Introducing the Planner Home Page: Your Week at a Glance

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Planner Home Page, a game-changing feature designed to help you stay organised and connected with your team.

Say goodbye to scattered schedules and hello to a streamlined, insightful view of your week and your team’s activities.

What’s New?

A clearer picture of your week

Personalised schedule: View your working days complete with essential details like:

• Your status for the day (Office, Home, Travelling for Business, or Holiday).

• Building and floor information.

• Occupancy levels and the number of colleagues planning to be in the office.

• A snapshot of your upcoming bookings, or a quick-action button to plan your day if you don’t have any yet.

Automatic status updates:

• When you book a resource, your working location status will automatically update to Office.

Seamless navigation:

• Quickly jump between weeks with intuitive arrows or the date picker.

• Hit ‘Today’ to return to the current week in an instant.

Stay in sync with your team

• Team schedules at a glance: Dive into your team’s activities with an easy-to-navigate calendar.

  • View team members’ weekly statuses alongside their name and profile picture.

  • Access multiple team tabs if you’re part of several groups.

• Quick search: Instantly find teammates using a powerful search bar, so you’re never left wondering who’s where.

Save time with custom links

• Your personal resource hub: Access frequently used URLs directly from the new ‘Links’ tab.

  • Add your own links:

    • Use the ‘Add’ button to create shortcuts with custom names and URLs.

    • Links are validated to ensure they are functional and display their favicon for easy recognition.

The Planner Home Page combines all your scheduling and team information into one cohesive, easy-to-use interface. Whether you’re planning your workweek or coordinating with your team, this feature helps you save time and stay informed.

Optional teams feature setting

We’ve introduced a flexible setting that allows organisations to decide whether or not to display teams on the home page. This ensures you have control over how the feature is used.

For example, some customers prefer to keep teams hidden on the home page because they use teams specifically for neighbourhood bookings. This setting gives you the choice to tailor the experience to your organisation’s needs.

Get started today

Log in to your account (as an administrator) and turn on the new Planner Home Page setting in your Company Settings.

Recommendations prior to turning on:

New floor capacity setting

We’ve added a new ‘Floor Capacity’ setting to enhance your home page insights. This can be configured by adding or editing a floor on the ‘My Floor’ page. By entering the capacity, you’ll unlock valuable insights on the home page, showing how many people are coming into the office compared to the capacity of the floor they’re assigned to.

Create teams for better collaboration

With the Teams feature, you can organise your colleagues into teams within your organisation. This allows you to see which days your team members plan to be in the office, making it easier to coordinate schedules and plan your workweek.

Fixes and improvements

• Extended recurring meetings: You can now schedule recurring meetings for dates beyond one year into the future.

• Booking reminder fix: Resolved an issue where meeting room booking reminders were unintentionally removing descriptions from certain meetings.

Recurring meetings

Users can now schedule recurring meetings directly from the 'My Floor' view. This new feature enables users to create regular team meetings with flexible recurrence options.

Key Features

1. Recurrence Setting:

   • When booking a meeting room from the 'My Floor' view, users will see a new option labelled 'Recurrence' after selecting a meeting room.

2. Recurrence Frequency Options:

   • Users can choose from two recurrence options:

     • Daily

     • Weekly

3. Configuration Details:

   • Daily Recurrence

   • Weekly Recurrence:

     • Users can specify the days of the week for the recurrence (e.g., every Monday and Wednesday).

4. Recurrence End Settings:

   • Users can specify either a set number of occurrences or an end date for the recurrence.

5. Editing Recurring Meetings:

   • Users can edit existing recurring meetings and adjust the recurrence settings as needed.

Neat Pulse integration

Admins can now integrate Neat hardware devices with UMA to monitor room occupancy and environmental conditions in real-time. This feature provides valuable insights into how meeting rooms are utilised and the air quality within these spaces.

Key Features

1. Device Integration:

   • Admins can add the following Neat devices using a scalable auto-scan feature:

     • Neat Bar

     • Neat Bar Pro

     • Neat Board

     • Neat Board 50

     • Neat Frame

     • Neat Pad

     • Neat Center

   • The system will fetch and display basic device details from the Neat API upon adding each device.

2. Occupancy and Environmental Monitoring:

   • The following data is now available for relevant integrated devices:

     • Device Name

     • Occupancy

     • Temperature

     • Humidity

     • CO2 Levels

     • Air Quality (VOC)

   • Occupancy and environmental data are continuously collected from the Neat devices and updated every 5 minutes. If occupancy changes, updates are triggered immediately.

