Savance Workplace and Microsoft Teams
Savance Workplace vs. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams helps employees communicate and shows whether someone may be available for a call or message. Savance Workplace provides a broader operational view of who is in or out, where they are, when they expect to return, and who needs to be accounted for – including employees, visitors, and contractors.
Use Savance Workplace independently or access it within Microsoft Teams and Outlook.
Microsoft Teams
Savance Workplace
Availability Is Not the Same as Workplace Visibility
Microsoft Teams presence, Teams work location, and Savance Workplace statuses answer different questions. Teams helps employees understand when and where colleagues may be available to collaborate. Savance Workplace provides the operational information organizations need to coordinate people across the workplace.
Microsoft Teams Presence
Can I reach this person right now?
Available
Teams presence shows whether someone is available, busy, away, in a meeting, or offline. These indicators are based largely on activity within Microsoft Teams, calendar information, and device activity. They are useful for communication, but they do not confirm whether someone is physically on site.
Microsoft Teams Work Location
Where does this person plan to work today?
Office
Teams can show whether someone is working remotely or in the office, including a specific building when Microsoft Places is configured. Workplace check-in can also detect certain corporate Wi-Fi connections or desk peripherals. However, users can change or clear their work location, and Teams does not provide the historical reporting or broader workplace workflows organizations may require.
Savance Workplace Status
Where is this person, when will they return, and are they accounted for?
Client Visit
Back at 3:30 PM
Quarterly meeting at Acme Corporation
Savance Workplace provides configurable in/out statuses, locations, expected return times, comments, and other workplace-specific information. This creates a more useful operational view for day-to-day coordination, reporting, and accountability.
What Microsoft Teams Alone Leaves Out
Relying on Microsoft Teams alone means relying on tools designed primarily for communication and collaboration. Teams does not provide the same combination of workplace-specific statuses, update methods, shared visibility, historical records, and connected accountability workflows available through Savance Workplace.
Workplace Status with More Context
See whether someone is in or out, where they are, when they expect to return, and any relevant comments. Configure statuses, colors, return-time requirements, and custom fields around your workplace needs.
Status Updates Beyond Microsoft Teams
Keep statuses current through access control events, optional geofencing, scheduled changes, kiosk check-ins, and manual updates. People can update or be included in the system without regularly using Microsoft Teams.
Everyone in View, With or Without Teams
Include employees, visitors, contractors, and people who do not regularly work at a computer. A Microsoft 365 account, license, or signed-in Teams device is not required for someone to be represented in Savance Workplace.
Shared Views for Different Needs
Present current workplace information through custom Status Boards, reception dashboards, browsers, and individual devices. Authorized users can see the information appropriate to their roles without relying on every employee’s Teams window.
Historical Records and Reporting
Maintain status history for attendance reviews, time-on-site reporting, audits, and other operational needs. Review what happened over time instead of seeing only someone’s current presence or work location.
Information for Emergency Accountability
Use the same workplace information to support Emergency Mustering and account for employees, visitors, and contractors during an evacuation. There is no need to reconstruct a roster from communication presence, directories, or planned work locations.
Where Savance Workplace Goes Beyond Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams provides communication presence and work-location tools that help colleagues coordinate. Savance Workplace supports a broader range of workplace needs, from configurable statuses and automatic updates to historical reporting, visitor visibility, and emergency accountability.
Capability
Microsoft Teams
Savance Workplace
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Communication availability
Microsoft Teams:
Shows whether someone is available, busy, away, in a meeting, or offline.
Savance Workplace:
Shows a separate workplace status with location, return time, comments, and other configured information.
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Work location
Microsoft Teams:
Shows a planned or detected work location, such as remote, in the office, or at a configured building.
Savance Workplace:
Tracks configurable in/out statuses, locations, and other information relevant to workplace operations.
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Automatic updates
Microsoft Teams:
Can detect work location through configured corporate Wi-Fi networks or desk peripherals.
Savance Workplace:
Can update statuses through access control events, optional geofencing, kiosks, scheduled changes, and other configured methods.
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Custom statuses
Microsoft Teams:
Uses a predefined set of communication presence options, with work location and status message features.
Savance Workplace:
Supports configurable statuses, colors, comments, return times, custom fields, and organization-specific rules.
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People without regular computer access
Microsoft Teams:
Presence and automatic workplace check-in generally depend on using supported Microsoft applications and devices.
Savance Workplace:
Kiosks, access control integrations, mobile devices, browsers, and other interfaces extend visibility beyond regular Teams users.
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Visitors and contractors
Microsoft Teams:
Supports guest collaboration but does not provide purpose-built visitor check-in, badge printing, host notifications, or visitor records.
Savance Workplace:
Tracks employees, visitors, and contractors, with optional Visitor Management workflows for pre-registration, check-in, badges, notifications, and history.
