Microsoft Exchange Server: Calendar Concierge
Introducing the Calendar Concierge
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 vastly improves the reliability of calendaring by introducing the Calendar Concierge, a suite of new calendar improvements. This suite includes the Scheduling Assistant, which allows you to schedule meetings faster through an intuitive color-coded interface; the Calendar Attendant, which helps ensure the reliability of calendar items; and the Resource Booking Attendant, which automates resource management, such as conference rooms, projectors, and televisions.
Together, the elements of the Calendar Concierge the Scheduling Assistant, Calendar Attendant, and Resource Booking Attendant make scheduling a meeting easier and more reliable than ever before.
On This Page
 | Scheduling Assistant |
| Calendar Attendant |
| Resource Booking Attendant |
Scheduling Assistant
The first element of the Calendar Concierge is the Scheduling Assistant. Available in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Outlook Web Access 2007, the Scheduling Assistant streamlines the process of scheduling a meeting. Instead of scrolling through days of information to find the best time to schedule a meeting, you simply enter in the required and optional attendees, the room wanted, or other resources needed. The Scheduling Assistant then automatically analyzes each person or resource’s availability against other appointments, working hours, and time zone; and suggests the most optimal times available. This is presented in a simple, color-coded interface, making it possible to schedule meetings quickly.
The Scheduling Assistant makes scheduling a meeting a breeze!
Calendar Attendant
In addition to making scheduling more efficient, Exchange Server 2007 makes the calendar more reliable with the new Calendar Attendant. The Calendar Attendant processes meeting requests as they come in, even if you are not currently logged on by means of Office Outlook or another client. Meetings are automatically placed on the calendar as tentative, so that timeslots will not be overbooked.
As meeting updates come in, prior updates are marked “out of date” and are automatically deleted. This means that meeting updates are not accepted in an out of order fashion. Now, your calendar items are always current, and having incorrect information on your calendar is no longer a worry.
Resource Booking Attendant
The calendar improvements in Exchange Server 2007 affect not only individual schedules but also the scheduling of resources, such as rooms, projectors, and televisions. The Resource Booking Attendant automates acceptance and declination of resource booking requests. Policies can be set up for each resource based upon by whom, when, and for how long a resource can be booked. If the request for the resource is within policy, the resource will automatically be granted, and no one else will be able to book the resource. If the request is out of policy, information can be provided explaining alternative resources, and escalation paths provided to approve an out of policy request.
