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Microsoft Exchange Online with Flexopus: Seamlessly synchronize room bookings
Flexopus connects directly to Microsoft Exchange Online and synchronizes meeting room bookings in real time. This way, teams retain a complete overview – regardless of whether they book via Outlook or Flexopus.
What is Microsoft Exchange Online synchronization?
The integration between Flexopus and Microsoft Exchange Online is based on the Microsoft Graph API. This interface connects the resource calendars of your meeting rooms to Flexopus. Synchronization is bidirectional and occurs in real time:
- Bookings created in Microsoft Outlook automatically appear in Flexopus.
- Bookings made in Flexopus are transferred directly to the Exchange resource calendar.
Flexopus reads the relevant appointment data: appointment name, time period, participants, description, location and a link to an online meeting. The integration is only available for the cloud version of Microsoft Exchange (Exchange Online).
What is the purpose of integration?
The integration expands room management in your organization without changing the familiar booking process in Outlook. Employees can still book meeting rooms via Outlook – and simultaneously see these bookings in the Flexopus Live plan. In addition, integration opens up new possibilities:
- Read-only synchronization: Employees continue to book in Outlook, but in the Flexopus Live plan they can see who has booked which room and when – information that Outlook itself does not always display.
- Ad-hoc bookings via display: With a meeting room display, employees can book an available room directly on site with just a few clicks.
- Bookings by external users: People without a Microsoft 365 account can reserve rooms via Flexopus without needing an O365 license.
- Catering & Services: Reservations can be linked directly to catering or facility orders—even through the Outlook add-in.
- Analyze room occupancy: Flexopus provides usage statistics and heatmaps to evaluate the occupancy of meeting rooms.
How easy is the integration?
Setting up the Microsoft Exchange Online integration is done directly in the Flexopus Admin Panel and does not require any complex technical configuration. As an administrator, you can connect Flexopus to your Microsoft account with one click and grant the necessary permissions via the Microsoft authorization page.
In the next step, you link the desired meeting rooms in Flexopus to the associated Exchange resource mailboxes. Synchronization then starts automatically.
Optionally, you can restrict access to specific mailboxes via an application access policy – for example, if the integration is only intended for part of your organization.
Ready to start? For complete step-by-step setup instructions, please visit our Help Center.
What are the advantages of integration?
- Bidirectional real-time synchronization: Bookings from Outlook and Flexopus are immediately synchronized – duplicate bookings are excluded, as Microsoft Exchange serves as the central source.
- No changes to existing processes: Employees can continue to book via Outlook as usual. Flexopus complements the process, but does not replace it.
- Enhanced room management features: Flexopus offers additional options such as live planning, room search with office plans, digital signage and catering service.
- Transparency for everyone: In the live plan, employees can see at a glance who booked which room and when – even if the booking was made via Outlook.
- Support for external users: Even people without a Microsoft 365 license can book rooms via Flexopus.
- Data minimization: Flexopus only accesses the calendars of the linked meeting rooms and – for bookings via Flexopus – the personal calendars of the booking users. Access can also be restricted via policy.
- Included in the scope of services: The integration is part of Flexopus and does not incur any additional license costs.
Further integrations
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questions and answers
What data does Flexopus retrieve from Microsoft Exchange?
Flexopus reads the following appointment data from the resource calendars of the meeting rooms: appointment name, start and end time, participants, description, location and any online meeting link. For bookings triggered via Flexopus, the integration also requires access to the personal calendar of the booking user. Access can optionally be restricted to specific mailboxes via application access policy.
What happens if a booking is deleted or changed in Outlook?
Changes and cancellations in Outlook are transmitted to Flexopus in real time. Whether an appointment is rescheduled, a different room is selected, or the room is removed from the invitation – all scenarios are supported and immediately updated in Flexopus. Recurring appointments are also synchronized correctly.
Can users without a Microsoft 365 account also book rooms?
Yes. External users without a Microsoft 365 license can book rooms via Flexopus or a meeting room display. In this case, Flexopus books the resource calendar directly, without creating an entry in the user's personal Outlook calendar. To allow external users to delete their bookings, the "Resource booking rejection" option can be activated in the integration settings.
Are double bookings possible?
No. Microsoft Exchange Online acts as a central data source. Every booking initiated via Flexopus is first checked and confirmed by Microsoft Exchange. If a room is already occupied, the booking will be rejected. Double bookings are therefore technically impossible.
Does the integration also work with Microsoft Exchange On-Premise?
The integration described here uses the Microsoft Graph API and is therefore only compatible with the cloud version (Exchange Online). For on-premise environments, Flexopus offers a separate integration that works in a different technical way.