Review: Business Solve Hotdesk Manager

A simple, intuitive tool that can help reduce the hassle of managing hotdesking

Hotdesking is a great way of maximising company resources, but it’s time consuming and costly to manage.

Business Solve's Hotdesk Manager addresses this problem with an intuitive graphical booking system that, once set up, can almost look after itself.

The software is web-based, with a server component installed on a Windows 2000 or XP system, and a browser interface for management and resource booking. Data is all stored in an SQL database, with a copy of Microsoft’s MSDE server included.

The first step is to draw a plan of the hotdesking area with the usual tools to position, rotate and size objects as required. Desks can be cut, copied and pasted, grouped by zone, floor or building, and overlaid onto bitmap images with tools to add printers, lifts and other landmarks for ease of navigation.

Bookings can be made in advance or on the day, using the company intranet or touchscreen terminals.

They can be handled by reception staff or terminals for self-service operation, with customisable business rules to, for example, allow users to choose their own desks or allocate resources automatically, prioritise bookings or limit the time desks can be occupied.

On arrival, users are identified by network login or by swiping an ID card to confirm their bookings (to help identify and police no-shows), extend bookings or release resources should they finish early.

Simple colour-coding is used to identify free and allocated desks, and there are facilities to integrate Hotdesk Manager with other applications, including email, scheduling and room-booking systems. Reports can be produced to see who has been using what and when.

Hotdesk Manager is a powerful tool that can be used to control access to a range of resources, with little day-to-day management required.