Yes, you can use your exchange mailboxes. So it would be best if you had the Room Manager for Exchange Version. All your exchange resources are managed in Exchange Online.

Exchange is the master. This means that your Exchange Admin manages all your policies and rules for Meeting room booking.

Room Manager adds the Meeting Room bookings with the details to the Room Manager Event Calendar list.

The Updates, changes, and cancellations of events done with Exchange meeting rooms are managed through Outlook for Desktop or Outlook on the Web using the Rm Outlook Add-In.

Please note that you can not book meeting rooms from the Room Manager site. All exchange room bookings MUST be made through Outlook using the RM Outlook Add-In.

The Outlook Add In (OAI) for Room Manager is an Office Add-In. Office Add In deployment is decribed here Deploy Office Add-in Microsoft Link

Office 365 Admin can share the office Add-in centrally in the Admin Center. End-user can add the Outlook Add-In from the Menu. Get Add-Ins.

The conference Room Display Solution uses PowerApps and runs only with the Room Manager Solution. So, in any case, you will need the solution to be deployed in your Office365.

We don’t sell any HW devices. You can use your tablets, but each device must be licensed.

When you request a quote, you can indicate the licenses you need.

The Support and Maintenance contract is mandatory. It’s a recurrent fee, which is paid yearly. please check our Shop to find the details. There are 2 support packages available. All other licensing fees are one-time.

Basic
Premium

if you have a need for customizations, we need a custom support and maintenance contract. The Basic and Premium Support Contract is only for the OOTB (Out of the box) functionality of Room Manager

You can connect from The Room Manager event calendar, where all your events are stored in the user’s Outlook calendar.

When the user opens Outlook they will see that the RM Calendar is under “other calendars”

Note: The events from the Room Manager Calendar are one way synchronized to the outlook calendar, which shows under other calendars. The room Manager calendar is the master. You can book an event from the Outlook calendar. You can only see the current events which are managed in RM Calendar

No. this is 2 different things.

with the connect to outlook, you connect the Room Manager calendar with your Outlook calendar (other calendars). A one-way synchronization happens. All your Room Manager events/Bookings are showing us a new calendar under your other calendars in outlook, The events are not added to the user’s personal outlook calendar. The Master is the Room Manager Calendar.

The Room Manager Outlook Add-In as an Office Add-In is installed on the users’ outlook. And made available for meeting requests, where the user can send a standard meeting request, meeting invite, invite the attendees and at the same time book a resource like rooms, spaces, catering, equipment, etc.

All your data is stored on your O365 tenant, managed by Microsoft. You don’t access our site! No personal data from your users is stored, saved, or used by us.

The ROOM MANAGER Outlook-Add-In is installed on the user’s Outlook for Desktop or Outlook on the Web. There are two versions of the RM Outlook Add-In available.

The Exchange version of the RM OAI can be used with your Exchange room mailboxes managed in Exchange.

And RM OAI version, which is independent of Exchange. For this version, your meeting rooms are directly managed on the Room Manager site.

For more information, please visit.

Room Manager uses Power Apps technology. Power Apps is a service in O365 provided by Microsoft.

What do you get?

• You will get a Power Apps package file that can be imported into your PowerApps environment.
• The PowerApps package is a zip file; you can import it directly to your PowerApps environment.
• Once imported, you will configure the data connections to your RM SharePoint site.
• Finally, you can share the Power Apps solution with your users in your company.
• Users will need to download the native MS PowerAPPS from iTunes or Google Play (which is free)
• Users will be notified that a specific PowerApps solution is available for them. Start using it immediately.
• They can open PowerApps on their device and select the mobile PowerApps that the Admin has shared.
• All PowerApps related licensing depends on your O365 subscription plan (available license for PowerApps)

ROOM MANAGER will charge you the number of users who want to use the RM PowerApps Packages.

Power Apps solution we provide:

• Conference Room Displays
• Catering, Equipment, Parking Space booking
• Desk Booking
• Car Booking
• Visitor Registration Management (Visitor Sign In running on a tablet)
• Additional Custom Power Apps can be created based on your use cases and requirements
• other packages might be on the Room Manager Roadmap

Room Manager runs on your Microsoft 365 tenant. The Room Manager solution can be uploaded to your SharePoint App catalog. Once uploaded and activated, you can create the Room Manager site using the RM site template in a new site collection.