3. Data Visualisation:

   • Live and historical data from Neat devices are accessible on the main Insights dashboard and Device Insights pages.

   • Device-specific information is also shown on device cards or zone views, allowing admins to monitor data directly from the associated meeting rooms.

Any Time Booking for Desks

We are excited to announce Any Time Bookings for desk resources where users can now book desks for any amount of time, including specific durations such as a few hours. This provides greater flexibility to meet varying schedules and needs.

To enable Any Time Bookings for desk resources, simply toggle on the below setting within Company Settings or Building Settings.

Zone Booking

We are excited to introduce the ability to check in to Zones on a floor map. This new feature allows users to check in to Zones either on the day or in the future. Streamline your workspace management and enjoy the ability to view which Zones users are checked in to.

Analytics Pro

UMA's latest updates make data-driven decisions effortless—helping you maximise efficiency, improve space utilisation, and create smarter, more sustainable workplaces.

Unlock powerful analytics

Dynamic KPI cards Stay on top of your resource and reservation data with sleek, real-time KPI cards that provide instant insights into usage trends, updated daily, weekly, or monthly.

Optimised usage visualisation Explore resource and room usage like never before. Our enhanced pivot tables and charts ensure accurate insights based on your organisation's unique working hours—no more guesswork!

Deeper reservation insights

Visualise trends that matter Track reservation patterns with trend charts that highlight growth or dips at a glance. Compare current and past performance effortlessly, with dynamic updates and clear visual indicators.

Breakdowns made simple Our intuitive pie charts reveal reservation distribution by resource type, room size, and time of day, empowering you to identify usage patterns with ease.

User-centric performance metrics

Personalised user dashboards Understand how your team utilises resources with tailored charts showcasing individual reservation trends, no-shows, and out-of-hours usage.

Actionable occupancy data

Smart building insights Interactive maps and occupancy metrics now provide a real-time overview of how efficiently your spaces are being utilised. Plus, monitor environmental factors like air quality and noise levels to enhance workplace comfort.

Comprehensive summary All your data, one place. Export raw insights or customise your own charts to get the answers you need.

Fixes and improvements

Enhanced features for UMA Calendar customers

• Recurring meeting details in emails: Confirmation emails for creating, updating, or cancelling recurring meetings now include the recurrence structure for better clarity.

• Advanced manager user roles: Advanced managers can now reset passwords for users with lower permission levels, streamlining user management.

Bug fixes & improvements

• Booking button fix: Resolved an issue where clicking the 'Book' button multiple times could create duplicate bookings.

• Quick book rounding: Quick book times on the My Floor page now round up to the nearest half hour for smoother scheduling.

• Recurring meeting validation fix: Corrected an issue where editing a daily recurring meeting series incorrectly triggered a "Minimum duration is 30 minutes" validation error, even when the interval was valid.

Resource Images

We are excited to announce a new feature that enhances the user experience by displaying images of resources.

This feature aims to provide users with a visual representation of meeting rooms, desk areas, and other reservable resources, allowing for better decision-making before making reservations.

When navigating to 'My Floor' and clicking on a resource, users will now see the image of the resource at the top of the side drawer. This visual aid helps users quickly identify the resource and understand its layout and amenities.

To get started, as an administrator, navigate to resources and whilst adding or editing a resource you will see an option to upload an image.

Vecos Locker Integration

We are excited to announce the release of the Vecos locker integration feature within the UMA app. This new functionality allows administrators to seamlessly connect their Vecos locker tenant to the UMA app, enabling employees to easily claim, open, and release lockers directly from the app.

• Streamlined Locker Management: Simplifies the process for employees to manage lockers via the UMA app.

• Secure Access: Ensures that only authorised users can open and use lockers that they have reserved.

Microsoft 365 Lite Integration

We are pleased to announce an enhancement to our Microsoft 365 integration, offering more flexibility in how you connect and consent to permissions. This update introduces two distinct permission scopes: a full permission scope and a lighter Graph API permission scope for calendar integration.

1. Full Permission Scope:

   • Purpose: Provides comprehensive access to Microsoft 365 functionalities.

   • Permissions Included:

     • calendars.readwrite

     • group.read.all

     • groupmember.read.all

     • place.read.all

     • user.read.all

   • Capabilities:

     • Full calendar access and management.

     • Reading all group details and members.

     • Accessing resource information.

     • Syncing user profiles including photos.

2. Lite Permission Scope:

   • Purpose: Offers a streamlined integration for basic calendar functionalities.

