Integrating with Microsoft, the approach

Integrations · Microsoft 365 · Start here

Does your organisation use Microsoft 365? Then you connect Gfacility to Microsoft in a few places. This article gives the overview: which integrations there are, which choices you make and in which order you set them up. Each step links to the article with the details.

The integrations at a glance

Integration	What it does	Needed?
User sync	Puts your employees in Gfacility.	Recommended
Department sync	Links every employee to their department.	Optional
Location sync	Puts the meeting rooms in Gfacility, with building and floor.	Needed for booking
Calendar sync	Keeps bookings in Gfacility and Outlook the same.	Needed for booking
Signing in	Employees sign in with their Microsoft account.	Recommended
Email sending	Decides which address Gfacility sends emails from.	Optional
Outlook add-in	Booking from within Outlook itself.	Recommended

The first four run through one app registration of your organisation: the Office 365 integration. Signing in and email sending are separate integrations.

The choices you make

Four choices decide how you set it up. Make them up front, together with the IT admin.

1 · Which employees?

Everyone with a licence, or a subset. For a subset, send us a query that decides who is included. Gfacility sets that filter up for you.

2 · Access to calendars?

All calendars (simplest), or only the rooms and employees you choose through Exchange RBAC. Never both.

3 · How to sign in?

Sign in with Microsoft (the Gfacility app, quick to set up) or SSO (your own app, your IT keeps control). Choose one.

4 · Which sender?

The Gfacility mail server (nothing to set up), or your own mailbox (your own sender). See the comparison below.

Recommended order

Set it up in this order. Each step builds on the one before. Do everything on the test environment (UAT) first and only then on production: they are two separate environments, and you set up both.

Step	What	Why in this order
1	Prepare Microsoft. Rooms with building and floor number, employees with a licence and a department.	Gfacility copies what is in Microsoft. What is wrong there will be wrong in Gfacility too.
2	App registration and permissions. Including the choice of calendar access.	Every sync needs this app.
3	Switch on the user sync. Send the filter first if you do not want everyone.	Employees must exist in Gfacility before they can sign in and book.
4	Switch on the department sync (optional).	Runs on top of the user sync. Align existing organizations with the department names first.
5	Switch on the location sync.	Align existing buildings and floors first, or they come in twice.
6	Switch on the calendar sync.	Only works for rooms that are already in Gfacility.
7	Set up signing in. Test with one employee, then switch it on for everyone.	Only useful once the employees exist (step 3).
8	Choose email sending.	Before go-live, so the first emails come from the right sender straight away.
9	Roll out the Outlook add-in.	Last, because it uses everything above.

Where to find each step

Step 1: Room management in Microsoft
Steps 2 to 6: Office 365 integration
Step 7: Sign in with Microsoft or SSO integration
Step 8: Set up email sending and Mail whitelisting
Step 9: Install the Outlook add-in

Email: Gfacility mail server or your own mailbox?

	Gfacility mail server	Your own mailbox
Sender	The Gfacility address	Your own address, e.g. `facilities@yourcompany.com`
Setup	Nothing, works straight away	Set up Microsoft 365 (recommended) or SMTP
Replies	Do not automatically reach you	Arrive in your own mailbox
Maintenance	None	Renew the client secret or password in time
Spam filter	Add the Gfacility address to trusted senders	Not needed
If it fails	Gfacility fixes it	The email is not sent until you fix it; administrators get an alert

Our advice: start with the Gfacility mail server. Move to your own mailbox when employees or visitors need to see your own sender, or when replies need to reach you.

What do you need from the IT admin?

Collect this before you start:

What	For
Directory (tenant) ID, Application (client) ID and the Value of the client secret	The Office 365 integration, and SSO if you choose it
The expiry date of the client secret	Renew in time, or the integration stops
The query for the user filter	Only if not everyone should be included
An admin who can grant consent	Admin consent for the apps
The sender address	Only with your own mailbox

Share the client secret securely, for example through a password manager link. Never in a plain email.

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