Creating one central database for all users

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Guest

Is it possible to create one central database on our exchange server to which
all users work from and share ?

I am particularly taking about hot-desking and remote workers. Does BCM
provide any synchronisation in a similar fashion to the way exchange handles
email. ie. when I'm not connected to the network can I have a local copy of
the BCM database to work offline with which updates any changes I make to the
main database the next time I log on ?

Sorry for being so long winded I hope I make sense.
 
I am interesting in being able to do this as well. We are not using an
exchange server however. We currently use NET folders to share and
synchronize contacts and calendar infomration from a central server located
Outlook 2000 client. We are a very small office, and exchange would be a bit
of overkill here.

I would like to move everyone to Outlook 2003, however NET folders is not
supported post-Outlook 2000, and we have therefore been unable to upgrade. I
was hoping that the sharing aspect of Business Contact Manager in Outlook
2003 would enable me to re-create the functionality we have presently with
NET folders (while adding important new capabilites such as accounts,
business contacts and opportunities).

From what I can gather from the documentation however, it appears that the
sharing features of BCM are limited to active local shares, and do not
provide any synchronization of local user copies which could be used
effectively by mobile roaming employees. All of the employees who could
benefit from this most are mobile, and therefore have little use of something
that is tied to the office location permanently.

PST exports prior to leaving the office would be a possible workaround,
however very clunky and hard to manage and maintain. The NET folder concept
of performing the synchonization via e-mail messages sent between the
controlling share source and subscribers to the resource is quite transparent
and simple to manage.

While we have had our share of problems with NET folders, they did solve a
problem effectively, and we can't give them up without a solution that fits
the problem as well as they have.

Rob Mohr
Manager, Applications Engineering
The Valley Group, Inc.
 
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