   • Permissions Included:

     • calendars.readwrite

     • place.read.all

   • Capabilities:

     • Basic calendar access and management.

     • Accessing resource information.

   • Limitations:

     • No profile photo sync from Microsoft.

     • No group user sync.

To get started, follow the guide here.

New login page and authentication method

We're excited to announce significant updates to our app that will make logging in more user-friendly and secure.

The login page has been refreshed with a modern design, providing a more intuitive user experience.

You will now need enter your work email address to sign in and we will take care of the rest!

Office 365, Google Workspace and Okta users will be diverted to their respective authentication providers to log in.

How it works:

1. Navigate to our login screen at https://vision.meetuma.ai

2. Enter your work email address.

3. You will be redirected to either Microsoft, Google or Okta authentication.

4. Enjoy secure access to our app!

New integrations page layout

We're excited to announce updates to our integrations page!

We've added Okta and also separated the Microsoft and Google services for both OAuth and calendar integrations, making it easier for you to customise your experience.

Here's what's new:

• Okta authentication: Securely log in using your Okta credentials.

• Separated microsoft integrations:

  • OAuth for secure login.

  • Calendar integration for seamless schedule management.

• Seperated google integrations:

  • OAuth for secure access.

  • Calendar integration to keep your agenda in sync.

Okta integration

This update brings enhancements to our system with the introduction of Okta Authentication.

This integration allows users to securely log in with their Okta credentials, streamlining the authentication process while ensuring the highest level of security.

• Okta authentication: Users can now utilise their Okta credentials for a secure and quick login experience.

• Enhanced security: Leveraging Okta's robust security framework, we ensure your data stays protected at all times.

This integration simplifies the login process, significantly enhances security, and ensures a seamless user experience.

QR code check in + Milesight panel integration

You can now print QR codes to enable employees to quickly book and check into desk and meeting room bookings.

How it works:

1. As an admin, navigate to the resources page and click on the resource ellipsis to find the QR code button.

2. Click on the QR code button and it will show the QR code for that resource which can either be scanned or printed.

3. Once scanned you can quickly book the space you need on the spot.

We have also integrated with the Milesight DS3604 E-ink display to enhance our booking system. You can assign a Milesight e-ink display device to a desk or meeting room and it will update the QR code and resource information on the display.

Visitor management improvements

Hide visitor details in emails

• New setting: Admins can now utilise the new ‘Hide Visitors in Emails’ setting, available in the Visitor Management section of Company or Building Settings.

• Setting:

  • The setting is defaulted to OFF.

  • When enabled, a BCC rule will enforce the hiding of visitor names and emails from all visit-related emails/events.

• Applies to:

  • Visit emails triggered during creation, updates, or cancellations of visits.

  • Supported integrations include UMA Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, and Google Calendar.

  • Works seamlessly for calendar event-based notifications as well as standard email notifications.

All buildings filter

• Users across all roles can now select an ‘All Buildings’ filter on the Visitors page, enabling the ability to view visit data across multiple buildings in one consolidated view.

Export enhancements

• For Admin and Advanced Manager roles:

  • The ‘Export all to CSV’ and ‘Emergency Report’ CSV now include new columns:

    • ‘Visitor Email Address’: Provides the email address of the visitor for better reporting and management.

    • 'Building': Displays the building associated with each visit, enabling easier identification and filtering of visit data.

Occupancy sensor data on the Office Map Application

• Feature overview: Users can now view occupancy sensor data directly within the ‘Desks and Rooms’ view of the Office Map.

• Details:

  • Occupancy sensors assigned to resources (desks and rooms) will display their real-time status, similar to the ‘My Floor’ map page.

  • This provides greater visibility into the availability and usage of office resources, helping teams optimise workspace utilisation.

Recurring meeting improvements

Meeting room availability check for recurring meetings

• Informed booking process: When setting up a recurring meeting, users will now be notified if the selected meeting room is unavailable for any event in the series.

• If the room is busy for one or more events, a notification message will display highlighting the event clashes.

We’ve addressed important issues related to recurring room bookings and their adherence to neighbourhood and booking threshold policies. These updates ensure compliance with configured policies and improve the user experience.

Fix: Neighbourhood and Teams policies for recurring room bookings

Issue overview

• Problem: Recurring room bookings did not respect neighbourhood or team policies. For example:

  • If policies disallowed bookings on specific days (e.g., Wednesdays), users could still book a recurring meeting that included those days.

• Resolution:

  • Recurring bookings now adhere to neighbourhood and team policies.

