What is hybrid working software?

Hybrid working software is the umbrella platform that combines desk booking, room booking and occupancy analytics so an office can run flexible attendance without Tuesdays overcrowding and Fridays going empty. It replaces the patchwork of spreadsheets, Outlook room resources and "ask your manager" that most UK offices left behind once attendance dropped below 100% five days a week.

From the floor. Buyers default to Robin or Smartway2 when Microsoft Places is sitting in their existing M365 E5 licence already paid for. The honest scoping question is whether the analytics gap between Places and the dedicated platforms is worth £4 to £10 a desk a month on top of what they already spend. For most mid-sized UK offices the answer in 2026 is "not quite" and Places is the right starting point. We talk clients into the cheaper answer when it fits, because it builds the trust that matters for the boardroom and town-hall conversation later. — Matthew Dunne, Sales Director

A typical deployment has four moving parts: the booking app staff use on phone, web or Outlook to reserve a desk or room; room scheduling panels outside meeting rooms showing availability; occupancy sensors (PIR, time-of-flight or mmWave) measuring real attendance versus bookings; and an analytics dashboard for HR and property to see utilisation by floor, team or week. The platforms most often deployed in the UK are listed below.

Pricing varies by platform and tier but lands in the same band: roughly £4 to £10 per desk per month for desk booking, £40 to £80 per room per month for room booking, plus hardware (£400 to £900 per scheduling panel; £100 to £250 per occupancy sensor). Microsoft Places sits inside the M365 licence already paid for, which is why it's the default option for organisations who don't need anything more.

The platform choice matters less than getting the rollout right: single sign-on so staff don't fight a separate password; an Outlook plug-in so booking happens where calendars already live; and sensors paired with the booking data so the analytics show real behaviour rather than wishful bookings. Strive AV deploys the room and desk booking software alongside the panels and sensors, with occupancy analytics layered on for clients with property or HR data needs.

Quick reference: umbrella platform combining desk booking, room booking and occupancy analytics; common UK platforms Robin, Smartway2, Eptura/Condeco, GoBright, Microsoft Places, AskCody.