Which One to Use
SharePoint or Outlook Group Calendar?
If you use SharePoint then you know that SharePoint has a feature called “SharePoint Calendar” which allows you to schedule team meeting and improves collaboration quality. But as you know outlook also has the same feature known as “Outlook Group Calendar”, then why should you use SharePoint group calendar and not outlook group calendar? Do not worry that is why we created this post is on SharePoint vs Outlook group calendar to help you choose the right one.
What is SharePoint calendar?
A SharePoint calendar is a type of Event list which has some predefined date&time columns. These columns holds the data related to a particular event such as Event Time, Event name, participants etc.
Features of SharePoint Calendar
- Customizable Permissions
- Overlay multiple calendars
- Can connected with Outlook (manually)
- Can be exported to excel if required
- List view available
Cons:
- Available only in classic view
What is an Outlook Group Calendar?
Calendar is the calendar and scheduling component of Outlook that is fully integrated with email, contacts, and other features.
Just as you write in a notebook, you can click any time slot in the Outlook Calendar and start typing. By using the Calendar you can create appointments and events, organize meetings, view group schedules, and much more.
Features of Outlook Group Calendar
- Automatically added to outlook from SharePoint
- Dedicated graph API
- Overlay on other calendar
- Shared with everyone in group
Cons:
- Only available in group/team site
- Not possible to manage separate permission.
How Outlook Group Calendar is different than SharePoint?
The main difference is that one is available in Outlook and the other one is a SharePoint feature.
SharePoint calendars are basically a list with few date time columns, however on the other hand outlook calendars are actual calendars connected to an individual’s email address. Similar to this, there are many more differences, check the below table for key differences between SharePoint and Outlook group calendar.
SharePoint Calendar vs Outlook Group Calendar
If your just trying to find out the key differences in SharePoint vs Outlook group calendar, then check this difference table.
| Features | SharePoint Calendar | Group Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Customizable Permission | Possible | Not Possible |
| Overlay | Possible | Possible |
| Export to Excel | Possible | Not Possible |
| Dedicated Graph API | Not Possible | Possible |
| Availability | All SharePoint | Only in group/team site |
My Opinion
According to my experience with customers so far, I understood that, there are few points you should always consider before creating your new team calendar. Some of the key points to consider are
- Do you need modern view or classic view? modern view is only available in group calendars.
- Do you have one SharePoint for multiple team? then go with SharePoint calendar as you can manage the permissions individually and target them to appropriate users.
- Do you want to use 3rd party apps to interact or reserve calendar events, then you should consider outlook as it has dedicated graph API. However you can also use SharePoint as SharePoint calendar is a list, which has REST API endpoints.
- If you want the calendar to directly appear in outlook of all users then use group calendars.
If you want to learn more, check these Microsoft documents on Outlook and SharePoint calendars and decide your preference
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/introduction-to-the-outlook-calendar-d94c5203-77c7-48ec-90a5-2e2bc10bd6f8
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/video-create-your-own-sharepoint-calendar-c725a546-31e9-4096-a54d-ac7c8eca41ac
That’s all I have for SharePoint vs Outlook group calendar. I hope you have found this document helpful.
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