  • Days that are restricted by policies will be greyed out on the date picker, preventing users from selecting them for recurring bookings.

Fix: Room Booking Threshold policies for recurring room bookings

Issue overview

• Problem: Recurring room bookings bypassed company or building Room Booking Threshold policies. For example:

  • If a threshold limited bookings to 4 days, users could still book recurring meetings exceeding this limit (e.g., 6 days).

• Resolution:

  • Recurring bookings now comply with room booking thresholds set in company or building settings.

  • Greyed-out dates will now appear in the date picker for dates beyond the allowed threshold, similar to standard bookings.

Default resource type for Calendar View

What’s new?

• The ‘Room’ resource type is now set as the default selection in the Calendar View.

  • Users will automatically see room bookings displayed when accessing the Calendar View, streamlining the experience for those primarily managing room resources.

Why this update?

• Simplifies navigation for users who predominantly manage room resources.

• Reduces the need to manually switch resource types, saving time and enhancing efficiency.

Milesight VS121 line crossing counting support

We have now added support to count people within a space using the Milesight VS121 line cross mode.

Fixes and improvements

1. Edit/Cancel desk bookings:

   • Users can now edit or cancel desk bookings even after they’ve been checked in.

2. Room count by capacity chart:

   • The chart now resizes correctly, even when displaying a large number of rooms with varying capacities.

3. Capacity filters in calendar and map views:

   • Previously, setting a capacity filter in the Calendar View and switching to the Map View retained the filter incorrectly. This has been fixed, and the capacity filter is now removed when transitioning to the Map View.

4. Recurring booking start date update:

   • Changing weekly or monthly recurrence settings now automatically updates the start date for the booking.

5. Admin and Advanced Manager permissions:

   • Admins and Advanced Managers can now edit or cancel meetings that were automatically booked by the meeting room itself.

6. Quick book resource availability issue:

   • The Quick Book feature on the My Floor page was including seconds in bookings, which caused issues with displaying resource availability. This issue has been resolved.

7. Time picker rounding issues:

   • Fixed rounding issues in time pickers across all resource types to ensure accurate time selection.

Booking web application updates

Disable booking

We have added an option in the booking web application to allow you to disable booking completely from the panel side.

Disable anonymous bookings

We have added an option in the booking web application to allow you to disable anonymous bookings from the panel. When this setting is on, you will only be able to book using your account.

To find out more about the UMA booking application click here.

Building appearance settings

Admins can now configure the appearance settings specific to their buildings.

This new feature enables a higher degree of customisation by allowing different branding elements such as colour schemes, logos, and background images to be applied to the booking panel, visitor management, office map, and count application for each building.

These building-specific settings will override the global company settings, providing unique branding opportunities for each location.

New user lookup integration with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace

In our latest update, we've streamlined the user lookup process for booking web app panels, making it even easier for admins and users alike.

Now, you can directly search for users from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace without the need for pre-adding them to the UMA portal. This is a significant enhancement for customers who mainly utilise our booking panels and wish to avoid the cumbersome process of managing user additions manually.

To facilitate this, we've introduced a new option within the company settings.

Admins can now select their preferred user lookup source, choosing between 'UMA' users or 'Calendar' users from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. By default, this setting is configured to 'UMA' users, ensuring continuity for existing setups while offering flexibility for those looking to leverage their existing user base in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

Crestron x70 Room Scheduling Panel Integration

We have implemented the ability to control the LEDs on Crestron x70 panels while using the UMA Book WebApp (https://book.meetuma.ai).

After collaborating with Crestron, we are excited to introduce the following new feature:

• LED Light Bar Control on Crestron x70 Panels:

  • The UMA Book WebApp can now control the RGB color, brightness, and blink time of the LED light bars on the Crestron x70 panels.

  • As per the standard UMA logic, LED's will turn red when the room is booked in the calendar or if a people counting sensor has detected people in the room.

  • This functionality is enabled by leveraging Crestron General Web Mode and the Crestron Signal Transport API through Javascript bindings.

How to Enable:

1. Panel Configuration:

   • Navigate to the settings of the Crestron panel.

   • Change the application mode to Crestron General Web mode.

   • Input the UMA Book WebApp URL (https://book.meetuma.ai).

   • Pair the web application following this guide.

Recurring Meetings (Monthly)

Users can now schedule monthly recurring meetings directly from the 'My Floor' view.

Calendar View

We are thrilled to present the new Calendar View! This intuitive interface allows you to easily check the availability of all resources on a floor. Effortlessly book and manage meeting rooms, desks, and parking spaces.

