Google Calendar Sync to end

I just received an announcement email from Google stating that their service allowing the syncing of one’s calendar to Outlook is going to be discontinued.
Although I’ve never been the greatest fan of this app, or method of syncing, it was the only option I could find and it did the job. Now I’m left with nothing, short of abandoning Outlook entirely and embracing the online world. But I like storing my emails locally, and I like being able to see my calendar in Outlook, I prefer it to Google Calendar.

The only reason I need the syncing is to match up with my phone. But alas, as we’ve seen time and time again, once Google make a decision like this, little is to change.

See below the email sent out:

Important Announcement about Google Calendar Sync
Almost two years ago, we announced that we ended support for Google Calendar Sync. Starting on August 1, 2014, this app will no longer sync events between your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar.

You can continue to access all of your Google Calendar events at calendar.google.com or on your mobile devices. Follow these instructions to uninstall Google Calendar Sync from your computer.
– The Calendar Team

Update: From the comments below, here are some alternatives to look at:

SyncMyCal
Sync2
Outlook4Gmail

A review of these and some other products can be seen here.

Update: If you’re receiving “error code 2016”, it’s because Google have cut you off as stated above.