Free Busy Queries Between Google and Office 365
Share calendar availability across platforms during coexistence.
Cross-Platform Free/Busy Sharing
Overview
The Cloudiway coexistence server enables free/busy information sharing across Google Workspace, Office 365, and Exchange platforms. This functionality allows organizations to maintain calendar visibility during system coexistence periods, ensuring seamless meeting scheduling across platforms.
Primary Purpose
The main feature of the coexistence server is to perform free/busy queries between Google Apps, Office 365, and Exchange servers, enabling users on different platforms to see each other's calendar availability.
Core Functionality
The coexistence server functions as a set of services that enables Google Apps, Office 365, and Exchange to query the calendar availability of each other's users.
Google → O365
Google users can see Office 365 users' availability
O365 → Google
Outlook users can see Google Calendar users' availability
Exchange
On-premises Exchange integrated with cloud platforms
Key Benefits
Seamless Meeting Scheduling
Users can query availability directly from Outlook or Google Calendar interfaces without switching between applications.
Simplified Calendar Management
Create and modify calendar events across platforms, with visibility into all attendees' availability regardless of their email system.
Recurring Meeting Support
Update recurring meetings across platforms, maintaining consistency during the coexistence period.
Migration Continuity
Maintain business continuity during migrations when some users are on the old system and others have migrated to the new platform.
How It Works
User Requests Availability
A user in Outlook or Google Calendar attempts to schedule a meeting and requests availability for attendees.
Query Routes to Coexistence Server
For attendees on a different platform, the free/busy query is routed to the Cloudiway coexistence server.
Server Retrieves Availability
The coexistence server queries the other platform and retrieves the attendee's calendar availability.
Results Displayed to User
The free/busy information is returned and displayed in the user's native calendar application.