 2013 - 15:23

Just out of interest, do you have MS Exchange in place with MS Outlook for emails? How do you currently send emails, what software program do you use? Also, what types of phones do your employees use? Cheers Scott from Consult point

Reply by Chris Jeffery from CyberGuru on Saturday, 26 October, 2013 - 12:38

Dear Life Education Queensland I agree with many of the other respondents here. If you are already familiar with Microsoft Office and are comfortable with Microsoft Outlook, then Microsoft Office 365 would a suitable solution if you wish to move to the cloud. Through ConnectingUp, Microsoft offer this at no charge for eligible not-for-profit organisations. Alternatively, if you are looking to host your own Exchange environment in-house, you can do this too. Both of which will provide you with a familiar calendar solution which you can share your calendars across the office and on mobile devices. CyberGuru is a qualified Microsoft Office 365 Specialist and is a Telstra T-Suite Partner, and can assist you in the implementation of Microsoft Office 365 should you choose to do so, or alternatively work with you on Microsoft Exchange implementation. We are one of the few Queensland-based respondents to this email, so if are looking to work with a local organisation and you would like to discuss further, please feel free to contact me on 0488 80 GURU (4878) to discuss further. You can find out more about CyberGuru by visiting our website at http://www.cyberguru.com.au. Best regards Chris Jeffery Proprietor/Chief Guru CyberGuru

Reply by Chris Pamboris from APACMS Business IT Support and Services on Tuesday, 29 October, 2013 - 09:53

Definitely Microsoft Exchange is what you would need as this would give you the best calendar sharing features not to mention many other addition services however if you are not already using this then migrating to exchange can be a little tricky to a novelist. You could also looking into Hosted Microsoft Exchange in which you pay a small premium per month to have your mail box in the cloud and this would also offer calendar sharing along with most of the other features of an in-house Microsoft exchange service. Please contact us if you would like more clarity on this. support@apacms.com

Reply by Colin Thompson from TechBrain on Thursday, 31 October, 2013 - 12:19

Hi There, Just to clarify some incorrect information, Office 365 is NOT available free in Australia to NFP. If you need verification, please contact ConnectingUp and ask them but I the Office 365 donation program has not launched in Australia yet. However they hope for this to become available closer to the end of the year. You best solution will therefore depend on your internal technical ability or ability to spend on external help. Exchange will provide the best solution and comes from ConnectingUp but requires an internal server. If you are not a large organisation, better to pay for hosting. The other alternative is something like Google. As everyone has said, it really depends on what you are capable of doing and what infrastructure you already have. Regards Colin Thompson Community @bluenetworks.com.au http://www.bluenetworks.com.au

Reply by Chris Jeffery from CyberGuru on Friday, 1 November, 2013 - 13:40

Dear Life Education Queensland Further to my answer earlier in this week, I have spoken to ConnectingUp who advised me that they will not be offering Office 365 through themselves. I was advised the Office 365 for Nonprofits is likely to become available in the coming months although as yet has not arrived in Australia (for more information, please see http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/office365-for-nonprofits/). I do apologise for my misunderstanding in relation to this. Best regards Chris Jeffery Proprietor/Chief Guru CyberGuru

Reply by Matt Walton from Infoxchange on Wednesday, 30 July, 2014 - 15:27

Just following up on this post to see how you went and confirming that Office 365 is now free for eligible not for profit organisations and this would meet your requirements for sharing calendars. Infoxchange and ConnectingUp are offering an Office 365 readiness assessment that can help you determine whether this is suitable - http://mig1.cisa.asn.au/partner/microsoft-office-365-readiness-assessment.

Reply by Matt Walton from Infoxchange on Wednesday, 30 July, 2014 - 15:27

Just following up on this post to see how you went and confirming that Office 365 is now free for eligible not for profit organisations and this would meet your requirements for sharing calendars. Infoxchange and ConnectingUp are offering an Office 365 readiness assessment that can help you determine whether this is suitable - http://mig1.cisa.asn.au/partner/microsoft-office-365-readiness-assessment.