Outlook Calendar Integration Configuration for Momentus Elite

The Outlook Calendar Integration for Momentus Elite enables seamless synchronization of bookings between Momentus and Microsoft Outlook Calendar. The integration ensures that event bookings and space management are updated in real time in both systems, minimizing double bookings and streamlining scheduling workflows. For more about the integration, see About the Outlook Calendar Integration.

• Prerequisite Configuration
• Understanding Use Cases
• Room Management Details
• Guidance for Outlook Resources & Room Configuration
• Configure the Outlook Calendar Integration
  • Log In and Authenticate Outlook
  • Configuration
  • Activation
  • Post-Activation

Prerequisite Configuration

Before starting the integration setup, ensure the following:

• You have access to the integration: You must have access to the integration, either within your package or as a purchased add-on. When you go to Momentus Connect, you should see that the integration is ready to authenticate. If not, request it and our team will do the rest.
• You have set up Outlook Resource Calendars: Outlook Resource Calendars must be set up and correspond to the spaces you want to sync in Momentus Elite. See below for guidance on how to manage configuration of these Resource Calendars for best results.
• Exchange Administrator Access: You must have Exchange Admin privileges in Office 365 to complete the authentication process and enable the integration.
• Know which spaces you want to map: Understand which spaces in Momentus will be mapped to Outlook Rooms and the management preferences for each (see below).

Understanding Use Cases

Best Practices for Space Mapping and Related Configurations

When considering the different approval or management options available for your space mappings in the Outlook Calendar Integration, there are some important questions to ask: 

• Who is booking?
• Where are they booking?
• For each space, do you need control of the booking request to happen in Momentus or Outlook?

Our recommended configurations:

• The rooms are booked primarily in Outlook:
  • Users primarily schedule meetings in Outlook.
  • Bookings approved in Outlook should be sent to Elite as Definite bookings.
  • Configuration Recommendation: Use the Outlook Managed option. Outlook will control booking approvals, and only accepted bookings will sync to Momentus.
• The rooms are booked primarily Momentus Elite:
  • Users prefer managing events through Momentus.
  • Configuration Recommendation: Use the Momentus Managed option, where all definite bookings in Momentus automatically sync to Outlook. If booking requests are made in Outlook, they will be sent to Elite as Prospect events.
• The rooms are booked both in Outlook and Momentus:
  • Bookings occur interchangeably in both systems.
  • Configuration Recommendation: Evaluate your operational workflows to determine management precedence. A room must be managed in one of the platforms; there is no option to do both, so you'll need to decide which platform should control each room. Management is configured for each room on an individual basis.

Room Management Details

Outlook Managed

Booking acceptance happens in Outlook, with the delegates for each room managing approvals. Your Outlook Rooms can be configured to have AutoAccept On or Off (managed in the Office 365 Admin area) depending on whether you want booking requests to be approved in Outlook before they are synced to Elite. In either case, once they are synced to Elite, they will be synced as Definite bookings.

1. Outlook Managed Space; Resource/Room Calendar has AutoAccept ON
   • Bookings made in Outlook will be automatically accepted by the room and will be synced to Momentus as definite events.
   • Definite bookings made in Momentus will sync to Outlook and be automatically accepted by the Room.
2. Outlook Managed Space; Resource/Room Calendar has AutoAccept OFF
   • Bookings made in Outlook must be approved by the delegate. Once approved they will be accepted by the room and will be synced to Momentus as definite events.
   • Definite bookings made in Momentus will sync to Outlook and must be approved by the delegate. Once approved they will be accepted by the room. If not approved they will be synced back to Elite as Cancelled.

Momentus Managed

Booking acceptance happens in Elite, with the Events team that work in Elite managing approvals. Your Outlook Rooms should be configured to have AutoAccept OFF and NOT have delegates assigned (managed in the Office 365 Admin area) if you want to avoid having double bookings on your Outlook Room calendars.

1. Momentus Managed Space; Resource/Room Calendar has AutoAccept OFF
   • Bookings made in Outlook will be synced to Momentus as Prospect events. Once a Prospect event is booked as a Definite event in Elite, the invite is confirmed in Outlook.
   • Definite bookings made in Momentus will sync to Outlook as confirmed events in Outlook. 

Guidance for Outlook Resources & Room Configuration

First, the Outlook Resource Calendars must be set up and correspond to the spaces you want to sync in Momentus Elite.

Based on your management options, each resource calendar should have the appropriate AutoAccept setting on or off. If a resource calendar will be Outlook Managed and have AutoAccept off, be sure that the room has delegate(s) assigned to approve bookings.

It is important to note that space restrictions in each platform will be enforced, which can produce issues with event syncing if your settings are not complementary. Be sure to align settings between the Momentus and Outlook Calendar as much as possible to reduce failed syncs:

Outlook resource calendar settings to consider:

• Maximum number of days the resource calendar can be booked.
• Duration limits. For resource calendars synced with Elite, this should be set to 24 hours in order to avoid issues.
• Bookings not allowed outside the calendar work week.

Configure the Outlook Calendar Integration

Configuring the Outlook Calendar integration takes several steps:

1. Log in and authenticate Outlook: This step connects your Outlook account and the Momentus integration. You must be an admin on the Outlook account to complete this step.
2. Configuration: Map Momentus spaces to Outlook resource calendars, set default information for events, set sync conditions, and more.
3. Activate: Activate the integration and begin syncing events.
4. After activation, set up notifications and test the integration.

