Two way sync with Google Apps
Answered
I have integrated GA with Podio, but when I add contact to Podio, this contact still missing in my contacts on Gmail and next mobile.
Another missing feature is 2-way integration with Google Calendar. I would like to add or delete sth to Google Calendar and have it in PODIO too.
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If they can sync a lego wall planner with google calendar, you guys have no excuse PODIO! http://www.wired.com/design/2013/10/a-brilliant-wall-mounted-lego-planner-that-syncs-with-google-calendar/
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Podio Team - you all really do need to get your act together on such a BASIC and VITAL integration. It took me forever to sell my team on using Podio and now that we are all on it, they think I am an idiot because this feature is so basic and missing. We do everything on google apps so it really is a big issue. We may be dropping your service over this. Business Hint: Listen to your customers ^^^^^^
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Hey Brett
Thanks for the feedback, we definitely see the need for this and acknowledge the input. We just created a new design to the calendar based on inputs from many users: https://help.podio.com/entries/23220251-Add-Month-Week-Views-To-Calendar. And we hope to build deeper integrations with Google in the future :)
//Sara - Podio
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So if I am trying to decide if I want to come to Podio and have a calendar FULL of important dates, meetings, events in the past and future, how exactly would I get those events into the Podio calendar? It sounds like that functionality doesn't exist, which is almost mind blowing. It would be like a bank saying I can't bring my old money with me to my new account leaving me with the option of having two accounts or just sticking with what I currently have...
Your developers should drop everything they are doing right now and add this functionality. I can't imagine how many customers you alienate daily by not having it. If you are pushing product management services without the ability to use the calendar you have nothing..
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Please, please, PLEASE make this happen. Thousands of businesses rely on Google services to run their day-to-day processes. As powerful as Podio is, it's NOT more influential to the typical business as Google. By NOT providing a two-way sync with these BASIC Google services (Calendar, Contacts, etc...) you are forcing a barrier to entry that is simply too high for many companies and alienating a large part of your potential userbase that would otherwise willingly embrace your product.
HOW THINGS WORK IN THE REAL WORLD
I get calendar requests from leads and clients all day via Gmail. Those requests go directly into Google Calendar from Gmail because they originated from the client/lead who doesn't use Podio. I respond to the request via Gmail and then we are all able to make adjustments to the event via Google Calendar. This provides a single, editable point of entry that makes it super easy to work together while aligning both my Podio and non-Podio events.
BROKEN PODIO EXAMPLE 1
In some alternate universe, I create the calendar event in Podio, sync it with MY Google Calendar and then invite the client/lead to the vent via the Google Calendar. If that client/lead wants to make a change to the event, they can't....because Podio doesn't have two-way sync and won't update for me. Instead, they have to ping me so I can waste my time adjusting the entry. BOOOOOOO!!!
BROKEN PODIO EXAMPLE 2
Even WORSE than example 1 is this... let's say I create the calendar event in Podio and decide that I want to bring the client/prospect into the Podio experience (i.e. make it so we can all edit the event). To start, I have to go through the added headache of bringing the client/prospect into the fold (most of them DON'T use Podio), providing specific access to the event in Podio, and educating them on the initially intimidating Podio interface...all for a single meeting. Once those arduous tasks are complete, we can finally see the entry in our respective Google Calendars, but, since we don't have two-way sync in Podio, none of us can actually EDIT the event from our calendars. My clients/leads don't care about using Podio (which is probably the case for a lot of SMBs out there) so the Podio onboarding process is problematic and wasteful. Again, BOOOOOOOO!!!
AMAZINGLY AWESOME SOLUTION FOR EVERYONE
Podio implements a two-way calendar sync. Not only does this allow my clients/leads and I use our preferred platform (me = Podio, them = Google), but anyone can create and edit those entries from the most accessible location. No extra steps. No onboarding. No platform confusion. Everybody's happy.
THE TAKEAWAY
I find it ironic that Podio is promoted as a social productivity platform when its two major failings are both social (i.e. making it HARDER to simply connect with clients) and productivity (i.e. too many added steps to get work done). Why would you burden your usebase with these added issues when a simple, workable solution is already available?Podio, I IMPLORE YOU, give up on this UBER-onboarding direction (i.e. everyone in your circle MUST use Podio directly to make it worthwhile) and embrace other platforms that already have the hooks in place to seamlessly integrate with the larger business landscape. Podio is great and has tons of fantastic features, but it's not great enough to disrupt other business working methodologies.
If you truly want Podio to become the amazing platform you envision, go where the people are and ADD THAT TWO-WAY GOOGLE SYNC!!!
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I'm actually surprised I haven't found this discussion earlier.
I know there are thousands of other people who use Google the way I do, which is using Google Apps as the main hub into which many 3rd party apps connect from.
