The EmergingSoft Blog

Many EmergingSoft customers use Microsoft Exchange as their messaging and calendar platform. Users will have access to their personal profile, email, tasks and calendars using the Microsoft Outlook client, OWA for web access and mobility interfaces from Microsoft Mobility, Blackberry or iPhones using ActiveSynch. In addition, many organizations list conference rooms and portable equipment as a Resource Mailbox, like a user, that can be invited or uninvited to meetings as needed.

Transition from Exchange to MeetingPlanner:

Organizations turn to MeetingPlanner from EmergingSoft when a Resource Mailbox does not meeting their resource requirements. Perhaps they want to do a room search based on capacity, equipment assets or add services such as room setup or catering. For larger organizations, the option of just flipping a switch to turn Resource Mailbox’s off and MeetingPlanner on is not a realistic option. Deployment schedules, rollouts over a period of time and training can make a hard cutover a challenge for companies big and small.

EmergingSoft developed Exchange Synchronization services years ago to provide a reasonable transition option from Microsoft Exchange Resource Mailboxes to MeetingPlanner. Our solution allows Microsoft Exchange and MeetingPlanner databases to work in tandem with each other, using real-time synchronization for free/busy and other data points for reservations.

Other Benefits:

Migration:  We quickly found that the Exchange Synchronization option not only made a migration to MeetingPlanner easier for our customers, it also provided them with a unique option to import past and future reservations from Exchange into the MeetingPlanner database before the cutover. No more re-entering all the future reservations or losing the old reservation data because a new tool is purchased!!  Past reservation data is also preserved for space utilization reporting!

Use MeetingPlanner and Exchange Together:  We also received feedback that some organizations did not require that all employees use MeetingPlanner. As much as we think all employees should cut over to EmergingSoft products, sometimes it just is not necessary. That is, the power users in an organization might see great benefits booking rooms, equipment and other services with MeetingPlanner but the casual user in a regional office with one room may want to just invite the room as a Resource Mailbox. Now MeetingPlanner and Exchange can work together, in perpetuity!!  Some employees using MeetingPlanner while others use Exchange.  All data is collected in the MeetingPlanner SQL environment so you can track use, view all reservations and manage reservations from one database.

Mac iCal/Outlook 2011/Gmail/others:  With Exchange Synchronization, we can also synch user calendars with MeetingPlanner! Third party addins like MeetingPlanner cannot integrate with the Mac, Gmail or other web tools - there are no services for us in these platforms. Now we can provide a very good option for users. If they book a room in the MeetingPlanner web, mobile or digital sign option, Microsoft Exchange synchronization will automatically push the reservation, including the room, into the user’s personal calendar - Outlook 2011, Gmail, etc... as long as Microsoft Exchange is the database of record for their profile.

Who Cares?   Now if that appointment is moved or cancelled by the user on the their personal account using a Mac, PC, mobile device or digital sign, the room reservations are automatically updated or deleted to mirror their personal schedule, just like the very attractive feature set offered in MeetingPlanner Microsoft Outlook integration!!  Again, one database will have all reservation data for tracking and utilization reporting!

Contact EmergingSoft today to learn more and to provide us with your feedback at 1-877-801-8001.

Increase Video Conference Use With MeetingPlanner

The deployment of video conference solutions is well established with many organizations.  Improved technology, cost effective hardware and inexpensive access to high speed networks means video conference is more cost effective than ever.

One hurdle to an effective video conference deployment for organizations is easy access video conference room, equipment and support availability.  Because most video conferences require some level of equipment and teleconference support and configuration, meeting organizers are required to fill out a form or make a special request to schedule a video conference without actual viability to room, equipment or support availability.  While their request is evaluated, the meeting attendee's availability can easily change, rendering the original scheduled request obsolete.

Instant access to video conference room, equipment and support availability with automated work flow allows a meeting organizer to schedule a video conference effectively and efficiently.

MeetingPlanner allows a video conference meeting organizer the following capabilities and enhancements:

• Search engine for available video conference capable rooms and equipment by time, date, location, capacity and other technologies
• Automated work flow for video conference support teams
• Schedule or request one or more video conference rooms in one invitation
• 100% integrated with Microsoft Outlook
• Web access to view or edit video conference work tickets
• Automated updated and conflict resolution for meetings changed in Outlook
• Integration with Tandberg TMS

See how MeetingPlanner can improve your organizations adoption of video conference technology by offering easy access to availability and scheduling with MeetingPlanner.

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Simplify Microsoft Outlook Scheduling

Microsoft Outlook is the industry leading email, scheduling and calendaring application for personal and corporate meeting scheduling.  Microsoft Outlook is used by small and large organizations alike for standard meetings, complex recurring meeting and delegate scheduling. 

While Microsoft Outlook is the most powerful email and calendaring tool on the planet, it does not provide options for easy conference room, resource, equipment or catering scheduling.  Though Outlook’s resource scheduling options are limited, it has a unique open architecture for third party tools like MeetingPlanner to provide seamless and easy scheduling solution integration.    

Let’s face it, meeting organizers are typically very busy and do not want to spend a lot of time organizing resources for a meeting.  Organizers will either forget to request services they need for a meeting like room set up/equipment delivery/support or they will wait until the last minute to make a request only to find they are not available.   

In addition, scheduled meetings change and get cancelled – a lot!  As scheduled meetings change or get cancelled, meeting organizers forget to change the reserved resources and don’t notify support such as facilities management, video conference or catering, causing double bookings or “phantom” reservations (scheduled room with no meeting!).

