Bulk Calendar Connect - Microsoft Exchange Calendars

The following sections will provide you with details to complete the configuration necessary to sync all of your user's Exchange or Office 365-based calendars with ClearCompany in one step, using the Bulk Calendar Connect tool. For more information on this tool or to find setup resources for Gsuite, check out this article. You can download a PDF copy of these instructions from our Additional Resources section below.

In this article:
Prerequisites
Setting Up Bulk Calendar Connect
Configure the Calendar Integration in ClearCompany
Disabling the Calendar Integration
Additional Resources

Pre-Requisites

To set up or edit your organization-wide calendar integration, you must be a ClearCompany User with the IT Admin user permission. Check with your HR team if you're unsure about your permission levels.

Environment Details

• GraphAPI security can be utilized for Office 365 or MS Exchange accounts
• EWS security is currently being deprecated by Microsoft in February 2023
• Free/Busy Event Visibility can be modified on an org-wide basis 
  • when utilizing EWS security, this toggle is presented during bulk calendar connect
  • when utilizing GraphAPI security, this is configured in the Microsoft management or administration console

Setting Up Bulk Calendar Connect

Prior to connecting your organization's calendars, you'll need to ensure you have the proper accounts with the proper permissions set up. The security type you decide to utilize will determine what accounts or access is needed in order to complete the bulk calendar connect. 

EWS

You'll need to create a service account in your environment that has impersonation access to the users' calendars you wish to sync. This is the account that will be the basis for connecting to Cronofy and allowing Cronofy to sync calendars to your ClearCompany platform using EWS security. 

Create a Service Account

1. Configure your Exchange or Office 365 Service Account by following the steps listed in this article.

   Service Account Requirements

   - This account must be assigned to a mailbox.
   - This account must be on the same domain as the user's email addresses you wish to sync.

2. Set up Application Impersonation on the service account by following the steps listed in this article.

   Important Note:

   Impersonation is a key part of the security model. Authentication happens on the service accounts and then the application uses impersonation to authenticate the calendar sync. The service account must have impersonation enabled and should be set up for all users whose calendars are to be integrated.

   Alternative Impersonation Setup Option:Controlling Impersonation access with Distribution Groups

3. Allow these fixed IPs access so that communication is not interrupted.

4. Test the service account configuration by following the steps listed in this article.

    Helpful Tip:

   It is best to test the configuration with someone's account who is not an IT Administrator.

GraphAPI

You need to have the ability to log in as a user with Azure Active Directory Global Administrator access to your Office 365 tenant. This is the minimum level of access you will require to enable Enterprise Connect.

Configure the Calendar Integration in ClearCompany

1. Navigate to Tools > Setup > Calendars.

     If you do not see the Calendars option, you may need to reach out to your ClearCompany Representative to ensure you have the bulk calendar integration enabled. 

   

2. Select the Yes or No button to indicate if you are utilizing the GraphAPI security method for connecting your calendars. 

   1. If you select Yes and utilize GraphAPI, you will be presented with the blue Authorize Calendar Access button.
      • Free/busy event visibility is configured in the Microsoft management or administration console for GraphAPI
   2. If you select NO to utilize GraphAPI, you will be using EWS security to connect your Microsoft calendars. You will be presented with the Sync Settings section and the blue Authorize Calendar Access button.
      • The Sync Settings section allows you to customize your calendar sync: 
        • Enables integrated conferencing with Google Meet or Microsoft Teams if your calendar provider supports conferencing.
          • This is only available for Google Calendar and Microsoft 365 calendar integrations.
        • Show when calendar entries have been marked as "Free" in users' calendars.
          • Turn this on when you want calendars in ClearCompany to show entries that the user has designated as "Free" in their own calendar. We will differentiate between "Busy" and "Free" entries. When this is turned off, we will only show entries that are designated as "Busy".
        • Restrict data sent to Cronofy (our 3rd party calendar integrator) to only include whether users' time is busy or free.
          • We use a 3rd party calendar integration company (Cronofy) to sync calendars in ClearCompany. Turn this on if you would like us to restrict the data sent to Cronofy to only include whether an entry exists in the user's calendar, and is either "Busy" or "Free".
            Turning this on will also prevent some features and data analytics in ClearCompany from working optimally. When this is turned off, we will include useful data, such as event participants and their email addresses, the name of the event, the event description, and the location specified in the event.

3. Click AUTHORIZE CALENDAR ACCESS

4. If you opted to use GraphAPI - Office 365 is the only provider option.
   

5. If you selected No to GraphAPI, select your calendar provider from the list.

   

6. Follow the steps below, relating to your selected provider, to complete the setup process.

   Exchange

   1. Enter your organization's Exchange account details in the presented fields.

      

   2. Select I agree to the Cronofy Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
   3. Click Link Exchange Account.

   Office 365

   1. Select I agree to the Cronofy Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

      

   2. Click Link Office 365 account.
   3. Sign in to your Office 365 Service Account. 

7. After logging in, you'll be brought back to the ClearCompany Calendar Setup page and you should see a Sync in progress message.

   

8. At this stage, the integration is syncing your organization's calendar information with ClearCompany. The Calendar Integration Status on the setup page will say ENABLED once this initial sync is complete, usually within two hours depending on the size of your organization.

   

Please Note:

After enabling your organization's calendar integration, you will be able to view the sync status and any sync errors on the Calendars setup page. Please review this article for more details on how to Troubleshoot Calendar Sync Issues.

Disabling the Calendar Integration

If for any reason you want to stop syncing calendars, navigate to Tools > Setup > Calendars and select Disable Calendar Integration. The integration can take about 30 minutes to be fully disabled. 

Additional Resources

Configuring A Service Account
Calendar Integration Settings
Setting up Application Impersonation
Graph API for Office 365
Bulk Calendar Connect - Google (Workspace/G-Suite)