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Are you looking for a desk sharing software for your company? This guide shows you which criteria to use when comparing providers, which features really matter and which mistakes to avoid. The examples come from desk.ly, a workplace management platform from Osnabrück, Germany, used by more than 1,000 companies in the DACH region for desk sharing.
Key questions at a glance
What criteria matter when choosing desk sharing software?
Key criteria are ease of use for employees and admins, reliable GDPR-compliant data protection with SSO, hosting in the EU and clear role permissions. Look for integrations with calendars and HR systems, scalability across locations and teams, and solid occupancy reports. Support, onboarding, training material and transparent total costs are also decisive.
desk.ly meets these criteria with, for example, hosting in Germany, ISO 27001 certification, single sign-on via Microsoft Entra ID, integrations with Teams and Outlook, and occupancy reports across all locations.
Which features should a good desk sharing software offer?
A good solution enables simple desk bookings with rules for teams and zones, a visual map or floor plan, check-in via app or QR code, and notifications. It integrates calendars and single sign-on, reflects your policies and provides meaningful usage analytics.
In desk.ly, booking via interactive floor plans, check-in via app, calendar integration and occupancy analytics are standard. Rooms, parking, visitor management and automatic check-in with desk.ly Connect can be added.
Which mistakes should I avoid when choosing a desk sharing software?
Avoid deciding on price alone without a pilot. Check security, GDPR compliance and integrations early and test them in practice with a pilot group. Plan for change management and support, look for fair contracts without lock-in and avoid overloaded feature sets that reduce adoption. With desk.ly, you can test the software for free and try it out with a pilot group in your everyday office routine before you commit.
Why choosing the right desk sharing software matters
Desk sharing needs to be well organised to work smoothly. That is exactly what workplace management or desk booking software is for. Ideally, it is tailored to your company and offers enough settings to adapt it to your needs.
Desk sharing software enables:
- Efficient work processes
- Transparent use of resources
- Optimal space utilisation
Evaluation criteria when choosing desk sharing software
- Ease of use
- Features
- Data protection and GDPR
- Customisation
- Integration with other systems
- Costs
- Customer Support
- Free trial and user reviews
Ease of use
Make sure the software is intuitive and easy to understand so that your employees can use it without friction.
Features
In theory, you could organise desk sharing with an Excel list, but in practice you need dedicated booking software. It offers specific features such as desk booking, reminders for employees, resource management, reporting and much more. Does the software offer all the features you need?
Data protection and GDPR
Especially in Germany, data protection often decides whether IT and the works council approve a software. Check where the data is hosted, whether a data processing agreement is offered and which anonymisation options are available. desk.ly is ISO 27001 certified and hosts all data in Germany.
Customisation
Also check whether the software is flexible enough to adapt to your company’s specific requirements and processes. Consider how easy this is and whether you can adjust the settings yourselves.
Integrations
Does the software integrate seamlessly with your everyday tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace or your HR system? Integrations make sure, for example, that bookings appear in your calendar or that you can manage user access more easily via your HR software.
Costs
Some comprehensive collaboration suites come at a high price, while dedicated workplace management applications are far more cost-efficient and fit into your existing tool landscape. Which scope matters to you? Compare several offers before you decide so you can choose the best cost-benefit ratio.
Customer support
Reliable customer service that responds quickly and competently to questions or problems is essential. Ideally, the software offers an online self-service help centre as well as personal support for more complex issues.
Free trial and user reviews
Check whether a free trial or product demo is available. This lets you test features, usability, integrations and support in real use before you buy. Reviews from companies already using the software add an honest perspective, for example on review platforms such as OMR Reviews.
Choosing desk sharing software: the features that matter
If you are new to desk sharing, you may be wondering what booking software should be able to do. Let’s look at the most important features of hybrid work software, using desk.ly as an example.
- Easy setup
The software should be intuitive, and you should be able to make as many adjustments as possible yourself. You can set up desk.ly for your company entirely on your own in just a few steps. Of course, we are still happy to help. - Floor plans
Floor plans and text make it easy to choose a desk, so all employees can quickly find a free space. Not just any space, but exactly the right one. You can create the floor plans yourself in desk.ly and add desks, meeting rooms, parking spaces and more. - Occupancy analysis
As a manager, you can view the occupancy of your office space and easily identify surplus capacity and bottlenecks. Comprehensive reports allow detailed analysis, and AI-supported recommendations help you optimise your office space. - Live Chat
Our team is available via chat for questions and helps you directly with any issues. - desk.ly App
desk.ly is mobile-friendly and easy to use on your smartphone. With the desk.ly app, employees can book a desk, check in at a booked desk and use other features on the go. - Features
You can add information about features or equipment, such as a parking space with an EV charger, a height-adjustable desk or a dog-friendly desk, to make booking easier for employees. - Microsoft 365 / Outlook integration
Your bookings are automatically added to your calendar, so you never lose track. - Favourite desks
Employees can select favourite desks, making the booking process even quicker and easier.
"desk.ly is flexible, easy to administer and stays clear even with larger user groups ... The team also listens to feedback and requests and implements them."
"All the features you could imagine are there. The map view is great! On desktop, I am completely happy with desk.ly. Highly recommended!"
"What I particularly like about desk.ly is the usability: a clear, simply structured page with all the necessary features visible at a glance. The workspace mirrors the office floor plan 1:1, I find my favourite desk in my favourites and can see who else is in the office."
What desk.ly users say on OMR Reviews (reviews translated from German).
The most common mistakes when choosing desk sharing software
When choosing desk sharing software, it is important to make sure that the solution meets your company’s requirements and can be implemented successfully. Switching software later is expensive and usually frustrates employees. It is therefore worth investing a little more time in requirements analysis and selection upfront.
Avoid these common mistakes:
- Insufficient requirements analysis: A common mistake is not clearly defining what the company needs from desk sharing software. A thorough requirements analysis is crucial to make sure the selected software offers all the necessary features. Gather input from all key stakeholders in the company and plan ahead.
- Neglecting usability: Desk sharing software should be intuitive and clear so that employees can use it easily and reliably. When choosing software, pay close attention to whether you can find your way around quickly. Ideally, test the application in advance and remember that not all employees are equally tech-savvy.
- Inadequate integration: Another source of error is not checking whether the selected software integrates seamlessly with other tools and systems in the company. Good integration is important for smooth workflows.
- Ignoring customer support: Reliable customer support is essential for getting help with problems or questions. Do not underestimate its importance when choosing desk sharing software.
- Not weighing price properly: It is important to weigh the cost of the software against its benefits. Cheaper solutions are not necessarily the best choice if they lack features you need or fall short on usability. At the same time, more expensive products may not deliver more value, but simply a large number of features that you already cover with other applications or do not need at all.
Conclusion: Which desk sharing software is the right one?
You can recognise the right desk sharing software by five points: employees can use it without training, it complies with GDPR, it fits into Teams, Outlook and your HR systems, it delivers reliable occupancy data and its costs are transparent. desk.ly combines these criteria in one platform for desks, rooms, parking and visitors. Ideally, test the software in a pilot with a small group before you commit.
