EMS-M365 Outlook Room Reservation Policy

Background

As part of a university-wide initiative to manage University buildings and spaces and better understand usage, the EMS room scheduling platform is being rolled out and will be the system of record for all room and space schedules.  Integrations between M365 and EMS have been built to facilitate the transfer of room schedule information between the two systems, regardless of which system is used to schedule and manage space. 

Impacts 

All new room mailboxes will be associated with an EMS room when the mailbox is provisioned. 

All current room mailboxes will be updated to link to the corresponding space in EMS. The EMS and M365 support teams will work with current room mailbox owners to establish this connection.   

Both EMS and Outlook customers who want to maintain existing processes for booking self-service meeting rooms through native Outlook would benefit from the Exchange-to-EMS sync functionality. Rooms that can be reserved without approval in all situations can be reserved in either EMS, M365, or both systems.

Key Considerations

Rooms and spaces that do not require reservations to be approved can be scheduled using either Outlook or EMS. 

Rooms and spaces that require approval must be evaluated to determine whether an M365 mailbox is appropriate. If the approval rules are complex, or different groups have different rules regarding reservation approval, EMS is the best choice for managing those spaces. These spaces cannot have an M365 mailbox. 

Rooms and spaces with straightforward approval processes can be managed using either M365 or EMS but, unlike spaces that require no approval, they cannot be scheduled using either system. Rooms requiring approval must be scheduled in whichever system is being used to manage approvals. If a room is only scheduled and managed using Outlook, it must still be configured to link to an existing room in EMS. 

Room Mailbox Management Process

A new mailbox is created or an existing mailbox updated by completing the Room Mailbox Creation Request form. Minimum requirements must be met to provision a mailbox in EMS. Each department must designate an EMS Department Administrator(s) to maintain room and reservation information in EMS. OIT Cloud Services will assist with the onboarding process into EMS.