Upon that, we import PowerAutomate Flows and the PowerApps to your environment.

For these actions, your Global Admin is needed.

You can now start to use the Room Manager solution on your tenant.

Users can access the RM site through the Browser.

Bookings for resources can be made in one of 3 ways

• Using the Booking form (web)
• Using the Interactive Floorplan (web)
• using mobile clients on the smartphones
• Outlook Add-In (installed on the client’s outlook desktop/web

A deployment guide with all the steps is available and will be shared. A 3rd party App like Plumsail might be needed.

Plumsail Forms allows customizing the default SharePoint Forms.

The Room Manager Platform is highly configurable and adapts to every customer’s scope and requirements, resulting in a different system setup. Therefore, we can’t provide a generic demo system showing you all the benefits and workflows relevant to your business. However, we are happy to schedule a meeting to learn more about your needs and show you how you will benefit from using the Room Manager Platform.

Room Manager Outlook Add-In Use Cases

this is applicable when you use Exchange Room Mailboxes.

• All your Meeting Rooms are managed in Exchange Online as Classic Resource Mailboxes (each Room Mailbox has an e-mail Address)
• The Master of your Exchange Meeting rooms is Exchange Online. All policies and rules applied are set by your Exchange Administrator)
• Microsoft Link: Create and Manage Room mailboxes
• All Exchange Room mailboxes are as well added to the Room Manager Site / Exchange Rooms Library

Once the RM OAI is deployed to the users in your company, it is available in MS Outlook Desktop and/or Outlook on the Web.

These are the use cases

The user makes an Outlook Meeting Invite

1. Users can enter the tile of the meeting
2. Users can add the attendees invited to the meeting (the meeting room selected under 3, is as well automatically added by Outlook)
   Optionally visitor’s Email Address can be added as well here (only available when RM Visitor-Management Module is licensed. in this case the Visitor received as well a meeting invite)
3. In the Location field, the user selects the exchange room that is needed for the meeting (the suggestions are coming from Exchange. Properties of the exchange rooms like location, capacity, or amenities can be set by Exchange Administrator using the Exchange Command Shell. Please check Microsoft Documentation)
4. Once the Exchange room is selected directly from the Location field (3), or by using Outlook Room Finder (5)  user can click the RM OAI Icon from the Outlook Ribbon the RM OAI is loaded. The RM OAI connects now to the RM Site. All the resources/information showing up in the RM OAI pane are retrieved from the RM Site. Image of the Room, Room layouts, Equipment, Catering, Parking, etc. (what resources categories are available and shown to the user can be set by the RM Admin) (6)

The user can now click on Book Event button which is available in the RM OAI.

• Users can use the Out of the Box Outlook Ribbonfor scheduling assistance, teams meeting, and recurrence patterns as well as other
• Once the Book event button is clicked. All the Details of the event are added to the Email Body.
• The user needs to send the Outlook meeting invite, by clicking the Send Button from Outlook!
• The meeting invite is sent to all attendees (also to the exchange meeting room (if auto-accept is configured for the meeting room, it will be booked. If delegation is configured for the selected meeting room, an approval request will be sent to this person in charge)
• The event is added to the organizer’s personal outlook calendar (default outlook)
• Attendees can accept or deny the invitation (default outlook)
• The event is synchronized with all the details to the Room Manager Calendar and added to the Events List on the Room Manager site
• If the user has added catering items, the catering order for the event is added to the catering order list on the RM site with all the details
• if the user has added equipment items to the event, the number of equipment items needed is reflected on the RM events list
• All attendees are reflected in the RM Events list
• Visitors invited to the event are added to the Visitors List on the RM Site (only available if the visitor management module is licensed)

Limitations of this use case

• Only one exchange meeting room can be selected for this use case
• You cannot combine multiple meeting rooms for one event
• You cannot book an exchange meeting room directly from the Room Manager Site/Calendar