Log In and Authenticate Outlook

1. In the upper-left corner, click your name and select System Admin.
2. In the Integrations tab, click Momentus Connect. You will be directed to the Momentus Connect site in a new tab.
3. Search for the Outlook Calendar Integration. Click More information.
4. On the integration details page, click Authenticate. During the authentication process you will allow the integration access to your Outlook account.
5. Click Sign in to Microsoft Outlook to log in to your Microsoft Outlook account. In order to complete these steps, you must be an Outlook Admin.
6. As you sign in, Microsoft will alert you that the integration is requesting certain permissions. Click Accept. For specifics about required permissions, see Outlook Calendar Integration Permissions.
7. Once you are logged in to Outlook you will be taken to the Activation page in Momentus Connect. On this page you will map spaces between Elite and Outlook, set defaults for events, and set the conditions for the sync between the applications.

Configuration

Space Mapping

1. In the left navigation, select Space Mapping. The Space Mapping page will open.
2. Click Manage Spaces. The Manage Spaces window will open.
3. All spaces in Momentus will be listed. Select each space you want to be available for booking in Outlook. If you have a long list of spaces, you can search for specific ones in the search bar at the top of each column. If the names of the spaces are the same in both platform, you can click Auto Map.
4. When all spaces which should be managed in Outlook have been selected, click Save.
5. Now that you have selected the Momentus spaces to be booked in Outlook, add settings for each space:
   1. Calendar Resource: Select the space's corresponding Outlook Resource Calendar.
   2. Space Management: Select whether this space should be Momentus managed or Outlook managed:
      • Momentus managed: Momentus controls space ownership. In Outlook, the Resource Calendar should be set in Outlook to NOT accept meetings automatically.
      • Outlook managed: Outlook manages the space. Only confirmed (accepted) events in Outlook will be sent over to Momentus. The Resource Calendar can be set to accept automatically or to require moderation.
   3. Owner Email: If there is an owner who needs to be notified if an event is booked in the space, add their email. Multiple emails can be added. Notifications are turned on elsewhere in the configuration.
6. When the settings for all spaces have been updated, click Save & Continue.

Note that space restrictions in each platform will be enforced. Be sure to align settings between the platforms as much as possible to reduce failed syncs. Outlook resource calendar settings including:

• Maximum number of days the resource calendar can be booked.
• Duration limits: For resource calendars synced with Elite, this should be set to 24 hours.
• Bookings not allowed outside the calendar work week

Event Defaults

When an event is created in Outlook, certain information must be included when it is synced to Momentus. Select the default information for each event:

• Account: When an event is created in Outlook, an event is created in Momentus and events require an account. This is the account that will be added.
• Contact: Contact information for the event creator
• Event Type
• Business Classification
• Genre

When all required defaults have been set, click Save & Continue.

Sync Conditions

These settings control when and how events and bookings sync between Momentus Elite and Outlook. Both sets of settings are required, regardless of the direction of sync you chose.

Momentus to Outlook default settings

• Outlook Event Location: Specify where the events should be created:
  • Event creator's calendar: The integration first tries to use the Elite event organizer’s email. If that email does not exist in Outlook, it falls back to the default event organizer's email.
  • Default event organizer's calendar: The integration always uses the default event organizer's email and ignores the Elite event organizer's email. This is typically configured as a shared or service account to avoid exposing individual organizers’ calendars.
    • The default event organizer's calendar is also used when an event is created in Elite but the event creator’s email does not exist in Outlook. 
• Outlook Event Subject
  • Name of event
  • Default subject specified: Add the default subject in the Default Outlook Subject field.
• If you would like a Teams meeting added to the Outlook events, check Create Teams Meeting for Outlook Events.

Outlook to Momentus default settings

• Specify default statuses for booking requests, confirmations, and cancellations.

Sync Existing Data

Select how you would like the initial sync of data to work:

• None, only sync new events: Use if you've been manually adding events into Outlook/Momentus.
• Sync Outlook events to Momentus: Any future events on the Outlook resource calendar will be created in Momentus. If there are conflicts in Momentus, an event will not be created in Momentus.
• Sync Momentus bookings to Outlook: Any future events on the Momentus space will be created in Outlook. If there are conflicts in Outlook, an event will not be created in Outlook.

Finish Configuration

When all settings are correct, click Finish Configuration.

Activation

Once spaces are mapped and configuration is set, click Activate Outlook. The integration will begin syncing events between the platforms based on the sync conditions you set in the configuration. It can take up to 24 hours to complete the initial sync; wait until this is complete before you begin syncing bookings.

Post-Activation

Set up Notifications

We recommend that you create notification rules in Momentus Connect so that you are kept aware of both sync success and sync failures. See Notifications for the Outlook Calendar Integration for more information. 

The notifications in Momentus Connect are for integration activity. You may also explore notification options in the Momentus and Outlook platforms to be notified of when an event is booked. 

Test the Integration

We recommend that you perform test bookings in both systems to ensure proper synchronization. As you do this, monitor notifications and address sync conflicts promptly.