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Shared workplace views
Microsoft Teams:
Presence and work location appear within Microsoft applications.
Savance Workplace:
Information can also appear on shared Status Boards, kiosks, reception views, browsers, mobile devices, and other interfaces.
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History and reporting
Microsoft Teams:
Does not provide historical work-location reporting designed for workplace attendance or accountability.
Savance Workplace:
Maintains status history and reporting for attendance, time on site, operational review, and other configured purposes.
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Emergency accountability
Microsoft Teams:
Not designed to create or manage an emergency muster roster.
Savance Workplace:
Can use current workplace information with Emergency Mustering to account for employees, visitors, and contractors.
Works Independently and Within Microsoft 365
Savance Workplace works independently through web, desktop and mobile applications, kiosks, Status Boards, and other configured interfaces. Microsoft 365 users can also access Savance Workplace within Microsoft Teams, New Outlook, and Outlook Web, while a separate add-in is available for Classic Outlook.
- View the live in/out board and update current or future statuses
- Access Savance Workplace using Microsoft SSO
- Pre-register visitors from Outlook appointments
More Than Day-to-Day Status Visibility
Savance Workplace can support more than day-to-day status visibility. Information about employees, visitors, and contractors can also be used across connected workflows, helping organizations avoid separate processes and disconnected records.
Visitor Management
Pre-register visitors and contractors, guide them through configurable check-in steps, print badges, notify hosts, and maintain visit history. Visitor status can be included alongside employee information when broader workplace visibility is needed.
Emergency Mustering
Use current workplace information to build an emergency roster that includes employees, visitors, and contractors. Response teams can account for people through multiple mustering methods, with offline capability available when connectivity is disrupted.
Status History & Reporting
Maintain records of status changes, attendance, time on site, and other configured activity. Reporting helps organizations review patterns, answer operational questions, and support internal reporting or audit requirements.
Microsoft Teams shows current communication and work-location signals. Savance Workplace turns workplace information into something organizations can use across daily operations, reporting, visitor processes, and emergency response.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Microsoft Teams replace Savance Workplace?
Microsoft Teams and Savance Workplace serve different purposes. Teams supports communication, collaboration, and work-location coordination. Savance Workplace provides configurable workplace statuses, multiple update methods, shared views, historical records, and connected workflows for visitors, reporting, and emergency accountability.
What is the difference between Teams presence and a Savance Workplace status?
Teams presence indicates whether someone may be available for a call or message, such as Available, Busy, Away, or Offline. A Savance Workplace status can show whether someone is in or out, where they are, when they expect to return, and other information configured by the organization. Status options are unlimited and fully customizable to each organization.
Is Teams work location the same as a Savance Workplace status?
No. Teams work location shows where someone plans to work or, when configured, where workplace check-in detects them. Savance Workplace supports more detailed, configurable statuses and can maintain the information needed for broader workplace visibility, reporting, and accountability. Depending on configuration, the Savance system can also automatically detect a person’s physical location in various ways, including access control integration.
Do Savance Workplace statuses change Microsoft Teams presence?
No. Teams presence continues to show communication availability based on Teams activity, calendar information, and device activity. Savance Workplace maintains separate workplace statuses designed around each organization’s operational needs.
Does Savance Workplace maintain status history?
Yes. Savance Workplace maintains status history that can support attendance reviews, time-on-site reporting, operational questions, and other reporting needs. Access to history and reports depends on the organization’s configuration and user permissions.
Does Savance Workplace require Microsoft Teams or Microsoft 365?
No. Savance Workplace operates independently through web, desktop and mobile applications, kiosks, Status Boards, and other configured interfaces. Organizations that use Microsoft 365 can also access Savance Workplace within Teams, New Outlook, and Outlook Web.
Can Savance Workplace statuses update automatically?
Yes. Depending on the organization’s configuration, statuses can update through access control events, optional mobile geofencing, scheduled changes, kiosks, and other methods. Users can also update their status through Savance Workplace interfaces, including Microsoft Teams and Outlook.
Do employees, visitors, and contractors need Microsoft 365 licenses?
No. People can be included in Savance Workplace workflows without having a Microsoft 365 account or license. This helps organizations maintain visibility across employees, visitors, contractors, and others who may not regularly use Teams.
Which versions of Microsoft Teams and Outlook are supported?
Savance Workplace can be accessed within Microsoft Teams, New Outlook, and Outlook Web. A separate add-in is available for organizations that continue to use Classic Outlook.
Do we need Active Directory to use Savance Workplace?
No. Savance Workplace can operate without Active Directory. Organizations can also connect supported directory services and include people who are not part of the primary directory.
See Savance Workplace in Action
See how Savance Workplace goes beyond Microsoft Teams presence to support workplace visibility, reporting, visitor workflows, and emergency accountability.
Current customers may also contact their Customer Success Manager directly to explore Microsoft 365 interfaces and additional capabilities.