Use Case update, edit, cancel an event

• The user wants to update, edit or cancel the event
• The user/organizer of the event double-clicks the event from his personal outlook calendar
• The event is opened
• The user clicks on the RM OAI Icon from the Outlook Ribbon
• The RM OAI loads with all the reservation details
• Delete and Update Event Button are now visible
• The user can directly delete the event by clicking the Delete Event Button from the RM OAI pane
  • The cancellation is sent to all attendees. the event is removed from the organizer’s personal outlook calendar
• The user can make changes to the Outlook Meeting Request, change the date and time, change the attendees, etc, and change the exchange meeting room as well. In this case, the user needs first to click the Reload Button from the RM OAI (these are changes made in the outlook meeting request window)!
• The RM OAI reloads and reflects the changes made
• The user can as well make changes in the RM OAI Pane directly. Changing the room layout, changing the equipment, changing the catering, etc.
  • In this case, the user needs to click the Update Event Button from the RM OAI
• The update is sent to all attendees
• The e-mail body is updated with all the current changes made
• The event is synchronized with the Room Manager site
  • Catering changes are reflected
  • Equipment changes are reflected
  • Room layout changes are reflected

Microsoft Link

Booking options

• Allow repeated meetings
• Allow scheduling only during working hours
• Auto-accept meeting request
• Automatically decline meetings outside the limits below
  • Booking window (days): This setting specifies the maximum number of days a room can be booked in advance. The default value is 180 days.
  • Maximum duration (hours): This setting specifies the maximum duration that the room can be reserved in a booking request. The default value is 24 hours.
• Allow repeating meetings
• Allow scheduling only during working hours.
• Always decline if the end date is beyond this limit
• Maximum booking lead time (days)
• Maximum duration (hours)

EX Room mailbox properties

• Room name (max 64 characters
• Email address (can be changed)
• Capacity
• Organizational unit:
  • This read-only box displays the organizational unit (OU) that contains the account for the room mailbox. You have to use Active Directory Users and Computers to move the account to a different OU
• Mailbox database
• * Alias
• Hide from address lists
• Department
  • Use this box to specify the department name associated with the room. You can use this property to create recipient conditions for dynamic distribution groups and address lists.
• Company
  • Use this box to specify a company with which the room is associated, if applicable. Like the Department property, you can use this property to create recipient conditions for dynamic distribution groups and address lists.
• Address book policy
• Custom attributes
  • You can specify up to 15 custom attributes for the recipient.

Booking delegates

• Accept or decline booking requests automatically.
• Select delegates who can accept or decline booking requests:

Restrict who can Book an Office 365 Meeting Room

External Link

Restricting the ability to book a meeting room is a popular scenario for organizations with boardrooms and other such meeting rooms that cannot be booked by the majority of employees. Typically this is addressed by the use of mailbox delegates, though for some this is cumbersome where a significant group of users might require the ability to book a resource, not all of them should be notified to approve requests.

Using PowerShell, it’s simple to turn off the ability for the majority of users to book a resource, while allowing only a select group of users to make in-policy bookings (note that any delegate behaviours will still take effect for out-of policy requests made by these users):

First, connect PowerShell to Exchange Online. Run the following commands to configure the room “BoardRoom” to accept bookings only from Executives, Executive Assistants, and Sam L, the facilities maintenance manager who occasionally books the room for cleaning and to change lightbulbs.

Microsoft 365 integration with on-premises environments

Please check the following Microsoft Link: Microsoft 365 Integration with on-premise environments.

What is Power Automate?

Microsoft Link

We have different flows for different requirements created in Power Automate.

• Flows for sending the Email Confirmations
• Flows for Check-in
• Flows for cancellation
• Flows for Archiving
• Flows for visitor management
• Flows for creating QR Codes
• any many more

These flows will be imported to your Power Platform environment.

From there, your Power Platform Administrator can manage and customize the flows. As well, new flows can be added. The flows have actions and triggers.

Power Automate Licensing

With your Office/Microsoft 365 subscription, you have a certain number of actions and triggers.

Out of the Box, the Power Platform Licenses with your E1-E5 subscription plan. You will not need additional Power Automate Licenses.

However, they might be under certain conditions depending on the number of flows, actions, and triggers additional Power Automate license needed.

For the sample from the above screenshot, you see that with the O365 plan under 1), the actual limits per day!

If you reach this limit, you can buy a Power Automate per-user plan for $15 a month from Microsoft!

YOU NEED TO BUY THIS LICENSE ONLY FOR ONE ACCOUNT (For the Room Manager Power Automate Service Account), NOT FOR ALL USERS!

Back up and restore in SharePoint Online

The backup and restore of your Room Manager site is your obligation!

As the solution runs on your MS 365 tenant!

