{"id":7604,"date":"2021-12-09T01:30:10","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T09:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=7604"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:59:41","slug":"transforming-microsoft-buildings-with-iot-technology-and-indoor-mapping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/transforming-microsoft-buildings-with-iot-technology-and-indoor-mapping\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming Microsoft buildings with IoT technology and indoor mapping"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7436 size-medium\" style=\"margin-top: 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/ms-digital-stories-300x122.png\" alt=\"Microsoft Digital stories\" width=\"300\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/ms-digital-stories-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/ms-digital-stories.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><em>We periodically update our stories, but we can\u2019t verify that they represent the full picture of our current situation at Microsoft. We leave them on the site so you can see what our thinking and experience was at the time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sphoorti Patil is using Microsoft Azure indoor mapping and IoT technology that helps Microsoft employees find their way around the company\u2019s campuses\u2014and she hasn\u2019t been in a Microsoft building yet.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s not alone in this experience\u2014Microsoft has hired a number of new employees since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and most of them started and are continuing to work remotely (as are most of Microsoft\u2019s approximately 190,000 employees globally).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went through my whole interview process virtually and never met my colleagues in person,\u201d says Patil, a senior program manager in Microsoft Digital, the organization that powers, protects, and transforms the company. \u201cSince employees like me don\u2019t have onboarding buddies to show them around, we\u2019re building software that can be their guide and help them locate things.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quote-body\"><p>We want to create employee experiences that adapt to meet the needs of this changing workforce. Employees can still build relationships and get coffee, but if they have a quick question, they have the option of using Microsoft Teams or meeting room software to sync and collaborate from anywhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"source\">\u2014Michael Tiopan, app manager, Global Workplace Services<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Flexibility is the name of the game as Microsoft, like other companies, considers when to have its employees start working in physical offices in some form in this new hybrid world of work that is emerging across the planet. To support this hybrid work model, the Global Workplace Services team at Microsoft is partnering with Microsoft Digital to transform the company\u2019s employee experience from the inside out using Microsoft Azure Digital Twins and Microsoft Azure Maps.<\/p>\n<p>Together, they\u2019re designing employee experiences with ease and productivity in mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to create employee experiences that adapt to meet the needs of this changing workforce,\u201d says Michael Tiopan, an app manager in Global Workplace Services who works with employees in Microsoft Digital to support workplace management. \u201cEmployees can still build relationships and get coffee, but if they have a quick question, they have the option of using Microsoft Teams or meeting room software to sync and collaborate from anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Navigating Microsoft\u2019s campuses with new IoT technology and indoor mapping\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hx6BJNMx2bQ\" aria-labelledby=\"Navigating Microsoft\u2019s campuses with new IoT technology and indoor mapping\"><\/iframe><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">For a transcript, please view the video on YouTube: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hx6BJNMx2bQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Hx6BJNMx2bQ<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: -5px;\"><em>Sphoorti Patil walks us through the back-end technology and processes for new campus experiences driven by IoT, Azure Digital Twins, and Azure Maps.<\/em><\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s why it\u2019s vital to rethink the workplace, which, at Microsoft, includes both buildings and the tools the company\u2019s employees use on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMicrosoft wants to improve space and occupancy planning to ensure that we offer our employees flexible experiences using indoor mapping and IoT technology,\u201d Patil says.<\/p>\n<p>This means employees can use kiosks to find offices, supply rooms, or caf\u00e9s, or to log into a mobile application to do common tasks like submit time off or book focus rooms.<\/p>\n<p><em>[<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/insidetrack\/creating-the-digital-workplace-at-microsoft\"><em>Learn more about how Microsoft is creating a<\/em><em> world-class, integrated experience for every employee.<\/em><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/insidetrack\/using-azure-digital-twins-and-iot-to-modernize-microsoft-buildings\"><em>Watch this video to find out how Microsoft is using Azure Digital Twins and Internet of Things technology to optimize employee usage and facilities management of company buildings.<\/em><\/a><em>]<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tracking real-time data and building visualizations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Tiopan says having most employees work remotely has enabled the company to speed up an already underway transformation of its large global building footprint using indoor mapping and IoT technology.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quote-body\"><p>Having a channel for data ingestion is foundational to building out connected experiences for employees and optimizing space planning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"source\">\u2014Balaji Radhakrishnan, senior software engineer, Space Management team, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To understand space usage during the pandemic and beyond, the company accelerated the installation of IoT technology sensors in all its buildings. These sensors use anonymized data to track occupancy, temperatures, and more. This continuous supply of real-time data is ingested, tracked, and used by <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/digital-twins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Digital Twins<\/a>, which uses IoT data to create digital models of physical environments like Microsoft buildings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving a channel for data ingestion is foundational to building out connected experiences for employees and optimizing space planning,\u201d says Balaji Radhakrishnan, a senior software engineer on Microsoft Digital\u2019s Space Management team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the biggest challenges to digital transformation is that data usually exists in siloes,\u201d Patil says, \u201cThe IoT sensor data, which captures insights about current occupancy and building conditions, is funneled to Azure Digital Twins, which informs space planning at Microsoft.