Obviously I am not a developer so I don't truly understand the amount of work it would take to sync Podio and Google Apps, but this integration is pretty basic and fundamental. This isn't something that should require a third party developer to achieve.
I say this as one of Podio's biggest cheerleaders. I want Podio to succeed for the long term. I've structured my entire business workflow around Podio. Unfortunately I'm seeing work done on bells and whistles like integrated video chat that really doesn't work all that well instead of basic, core functionality like google contact sync or customizing badge display.
I don't know Podio's long term vision or business strategy, I can only say as a small business hoping to grow bigger ,that Podio's focus and direction have me concerned as to whether or not my size business is right for Podio.
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Hey guys,
I know you are all looking for a full calendar sync between Podio and your external calendar (two-way sync with Google), we're not quite there yet but I have news to share that will improve your experience today.
We’ve added the ability to push your Google Calendar to you Podio calendar. Read more in this blog post: http://blog.podio.com/2013/12/10/google-microsoft-calendars/
This means you can view your Google events in Podio (still not a full sync but getting closer).
As always, we appreciate all feedback and inputs and we're so happy to provide this small improvement to you and your team.
Have a good day!
Cheers,
Sara - Podio
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Hi all! We are going to improve our Podio connector to support the sync of contacts and companies that are in custom Apps (and not only the one from the workspace).
This connector will allow you get your data synced 2-way in near real time with Google apps and also with more than 30 popular cloud applications (CRMs, e-commerce, email marketing and so on...).
I would like to collect your use cases to have better understanding of what you really need and provide a it. By the way, we have added the events support in Podbox but not yet for Google and Podio. Is there still any people interested?
Please feel free to contact me or to reply here whenever you are interested in testing it.
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To Michel,
Podbox does not propose a sync on your desktop but in the cloud. You setup the sync in 10 minutes on Podbox.com and then it works alone in background every 5 minutes. It's the fastest way to setup a two-way integration with any Podio contacts module (either custom app or workspace contacts).
I also know that most of people will not try Podbox because it is not freemium (like Podio) but a try and buy. I'm searching for a win-win model with a freemium for Podio. According to you guys, what would it be? Clearly, if the more people are interested in it the cheaper it will be.
Cheers,
- Dom -
@dominique.pere This is fantastic news that you plan to improve contact connector with google.
The most important is two way sync. If I add new contact in Google, it sould be sent to Podio (maybe user should choose the place in Podio where contacts should be transfered). And on the other hand, if I add some contact to Podio, it will be sending to my contact list in Google.And about the price. I think that 9 USD is not so much for the tool that give you an ability to create IT infrastructure for your specific business.
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To @dominique.pere and Alicja Gargas. Just trialing Podbox to see whether I can achieve the following:
a) 2-way sync between two apps in different workspaces. Workspace 1 contains the master app with all contacts, Workspace 2 contains a slave app with a reduced set of fields. Changes in either app should be reflected in the other app (though Podbox can be configured in other ways as well). Just set it up yesterday, but it appears that it is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
b) 2-way sync of the contacts in my master app with my Outlook contacts - this is the next step, though I am quite hopeful that this will work as well.For anybody interesting in syncing, you may want to check out Podbox.
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@Maciej you may be interested you can have this feature through Podbox. It performs a two-way sync every 5 minutes of your google contacts with either your Podio workspace contacts or contacts in a dedicated app. Additionally, we will unveil soon a specific plan for Podio users. Give it a try!
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Just adding a thought as I find this lack of features annoying, but not a deal breaker. I consult on CRM use and, consistently, one of the main issues I find with companies not being effective in their adoption and use is the existence of multiple systems. They've got two way integration (as I see it) pushing events from Podio into Gmail and vice versa, it just lacks the ability to push future updates back and forth. I advise my clients to simply focus on using one system for their needs, which also improves adoption and efficiency because they aren't tracking two systems now. Yes, there are still a few headaches but overall this is working fine for most of my clients.
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Have we made any progress on this in the past two years. We used Podio years ago but had to move away from it because it didn't integrate features we needed like two way sync for Google Calendar. We have been exploring the option of reviving our Podio account but here we are reading the same threads we read two years ago about how Podio isn't quite there yet in regard to adding two way sync....
What's the word?
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Hi!
I'm the CEO Podbox, just read the last comment. Podbox is a cloud app sync platform that is already able to 2-way sync Google contacts with Podio. We very recently added the support of the calendar events in Podbox to sync with some other solution but not yet with Podio. If a sufficient number of you guys still really want this Podio <=> Google calendar sync, I can consider to make it happen. Just drop me a line if you are interested (there would be a very small fee per user).
Best,
Dom. -
Ok, so have been asking for this about 3 years and are on the process of changing to Zoho CRM, my god what a relief, so much more focus and features than the stripped down database client Podio is. Shame on Citrix laying waste to such a promising company - just look at the lame updates the now skelton crew have to put their names on. RIP an bye-bye
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