Meeting organizers want Microsoft Outlook, with enhanced scheduling, to be the single solution they use to schedule meetings, invite guests, book rooms and schedule other resources.   

 Minimum Scheduling Requirements:

• Easy scheduling in Microsoft Outlook with invited guests and standard Outlook settings
• Search engine to find available rooms and resources that match their meeting needs in Microsoft Outlook
• Room availability schedule views in Microsoft Outlook
• Automatic updates and cancellations based on Microsoft Outlook meeting changes
• Automatic conflict management – no double bookings!
• Microsoft Outlook delegate scheduling
• Recurring meeting scheduling and conflict management
• Reporting – standard and on-demand

 Additional Bonus Capabilities

• Video conference, tele conference and audio visual equipment scheduling in Microsoft Outlook
• Catering in Microsoft Outlook – internal and external menu items
• Visitor management in Microsoft Outlook
• Automated work flow and notification services for support teams
• Facility management booking for room set up and breakdown in Microsoft Outlook
• Digital signage integration - interactive and non-interactive
• Building systems – lighting and HVAC integration
• 3^rd party tool integration

One easy tool for scheduling integrated Microsoft Outlook provides the following benefits:

1. Improved meeting organizer (employee) efficiency
2. Improved support personnel productivity – video conference, AV, catering, facilities
3. Maximized space utilization
4. Reduced costs

To schedule a meeting and reserve resources such as a conference room, equipment or other services, a user will follow the traditional Outlook process to determine the meeting time, date and included attendees. Note that the Outlook appointment and MeetingPlanner are 100% synchronized and the meeting time and date information is automatically populated in MeetingPlanner!

MeetingPlanner will automatically default to the meeting organizers location, import the number of attendees and provide the user with additional room, equipment and other resource search criteria such as:

• Number of meeting attendees room capacity
• Meeting location
• Conference room attributes
• Equipment/Resource choices
• Room Set Up Options
• Conferencing
• Video conference services (Tandberg, Polycom)
• Audio conference services (LiveMeeting, Cisco MeetingPlace, MeetMe, more)
• Catering
• Visitor Listing

MeetingPlanner and Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007 and 2010 - New and Improved Synch Services

Quite often, MeetingPlanner is deployed with an organization that is using Microsoft Exchange Resource Mailboxes identified as assets like conference rooms, offices or portable equipment that can be booked just as you invite another attendee in Outlook.  

Because business rules and requirements like room restrictions, notification work flow, catering services, room set up, video conference, reporting and others are not available with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, MeetingPlanner replaces the Resource Mailboxes and all meeting organizers use MeetingPlanner for the above scheduling needs.  Personal calendaring, meeting management and Microsoft Outlook operations remain the same with MeetingPlanner

There are times when a large organization wants to deploy MeetingPlanner over a window of time or only requires MeetingPlanner for a select location or group of rooms.  For example, an organization deploying MeetingPlanner in North America and Europe might take many weeks or months to deploy to each location, requiring that Microsoft Exchange mailboxes and the MeetingPlanner database be run together and synchronized.  In this example, half the company is using MeetingPlanner and the other half is still using Microsoft Exchange. 

Or, a large hospital might require the features offered with MeetingPlanner at the main facility conference center but be content with using an Exchange Resource Mailbox to represent a room at a remote clinic. 

Microsoft Exchange Synch Services

For those organizations seeking a hybrid scheduling solution with MeetingPlanner and Microsoft Exchange, EmergingSoft has the answer!  Using a custom API developed by EmergingSoft, MeetingPlanner can synchronize reservations in real time with Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007 and 2010.  Nothing unique is needed or installed on the Microsoft Exchange server!

Value Proposition:

• Synchronize with just about any conference room digital signage solution using Microsoft Outlook and Exchange and/or MeetingPlanner scheduling
• Synchronize with HVAC or lighting solutions using Microsoft Outlook and Exchange and/or MeetingPlanner scheduling
• Deploy MeetingPlanner for enhanced scheduling to select "power users" and continue to using Microsoft Outlook and Exchange for periodic room schedulers
• Deploy MeetingPlanner across a larger enterprise over a longer window of time

Contact EmergingSoft today to learn more about the new and improved Exchange Synch Services! 

Digital signage is changing by the minute.  It can also mean different things to different people in an organization. 

At EmergingSoft, we receive requests daily for easy and affordable options to get room scheduling information into a room sign at the conference room.  Sounds easy enough but until now, it hasn't been easy or cost effective. 

We are pleased to announce a very cost effective and easy to use new conference room digital signage solution - MeetingPlanner Touch. For as low as $500 per room - you too can have digital signed integrated with MS Exchange or MeetingPlanner.

MeetingPlanner Touch provides affordable interactive and non-interactive conference room digital signage.   The EmergingSoft digital signage solution is highly configurable, with custom color schemes, logos and more.  In addition, MeetingPlanner Touch is hardware independent! 

Whether your organization already has digital signage hardware installed, you are seeking a commercial grade signage solution or are using consumer products like an iPad, Android or other tablet PC, MeetingPlanner Touch is the solution for you.

Key MeetingPlanner Touch highlights include:

• Fully integrated with Microsoft Exchange
• Fully integrated with MeetingPlanner
• Customize color schemes
• Branding and logo options
• Configurable features
• Meeting check-in
• Editing/cancellation
• Password protection
• View all rooms from each room sign
• Easy to manage
• Cost effective

MeetingPlanner Touch is extremely cost effective, highly configurable and provides the greatest hardware flexibility in the industry.  Contact EmergingSoft today to learn more at 952-842-7444.