FreeBusy Sharing During M&A

Cloudiway provides the only solution on the market to share FreeBusy calendar availability between multiple heterogeneous tenants including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Exchange On-Premises.

The Only Cross-Platform FreeBusy Solution

Cloudiway provides the only solution on the market to share FreeBusy between multiple heterogeneous tenants.

Free/Busy is part of Cloudiway's coexistence range of tools that manages cross-platform communication with no impact on the end-user. It provides a seamless connection between vastly different remote systems, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Exchange On-Premises.

During enterprise coexistence scenarios like mergers and acquisitions, calendar visibility between organizations is critical for productivity. Cloudiway's FreeBusy solution enables this seamlessly.

How FreeBusy Works

When a user wants to know if another user is available, the calendar system queries the FreeBusy service:

From Google Click "Find a Time" tab to see FreeBusy availability

From Microsoft 365 Click "Scheduling Assistant" to see FreeBusy time

Cross-Platform Google users check Office 365 availability on different domains

Bidirectional Works in both directions between all platforms

Seamless User Experience

Users don't need to learn anything new. FreeBusy queries work through their standard calendar interface - Google Calendar or Outlook.

Supported Systems

FreeBusy calendar coexistence works with any number and combination of:

Microsoft 365 All Microsoft 365 tenants

Google Workspace Formerly G Suite for Business

Exchange On-Premises Exchange 2013 and later

Multiple Tenants Any number and combination

Calendar Free/Busy coexistence can be implemented between two or more remote systems. Exchange On-Premises requires version 2013 or later.

Common Use Cases

The most frequent scenario is during organizational changes where collaboration must continue:

Mergers & Acquisitions

Enable calendar visibility between merging companies before full migration

Divestitures

Maintain collaboration during company split-offs

Multi-Tenant Organizations

Ongoing calendar sharing for organizations with multiple tenants

Hybrid Environments

Connect cloud and on-premises Exchange environments

Case Study: Acxiom

Following an acquisition, Acxiom needed to query the FreeBusy of 4,000 collaborators between a Google Workspace tenant and a Microsoft 365 tenant. Cloudiway's solution enabled seamless calendar visibility across both platforms.

Setup Process

There are four simple steps to configuring FreeBusy:

Create Connectors

Create the Cloudiway FreeBusy connectors for each tenant

Activate Connectors

Activate the connectors in the Cloudiway platform

Receive Credentials

Contact Cloudiway to receive the FreeBusy service URL and credentials

Configure Systems

Configure your remote system settings to enable communication

Requirements

Google: Service account with valid license and Calendar App activated
Microsoft 365: Service account with Exchange license (no special permissions needed)

Ready to Enable FreeBusy?

One day is generally sufficient to set up FreeBusy and GALSync between 2 tenants.

Get Started Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

What is FreeBusy calendar sharing?

FreeBusy is a coexistence feature that allows users on different tenants to see each other's calendar availability. A Google user can check the availability of an Office 365 user, and vice versa, using their standard calendar interface.

Which platforms does FreeBusy support?

FreeBusy supports any combination of Microsoft 365 tenants, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) for Business systems, and Exchange On-Premises servers (2013 and later).

How long does it take to set up FreeBusy?

One day is generally sufficient to set up FreeBusy and GALSync between 2 tenants. The setup involves creating connectors, activating them, and configuring your remote system settings.

When do companies need FreeBusy?

The most frequent scenario is during a divestiture, merger, or acquisition where 2 or more companies need to collaborate temporarily before migrating their tenants. Some customers use FreeBusy indefinitely.

Can FreeBusy work with more than 2 tenants?

Yes, FreeBusy calendar coexistence can be implemented between two or more remote systems, supporting complex multi-tenant environments.