How to sync OwnCloud / Zimbra calendars and contacts with Outlook?

OwnCloud Outlook Calendar Sync

Some of my friends are using (Owncloud / Zimbra) CardDAV/CalDAV server They complain that the there is no plug-in to import their Zimbra or OwnCloud contacts and calendars with Outlook 2016/2019/2013/2010 or Office 365.

OwnCloud

Zimbra

I tried hooking up to both servers with some connector software plug-ins on the market. Amazingly, I found that EVO Collaborator for Outlook works!

Without this OwnCloud add-in (plugin), Outlook is impossible to show your contacts or calendars in OwnCloud or Zimbra.

All I need to do is to enter the following information inside spaces circled in the screenshot below:

1.      Server URL:

https://<servername_or_server_ip>/owncloud/   (for owncloud)

for Sync OwnCloud 9 calendar with Outlook, please visit this post

https://<servername_or_server_ip>/                     (for zimbra)

2.      Your username and password

After fields within the profile have been properly filled out, calendar sync is a breeze.

Not only (OwnCloud / Zimbra) platform supports CardDAV and CalDAV, but also EVO Mail Server has native support on ECO smoothly.

How to sync Zimbra contacts and calendar with Outlook?

How do I import Zimbra calendar and contacts to outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019?

In this year of 2020, more and more jobs require people to work from home due to COVID-19 pandamic. Syncing calendar, contact and task remotely from home in order to cope with colleagues has become an issue for those who have not done this before.

Some of my friends are using Zimbra Network Edition and often compalin that the Zimbra Connector for Outlook ZCO only works with MAPI. I tried Zimbra Network Edition along with some connector softwares on the market. Amazingly, I found that EVO Collaborator for Outlook works! (not the ZCO which only works with paid version of zimbra) All I need to do is to correctly enter the server URL below Hostname (CardDAV/CalDAV) or webcal:// URL within ECO as the following:

https://<servername_or_server_ip>:443/

After fields within the profile have been properly filled out, calendar sync is a breeze. Not only Zimbra platform supports CardDAV and CalDAV, but also EVO Mail Server has native support on ECO smoothly.

How to sync SOGo Groupware Server with Outlook?

How to sync SOGo Groupware Server with Outlook?

In this year of 2020, more and more jobs require people to work from home due to COVID-19 pandamic. Syncing calendar, contact and task remotely from home in order to cope with colleagues has become an issue for those who have not done this before.

A scenario from my client:

“Our CIO told me to migrate company’s Exchange Server to some other open-source solution due to an IT budget cut. After evaluation on different solutions of free mail servers like SOGo, Zimbra, Kolab and Zarafa, I chose SOGo Groupware Server. Why? Not only SOGo has a sturdy groupware but also has a seamless integration with Thunderbird. For mails, users can connect through IMAP, which I do not have much trouble with. What about contact and calendar? I went through SOGo website’s Native Microsoft Outlook Configuration Guide but it seems too much hassle. Is there any easier out?”

As far as I know that SOGo supports CardDAV and CalDAV, I told my ex-colleague, “Why don’t you try EVO Collaborator for Outlook?” They do adapt their product to fit in various CardDAV/CalDAV servers. 

After a few days, my ex-colleague told me EVO Collaborator for Outlook is now compatible with SOGo. Here is his experience sharing below:

“Nothing complicated! All I did is entering server URL, user’s e-mail address and password. All that left is auto-discovery’s job. It is amazing!” 

He show me a screenshot of ECO’s Configure profile:

By looking at the screenshot, the server has a URL structure like:

https://<servername>/SOGo/dav/

If you happen to synchronize SOGo groupware's calendars and address book with Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 or 2019, then you can give it a shot. It will save you lots of time to manage configurations on both server backend and Outlook parameters.


2017.11.01

Five Online Address Book Services Review

Five Online Address Book Services Review

Some of you still remember Edward Snowden incident some time ago, right? This incident reminds me of some security issue that may happen if you were to place company confidential information on the cloud service such as Gmail or iCloud. Perhaps we should reconsider where to place our precious and sensitive contact information on the cloud. If you are just using it for specific but trivial purpose like wedding, you may choose some free services such as Zexer.

1. Yahoo! -

   

   This contacts service is always there on its web based interface, OS X, OS, and Android. To use it under Windows Outlook environment, you need an add-in such as EVO Collaborator for Outlook.
2. iCloud -

   

   This address book service is a good one under Apple machines and devices. Though it has an iCloud control panel but it has a few problems. If you want to use its birthday reminders, you need to have an iPhone.
3. fruux (Germany) -

   

   This service has a good web base GUI and yet provides tutorials on how to set up in different platforms.
4. QQ and 163 (China) -

   

   If you are somewhere in China, these two service providers are the ones you can count on.
5. Google -

   

   Why Google is still on the list? The reason being is that Gmail still works well with Apple and Android devices. If you happen to be Outlook victims, then you still can survive by syncing items through some kind of add-in for Outlook 2007/2010/2013/2016/2019 from third-party software vendor such as EVO Collaborator for Outlook.

If you were to use more than one service from above in you Outlook, then you may want to try EVO Collaborator for Outlook. It is compatible with all services mentioned plus some other on-premise CardDAV/CalDAV platforms, paid or free mail server such as EVO MailServer, OwnCloud, Zimbra, SabreDAV and etc.

Exchange alternatives Windows or Linux

Exchange alternatives Windows or Linux

When people talk about email or messaging solution for business, they usually refer to Microsot Exchange Server. However, not every company can afford the pricey solution and its management efforts.

There are alternative paid or free mail server to Exchange Server (or vs Gmail). The following is a list of decent mail server for your consideration:

1. EVO Mail Server -
   

   

   This is a good choice for its performance per cost from a TCO point of view. It features IMAP, CardDAV and CalDAV instead of Exchange Global Address List and ActiveSync. Integration with Outlook is also possible with EVO platform. An unlimited-user environment at $285/yr. Available in Windows
2. Kerio -
   

   

   A decent collaboration server with web services covering pretty much all you need for its scalability. 50-user environment at $1680/yr. Available in Windows, OS X, Linux.
   
3. Axigen -
   

   

   A solid collaboration server, as competitive as Kerio, is easy to deploy. 50-users encironment runs at $550. Available in Windows and Linux ports.
   
4. Mail Enable –
   

   

   This unified messaging solution has a better TCO for its price and licensing. Unlimited-user environment at $349/yr. Available in Windows.
   
5. MDaemon -
   

   

   A collaboration server with Exchange ActiveSync that can be expanded to a large scale up to 2500 users. 50-user environment at $760. Available in Windows.
   
6. Zimbra -
   

   

   A Linux-based collaboration server fits your need if you do not use Windows server at all. 50-user environment at $1673. Available in Linux.