Please check this Microsoft Article to learn more about Backup and Restore in SPO

Summary

• First, for SharePoint Online, Microsoft handles the backup part. Backups are performed every 12 hours and retained for 14 days.
• For items in SharePoint Online
  • In SharePoint Online, items are retained for 93 days from the time you delete them from their original location. They stay in the site Recycle Bin the entire time unless someone deletes them from there or empties that Recycle Bin. In that case, the items go to the site collection Recycle Bin, where they stay for the remainder of the 93 days
• For SharePoint Sites
  • If a user accidentally deletes a site collection, it can be restored by a global or SharePoint admin using the SharePoint admin center. Deleted site collections are retained for 93 days. After 93 days, sites and all their content and settings are permanently deleted, including lists, libraries, pages, and any subsites.
• If you cannot restore the required data.
  • If content cannot be restored via the Recycle Bin or Files Restore, an administrator can contact Microsoft Support to request a restore at any time inside the 14-day window. Assisted support Engineers should help you evaluate the period which will be needed to recover the data.
• Version History
  • It is turned on by default (major versions) in SharePoint Online libraries. They are retained according to the settings in the library. For SP lists, you might need to activate version history under the list settings manually!
  • Especially for “site pages” (under site contents), it is crucial to double-check if version history is activated. Why? If a user can edit an SP page, they can add or remove web parts or make other changes that can break the page. In this case, you can use the previous versions of the page to restore it!
• Third-party Software
  • None of the above do proper retention, so if you need to ensure that your documents are retained for regulatory or other reasons, you probably need third party software.
  • Please check what limitations you have with the default backup Microsoft provides to SPO

Additional useful information

When you delete a site collection, you’re also deleting the hierarchy of sites in the collection and all content within them:

• Documents and document libraries
• Lists and list data
• Site configuration settings
• Role and security information that is related to the site or its subsites
• Subsites of the top-level website, their contents, and user information

Useful Links to this topic

https://medium.com/jumpto365/restoration-options-in-sharepoint-online-ba6a6a4fb87c

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint/backup-solution-for-sharepoint-online-document-libraries/m-p/72954

Consider also what happens to the SP APPS, which are in the SP App catalog (which is a separate site collection).

Especially the desk Booking App (sspkg) and the Plumsail Forms APP which are added under the site content of the Room Manager SPO site collection.

A desk booking mobile app can offer several advantages for organizations that use shared workspaces, such as:

Convenience: A mobile app allows employees to book and manage shared spaces from their mobile devices, which can be helpful for employees who are on the go or working remotely.

Real-time information: A mobile app can provide real-time information on the availability of desks and meeting rooms, which can help employees plan their work schedules more efficiently.

Easy access: A mobile app can allow employees to book and manage shared spaces quickly and easily, without having to log into a computer or navigate through a website.

Flexibility: A mobile app can allow employees to book and manage shared spaces from any location, which can be especially useful for employees who work in multiple locations or who travel frequently.

Integration: A mobile app can integrate with other tools and systems, such as calendar apps, to provide employees with a seamless experience.

Increased productivity: A mobile app can help employees to find and book the right space for their needs, which can increase productivity and reduce wasted time and resources.

Better occupancy management: A mobile app can help organizations to better manage the occupancy of shared spaces, which can lead to more efficient use of resources and reduction of unnecessary expenses.

Better communication: With a mobile app, employees can communicate with other colleagues or management regarding the booking and usage of spaces, which can improve the coordination and collaboration.
Overall, a mobile app can provide organizations with a convenient and efficient way to manage and schedule shared spaces, which can help to increase productivity and reduce wasted time and resources.

An interactive visual floor plan for desk booking can offer several advantages for organizations, such as:

1. Better visualization: An interactive visual floor plan can provide a clear, easy-to-understand representation of the layout and availability of shared spaces. This can make it easier for employees to find and book the right space for their needs.
2. Increased efficiency: An interactive visual floor plan can allow employees to quickly and easily find available spaces, which can increase productivity and reduce wasted time and resources.
3. Better occupancy management: An interactive visual floor plan can help organizations to better manage the occupancy of shared spaces, which can lead to more efficient use of resources and reduction of unnecessary expenses.
4. Real-time availability: An interactive visual floor plan can provide real-time information on the availability of desks and meeting rooms, which can help employees plan their work schedules more efficiently.
5. Better communication: An interactive visual floor plan can help employees to communicate with other colleagues or management regarding the booking and usage of spaces, which can improve the coordination and collaboration.
6. Customization: An interactive visual floor plan can be customized to match the specific layout and needs of the organization, which can help to ensure that it is easy to use and understand.
7. Better accessibility: An interactive visual floor plan can be accessible from any device and from any location, which can be especially useful for employees who work in multiple locations or who travel frequently.
8. Better user experience: An interactive visual floor plan can provide a more engaging and user-friendly experience, which can make it more likely that employees will use it and enjoy the benefits it offers.

