Syncing with Exchange server

[Chalgy]

Hi -

I'd like to sync my iPhone with my company's Exchange server. I believe I can do this if I can just get iTunes loaded on my company laptop (PC). Problem is that I do not have admin rights to my own laptop so I can't download squat, or iTunes.

How about some sort of work-around for this situation? I am more than willing to export my calendar, email it home every night, import it into iCal and sync with my iPhone but I have no idea how to do this ... if this is even possible. Ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions? I'll take anything at this point!

Thank you in advance!

Chalgy

[trevor]

http://www.synchronica.com/news/070711-synchronica-syncs-apple-iphone-to-microsoft-exchange.shtml
http://www.visto.com/news/releases/07.06.28_iphone.asp

Trevor

[Chalgy]

Thank you, Trevor! I'll try em out!

[tlarkin]

well if the iphone has built in wifi you should be able to map your companies network shares where ever the info is stored, and you should be able to plug in the mail settings for mail.app because I believe mail supports all standards. iCal is something I have never tried, not sure if it would work. The email should work though.

I also have not extensively used an iphone, only played with the one my co-worker owns.

[Chalgy]

Unfortunately our company blocks all non-company hardware from using the wi-fi. We have over 1,000 I/T employees dedicated to eradicating anything Apple.

[tlarkin]

Unfortunately our company blocks all non-company hardware from using the wi-fi. We have over 1,000 I/T employees dedicated to eradicating anything Apple.

I understand, we have 30,000 users at my work and we block all non approved wifi hardware. No cell phones, no PSP, no Nintendo DS, nothing is allowed access accept black berrys and company laptops.

Beforehand we had everyone using their devices which was a security nightmare.

[Chalgy]

Well, I'm still gonna try and sweet-talk some of em into using Trevor's links from above. You don't know if you don't ask!

Thanks for the help!

[tlarkin]

well post back if it works so we know

[Chalgy]

I chatted with some I/S-Exchange guys and they said that the security that is in place will not allow either of the softwares that Trevor suggested to work.

So, back to my original idea ... I am going to try some sort of work-around. My plan is to save my calendar and contacts as CSV or TXT files, try and get them into Entourage (I tried iCal and could not get it to work) on my iMac at home and then sync with my iPhone.

Again, if anyone has any suggestions, advice or ideas; I am all ears!

Thank you all for your help and I promise to report back with my successes or failures.

[tlarkin]

well I had problems getting address book to sync with our LDAP server at work, so a work around I used was exporting all my contacts to a v-card and then importing them into address book via the v-card export I made.

See if you can export your calendar and the like into some kind of universal format that other applications can read.

[Chalgy]

See link below. I think this might do it. I use Outlook 2003 at work. Now all I have to do is convince I/S to let me install vSync! Ug. I'll keep you posted.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/EM102141191033.aspx

[trevor]

I chatted with some I/S-Exchange guys and they said that the security that is in place will not allow either of the softwares that Trevor suggested to work.

Can you get your e-mail using a web browser? That is called Outlook Web Access. That's all that the Synchronica (http://www.synchronica.com/news/070711-synchronica-syncs-apple-iphone-to-microsoft-exchange.shtml) solution needs.

The Visto (http://www.visto.com/news/releases/07.06.28_iphone.asp) solution is not yet available as far as I know, but I don't think that even needs Outlook Web Access, it just needs an I/S department person to install it on the servers. Although I can't speak to it's security beyond what Visto claims, they are using all the security buzzwords.

My guess is that your I/S department doesn't know what they are talking about, so they just claim that it can't be done. In other words they think "I don't know how to do that" is the same as "that won't work".

Trevor

[Chalgy]

Can you get your e-mail using a web browser? That is called Outlook Web Access. That's all that the Synchronica (http://www.synchronica.com/news/070711-synchronica-syncs-apple-iphone-to-microsoft-exchange.shtml) solution needs.


Yes, I can. I frequently check my work email at home using my web mail access. So, I can use Synchronica at home? On Parallels? Sorry if I sound confused, because I am confused.




My guess is that your I/S department doesn't know what they are talking about, so they just claim that it can't be done. In other words they think "I don't know how to do that" is the same as "that won't work".

Trevor

Oh yeah, you are 100% correct. Most of those guys think anything Apple is junk. There a few that are Apple fans but they aren't willing to help for whatever reasons.

[tlarkin]

My guess is that your I/S department doesn't know what they are talking about, so they just claim that it can't be done. In other words they think "I don't know how to do that" is the same as "that won't work".

Trevor

My guess is they probably just don't care. A lot of people just want to go in and do their daily jobs and then get home. They don't want any extra work and they just want to use what is already in place. People fear change.

[trevor]

Yes, I can. I frequently check my work email at home using my web mail access.

It's my understanding that that means your company can install it without changing any of their Exchange Server settings. In the press release I linked to above, it says

Instead, Mobile Gateway uses Microsoft's secure Outlook Web Access (OWA) to retrieve email from the corporate Exchange server, a service enabled by many enterprises to provide users with access to corporate email from home or while traveling.

Unlike other solutions, Mobile Gateway 3.0 delivers emails directly to the built-in email client of the Apple iPhone. Users will be able to benefit from the outstanding user experience of the built-in email client of the iPhone and its tight integration with the phone's address book.

More information: http://www.synchronica.com/products/syncml-gateway-for-mobile-operators.html

So, I can use Synchronica at home? On Parallels? Sorry if I sound confused, because I am confused.

No, I think it costs more than is affordable for a single person. There also may be other issues that make it not a good solution for a single person. Read the public documents that are linked-to from the above page.

Trevor