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Radhakrishnan and Patil\u2019s teams use <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/azure-maps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Maps<\/a> to transform computer-aided design (CAD) drawings into digital visualizations of rooms, hallways, and buildings, which are added into the digital replica created in Microsoft Azure Digital Twins.<\/p>\n<p>This information is then displayed on kiosks that have a map of campus buildings. At Microsoft, this information is shown to employees as an interactive map that\u2019s available through the company\u2019s MyHub app and digital kiosks in Microsoft buildings. Available spaces are shown as green, which makes it easy for employees to find an open spot.<\/p>\n<p>Tiopan says that Microsoft employees can reference this data to track usage and capacity, which enables real estate experts in Global Workplace Services to have proactive conversations with Microsoft leadership about occupancy planning, space utilization, and flexible hybrid workspaces based on activity patterns in the space usage data. Additionally, the data is useful in planning employee services and building maintenance.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quote-body\"><p>Identify opportunities to leverage real-time data to automate any of your processes, and make sure that you\u2019re addressing a customer need in the process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"source\">\u2014Sphoorti Patil, senior program manager, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>One key use case is hot desking, which employees can use as a temporary workspace in a Microsoft building if they\u2019re working remotely most of the time. An employee can go into MyHub, the mobile app for employee experiences, and look for available spaces they can reserve for their use. This feature uses space occupancy data that\u2019s fed into Azure Digital Twins, which is used to create digital replicas of campus buildings that are displayed in physical kiosks and the company\u2019s mobile app.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Standardization and optimization<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Customers can use Microsoft Azure Digital Twins and Azure Maps to create real-time visualizations of physical spaces ranging from an employee office to a retail store. Before investing in building out the infrastructure to support IoT technology sensors, Patil suggests assessing your digital maturity by tracking what percentage of your business has manual versus automated processes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIdentify opportunities to leverage real-time data to automate any of your processes, and make sure that you\u2019re addressing a customer need in the process,\u201d Patil says.<\/p>\n<p>From there, ensure that you have a continuous supply of data that can be ingested by Microsoft Azure Digital Twins, as this is the foundation for digital transformation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvaluate what technical infrastructure you need to support the real-time ingestion of data,\u201d Patil says. \u201cOnce you have that, you can create virtual representations of physical buildings or simulations of supply chain management.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The most important consideration is to assess what your end users want and build IoT technology solutions with those scenarios in mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFocus on the needs of your end users before thinking about how to use IoT technology and Azure Digital Twins for space management and smart building services,\u201d Patil says.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"74\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/key-takeaways-300x74.png\" alt=\"Key Takeaways\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/key-takeaways-300x74.png 300w, https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/key-takeaways.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-list\">\n<li>Check out how <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/azure-maps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Maps<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/digital-twins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Digital Twins<\/a> and IoT technology sensors combine to provide real-time occupancy data and visualizations that are powerful planning tools for companies navigating the new hybrid workplace.<\/li>\n<li>Use <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/azure-maps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Maps<\/a> to create web and mobile applications that are powered by real-time location intelligence.<\/li>\n<li>Use research about your customers or end users to identify the IoT technology solutions you want to develop.<\/li>\n<li>Envisioning your end-to-end scenario can help companies create an architecture that provides a continuous supply of data that can be ingested by <a href=\"https:\/\/azure.microsoft.com\/en-us\/services\/digital-twins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft Azure Digital Twins<\/a>, which can be leveraged to power real-time indoor mapping experiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"81\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7482\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/related_links-300x81.png\" alt=\"Related links\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/related_links-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2021\/10\/related_links.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/insidetrack\/creating-the-digital-workplace-at-microsoft\">Learn more about how Microsoft is creating a world-class, integrated experience for every employee<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/insidetrack\/using-azure-digital-twins-and-iot-to-modernize-microsoft-buildings\">Watch this video to find out how Microsoft is using Azure Digital Twins and Internet of Things technology to optimize employee usage and facilities management of company buildings.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We periodically update our stories, but we can\u2019t verify that they represent the full picture of our current situation at Microsoft. We leave them on the site so you can see what our thinking and experience was at the time. Sphoorti Patil is using Microsoft Azure indoor mapping and IoT technology that helps Microsoft employees [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":7605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_hide_featured_on_single":false,"_show_featured_caption_on_single":true,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[89,115],"coauthors":[213],"class_list":["post-7604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-digital-transformation","tag-microsoft-azure","program-ms-digital-stories","m-blog-post"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Transforming Microsoft buildings with IoT technology and indoor mapping - 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