Deployment guide for Microsoft Places (preview)

Microsoft Places Public Preview lets you introduce more flexible work within your organization as an IT administrator. Integrated with Microsoft 365, Places helps users make informed decisions about their work dynamics, which can lead to increased productivity and enhanced collaboration. For more information, see Microsoft Places.

Prerequisites

Before onboarding Places, complete the following prerequisites:

• Be assigned the Exchange administrator role to manage Exchange-related configurations for Places and the TenantPlacesManagement role.

  • This role can be assigned by an Exchange Administrator using the Exchange PowerShell by running the following cmdlet:

    New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role "TenantPlacesManagement" -User "<User-Alias>"
    

• Ensure you have the latest PowerShell 7.

• Verify you have one of the following subscriptions:

  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  • Microsoft 365 or Office 365 (E1, E3, E5)
  • Microsoft 365 or Office 365 (A1, A3, A5)
  • Microsoft 365 Frontline Worker (F1, F3)

Overview of Places Security Groups

Places currently uses mail-enabled security groups to provide access to features for users. You have the option of using your own security groups or using the script in Step 1 to generate them. If you choose to use your own security groups, you need to provide the names of these groups and map them to Places features. We recommend utilizing the following five security groups that can be created for you:

1. Places Users: This group is for users who have access to the Places Web App.

2. Places Advanced Users: This group is for users who have access to Places Advanced features like Places Finder, Space Analytics, and Intelligent Booking. Users added to Places Advanced Users group are part of the Places Users group.

3. Places Mobile Users: This group is for users who can use the Places iOS app. Users added to Places Mobile Users group are part of the Places Users group and the Places Advanced features group.

4. Places Analytics Users: This group is for users who need access to Places Analytics reports and features. Users added to Places Analytics Users are part of the Places Users group and the Places Advanced features group.

5. Places Finder Users: This group is for users who need access to Places Finder features. Users added to Places Finder Users will be part of Places Users group and the Places Advanced features group.

Deploy Places

Once you have completed all prerequisite steps, you're now ready to deploy Places to users in your organization:

Step 1 - Deploy Places

1. Install the latest DeployPlaces script.

2. Open PowerShell 7 as Administrator.

3. Run the DeployPlaces script in PowerShell7.

   You're prompted to use either the Places default security groups or your custom security groups. Selecting Y creates the following mail enabled security groups:

   Experience / Feature	Group Name	Group smtp address
   Basic experience	Places Users [8C8BF34B-6BB8-4441-A911-3A990C9D838B]	placesUsers@contoso.com
   Advanced experience	Places Advanced Users [8C8BF34B-6BB8-4441-A911-3A990C9D838B]	placesAdvanced@contoso.com
   Places iOS mobile app	Places Mobile Users [8C8BF34B-6BB8-4441-A911-3A990C9D838B]	placesMobile@contoso.com
   Space Analytics	Places Analytics Users [8C8BF34B-6BB8-4441-A911-3A990C9D838B]	placesAnalytics@contoso.com
   Places Finder	Places Finder Users [8C8BF34B-6BB8-4441-A911-3A990C9D838B]	placesFinder@contoso.com

   Selecting N requests you to enter the display name of the security group you plan to use for each feature. Here's an example of the output you'll see:

   Do you want to use the default group display names for Places?
   Enter [Y] for Yes or [N] for No: n
   Please enter the display name of the group you want to use for Places Users: [Example1]
   Please enter the display name of the group you want to use for Places Advanced Users: [Example2]
   Please enter the display name of the group you want to use for Places Mobile Users: [Example3]
   Please enter the display name of the group you want to use for Places Analytics Users: [Example4]
   Please enter the display name of the group you want to use for Places Finder Users: [Example5]
   Creating a security group - Places Users
   Creating a security group - Places Mobile Users
   Creating a security group - Places Analytics Users
   Creating a security group - Places Advanced Features
   Creating a security group - Places Finder Users
   Adding Places Advanced Feature Users to the Places Users group
   Adding Places Mobile Users to the Places Advanced Features group
   Adding Places Analytics Users to the Places Advanced Features group
   Adding Places Finder Users to the Places Advanced Features group
   Places Security Groups have been created.
   Installing Places Module
   Connection has been successfully established. You can execute your commands now.
   

All Places features will be enabled and mapped to the security groups that have been selected:

Searching for group - Example1
Found Group Example1
Enabling Places Web App
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.
Subscription name Tenant
----------------- ------
                  [Foo]
Update completed successfully. To check the information updated please use the next cmdlet which reads updated values of settings from store.
Get-PlacesSettings -ReadFromPrimary
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.
PlacesAdvancedFeatures set to True
Enabling Places Advanced Features for the tenant
Looking for group - Example2
Tenant being used - 5a3dd66b-d094-4bbc-b6c7-78ae9f5f2db3.TenantId
Enabling Advanced Places features
Update completed successfully. To check the information updated please use the next cmdlet which reads updated values of settings from store.
Get-PlacesSettings -ReadFromPrimary
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.
Enabling the group that can use the Places iOS App
Looking for group - Example3
Update completed successfully. To check the information updated please use the next cmdlet which reads updated values of settings from store.
Get-PlacesSettings -ReadFromPrimary
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.
Enabling the group that can see Places Analytics
Looking for group - Example4
Update completed successfully. To check the information updated please use the next cmdlet which reads updated values of settings from store.
Get-PlacesSettings -ReadFromPrimary
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.
Enabling the group that can see Places Finder
Looking for group - Example5
Update completed successfully. To check the information updated please use the next cmdlet which reads updated values of settings from store.
Get-PlacesSettings -ReadFromPrimary
WARNING: The settings are read from a cached storage for upto 12 hours.

Step 2 - Set up Buildings and Floors

Microsoft Places depends on a fully set up hierarchy among your rooms/workspaces, floors, and buildings. Utilize the steps found in at the Quick setup guide for buildings/floors to finish setting up your Places Directory.

Step 3 - Add or manage users with Security Groups

Users can't see or access Places features until they're added to the mail-enabled security groups used in Step 1. You can add users to security groups using any of the following methods:

• Via PowerShell documented here.
• Via the Microsoft Admin center documented here.
• Via Microsoft Graph APIs documented here.

Next Steps

Activate Places clients

You can access Places from your Microsoft 365 apps, wherever you work. See the table below to learn more about activating different clients for Places:

Related topics

Opt in to the Microsoft Places Public Preview

Configure the Places iOS app

Release notes for Microsoft Teams Rooms

Microsoft Teams Health and usage reports

Set up Remote Access in Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management portal