Booking administrators such as Executive Assistants (EAs) and Personal Assistants (PAs) can now enjoy a quick and comprehensive overview of each resource's bookings through a new calendar view available on the 'My Floor' page. This feature is designed to streamline the process of managing and viewing bookings for meeting rooms, desks, parking spaces, and other resources.

User Roles and Permissions

• All users can view and book resources from the calendar view.

• Relevant user roles can book, edit, and cancel bookings on behalf of others.

• Meeting Rooms:

  • Admins/Advanced Managers: Can view meeting subject and organiser.

  • Users/Hidden Users/Managers: Busy slots show as 'busy'.

• Desks and Parking Spaces: Organiser details visible to all user roles.

This new feature enhances the efficiency and ease of managing resource bookings, ensuring that booking administrators and users have a seamless experience in viewing and managing resources.

Booking Reminders

Introducing a game-changer for admins: Smart Booking Reminders! Now you can effortlessly set up reminders to notify employees of their upcoming desk or meeting room bookings. Keep everyone on track and eliminate last-minute surprises with customisable, timely email alerts that ensure your team is always prepared. Upgrade your booking management with this essential new feature!

Use our handy configuration template to configure a reminder email to your users in your own branding.

For further information on setting up reminders, follow the guide here.

Manage other users meetings

We are excited to announce a new feature that is now available to all customers.

With this update, you have the power to book and manage meeting room bookings not only for yourself but also on behalf of other users. This enhancement is perfect for team leads, secretaries, and anyone responsible for coordinating meetings.

Key features

• Book on behalf: Easily book meeting rooms on behalf of other users, ensuring everyone has a space when they need it.

• Manage bookings: View, modify, or cancel existing bookings made for others, directly from your account.

• Permissions control: Full control over who can book and manage meetings on behalf of others, ensuring security and privacy.

We believe this feature will streamline the process of managing meetings and ensure that coordinating schedules is easier than ever.

Find out more here.

Microsoft Entra ID SCIM Integration

We are excited to announce our integration with Microsoft Entra using the System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol. This new feature enables you to seamlessly provision users directly to our product using Microsoft Entra's robust identity management capabilities.

Key benefits include:

• Streamlined user provisioning: Automatically create, update, and deactivate user accounts in our product from Microsoft Entra, simplifying the user lifecycle management.

• Enhanced security: Reduce the risk of unauthorised access by ensuring user access is accurately reflected across systems in near real-time.

• Improved efficiency: Save time and reduce manual errors by automating the user provisioning process.

Getting started:

To begin using the Microsoft Entra SCIM integration, visit our documentation here for a step-by-step guide on setting up and configuring the integration.

We are committed to providing you with tools that make managing digital identities easier and more secure. This integration is a testament to that commitment.

Live sensor data improvements

• Live data visibility: All user roles now have access to live occupancy and environmental data directly on the floor map page. This update ensures that every user can easily view and understand the current status of the workspace environment, including temperature, air quality, and occupancy levels.

• 'Away' status for all user roles: To enhance workplace management and planning, we have added the 'Away' status indicator for each resource on the floor map. This feature allows users to quickly see if a person is currently at their booked resource or away, facilitating better collaboration and space utilisation.

These enhancements are designed to improve your experience by providing real-time insights into your workplace environment and occupancy.

Last login information

The Users table now includes a 'Last Login' column, showcasing the most recent login date and time for each user. This update enables administrators to monitor user engagement and identify inactive accounts easily.

Neighbourhoods

Office neighbourhoods refer to the various sections or areas within a workplace that are often organised based on departments, teams or functions.

Think of them as mini-communities within the larger office space, where groups of colleagues with similar roles or responsibilities work in proximity to one another.

Within UMA you can now create a neighbourhood by grouping together a collective of resources on the same floor.

The neighbourhood can then be set up to allow bookings for different groups of users on different days of the week. You can be as flexible as you want to accomplish an efficient hybrid working environment.

Teams

A team in UMA is a group of work colleagues who are affiliated with a particular department or specialised group within an organisation.

Teams typically collaborate on projects, tasks or initiatives related to their shared objectives.

In the context of resource management, such as booking meeting rooms or other office resources, teams are granted specific privileges or access based on their group affiliation, enabling them to efficiently coordinate and utilise these resources for their collective work purposes.

Within UMA you can now create a team by grouping users together.

Teams can then be assigned to neighbourhoods to establish booking policies against resources in your office environment.