Overall, an interactive visual floor plan for desk booking can provide organizations with a clear, easy-to-use, and efficient way to manage and schedule shared spaces, which can help to increase productivity, reduce wasted time and resources and improve the coordination and collaboration.

Room Manager is a solution (for Microsoft 365) used for managing and scheduling the use of physical spaces, such as meeting rooms, conference rooms, and other shared spaces. It is also sometimes referred to as “meeting room scheduling software” or “conference room scheduling software.”

The main function of Room Manager software is to allow employees to reserve and schedule the use of shared spaces in advance, ensuring that everyone has a place to work and collaborate. This can be done through an online calendar, a mobile app, or an interactive floor plan.

Features of Room Manager software can include:

Room scheduling and booking: Allows employees to reserve and schedule the use of shared spaces in advance.

Real-time occupancy: Allows users to view the current occupancy of shared spaces in real-time.

Resource management: Allows users to manage and book resources such as projectors, laptops, or other equipment that are needed for the meeting.

Calendar integration: Allows users to integrate the Room Manager calendar with Outlook.

Mobile access: Allows users to book and manage shared spaces from their mobile devices.

Analytics and reporting: Allows users to view usage statistics and generate reports to gain insights into how shared spaces are being used.

Room Manager software can be beneficial for organizations of all sizes, as it can increase the efficiency and productivity of shared spaces while also reducing wasted time and resources.

An interactive visual floor plan for desk booking can offer several advantages for organizations, such as:

Better visualization: An interactive visual floor plan can provide a clear, easy-to-understand representation of the layout and availability of shared spaces. This can make it easier for employees to find and book the right space for their needs.

Increased efficiency: An interactive visual floor plan can allow employees to quickly and easily find available spaces, which can increase productivity and reduce wasted time and resources.

Better occupancy management: An interactive visual floor plan can help organizations to better manage the occupancy of shared spaces, which can lead to more efficient use of resources and reduction of unnecessary expenses.

Real-time availability: An interactive visual floor plan can provide real-time information on the availability of desks and meeting rooms, which can help employees plan their work schedules more efficiently.

Better communication: An interactive visual floor plan can help employees to communicate with other colleagues or management regarding the booking and usage of spaces, which can improve the coordination and collaboration.

Customization: An interactive visual floor plan can be customized to match the specific layout and needs of the organization, which can help to ensure that it is easy to use and understand.

Better accessibility: An interactive visual floor plan can be accessible from any device and from any location, which can be especially useful for employees who work in multiple locations or who travel frequently.

Better user experience: An interactive visual floor plan can provide a more engaging and user-friendly experience, which can make it more likely that employees will use it and enjoy the benefits it offers.

Overall, an interactive visual floor plan for desk booking can provide organizations with a clear, easy-to-use, and efficient way to manage and schedule shared spaces, which can help to increase productivity, reduce wasted time and resources and improve the coordination and collaboration.

1. Integration with other Microsoft tools: If a company is already using Microsoft 365 for other purposes, such as email, file sharing, and productivity tools, it can easily integrate a desk booking solution with these tools.
2. Security and reliability: Microsoft is a trusted brand with a proven track record of providing secure and reliable solutions. With Microsoft 365, your desk booking data is protected by world-class security measures, ensuring that your confidential information is kept safe.
3. Customizability: Microsoft 365 solutions are highly customizable, allowing you to tailor the desk booking solution to meet the specific needs of your organization.
4. Scalability: As your business grows, so does your need for more desks. Microsoft 365 solutions can scale to accommodate your changing needs, ensuring that you always have the right number of desks available.
5. Support: Microsoft provides excellent support for its products and solutions, giving you peace of mind that you’ll have the help you need if you run into any issues.

By choosing a Microsoft 365-based solution for desk booking, you can enjoy the benefits of a powerful, reliable, and flexible solution that will help your business succeed.