{"id":7547,"date":"2024-01-31T01:43:09","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=7547"},"modified":"2024-01-31T16:34:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T00:34:28","slug":"new-approach-to-iot-device-integration-enables-employee-experience-at-microsoft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/new-approach-to-iot-device-integration-enables-employee-experience-at-microsoft\/","title":{"rendered":"New approach to IoT device integration enables employee experience at Microsoft"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MicrosoftExciting employee experiences that drive productivity and support hybrid work are possible at Microsoft thanks to a broad network of internet of things (IoT<\/span>) devices. Whether it be hotdesking, pathfinding, or locating an empty conference room, these experiences benefit productivity, access, system health, and a variety of other services across Microsoft\u2019s smart buildings. But with little to no uniformity between device suppliers, creating these experiences is a challenge. Fortunately, IoT device integration at Microsoft just got a lot easier thanks to Microsoft Digital.<\/p>\n

Inside a building you have multiple systems to capture data. We wanted a unified platform, but we also wanted to make sure our experiences are universal.<\/p>\n

\u2014Emmanuel Daniel, director of digital transformation and smart buildings, Global Workplace Services<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

IoT device signals are transformed into services, which light up productivity, wellness, and other solutions for employees and visitors in Microsoft\u2019s smart buildings.<\/p>\n

But information from different IoT devices is distinct and lands in several places. No two suppliers expose or integrate information the same way, making it a complex environment to manage and work with.<\/p>\n

\u201cInside a building you have multiple systems to capture data,\u201d says Emmanuel Daniel, a director of digital transformation and smart buildings with Global Workplace Services, the organization responsible for creating world-class experiences across Microsoft\u2019s buildings and spaces. \u201cWe wanted a unified platform, but we also wanted to make sure our experiences are universal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Replicating IoT-driven experiences across any building in the 110 countries\u00a0and regions<\/span>\u00a0where Microsoft has a presence was a priority.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, new seamless architecture gives Microsoft a stable and uniform platform to work from. Designed by Microsoft Digital and Global Workplace Services, the Digital Integration Platform is an abstraction layer that gives Microsoft a simple interface to expose IoT insights in a consistent way.<\/p>\n

Supported by Microsoft products like Azure Digital Twins, Azure Maps, IoT Edge, and Time Series Insights, the company\u2019s enterprise-wide IoT integration platform enables services to capture IoT signals in real-time, enabling employee experiences like wayfinding, hotdesking, and occupancy.<\/p>\n

[<\/em>Find out how Microsoft is creating a digital workspace.<\/em><\/a> Learn how Microsoft is reinventing the employee experience.<\/em><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

How smart buildings create cool experiences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

IoT devices help Microsoft connect sensor data to real-world benefits. Each signal is an opportunity to create a digitally transformed workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy focus has always been to address employee challenges in the most graceful way,\u201d says Sonaly Choudary, a senior program manager with Microsoft Digital\u2019s SmartBuilding Services team. \u201cIf an employee needs to find a vacant conference room, we can use a sensor status to recognize that.\u201d<\/p>\n

By capturing signals and exposing them as insights, Microsoft Digital can improve productivity. This can manifest as efficiency systems for onsite visitors, such as pathfinding, or intricate system health monitoring that speeds up IoT device management.<\/p>\n

The SmartBuilding Services team puts a lot of effort into understanding the specifics of each use case.<\/p>\n

But it was also important to recognize and respect how different regions might have different experience requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cCulturally, we\u2019re going to see different expectations depending on which country we\u2019re in,\u201d Daniel says. \u201cWe want everyone to have great experiences without feeling like there\u2019s an invasion of their norms.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to standardizing IoT signals from disparate devices so that Global Workplace Services can replicate services, the Digital Integration Platform allows the team to shape experiences to the needs of any environment.<\/p>\n

Once there\u2019s a clear picture of how to create positive impact with an IoT device, Microsoft can render the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you know a pain point, you can start building a solution,\u201d Choudary says. \u201cFrom there, you can start working with suppliers to understand which solutions solve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

One platform to manage them all <\/strong><\/h2>\n

If 40 sensors are used to create 40 different experiences, should you go to 40 different systems? Of course not, you go to one.<\/p>\n

But IoT device integration wasn\u2019t always so easy.<\/p>\n

\"Rohun
Rohun Patel, a program manager on Microsoft Digital\u2019s Device Management team, helps procure the IoT devices that create experiences at Microsoft. (Photo by Rohun Patel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat could happen in the past is that a building might have certain device vendors with their own software and unique ways of exposing data, and a different building would have a completely different set of suppliers,\u201d says Rohun Patel, a program manager on the Microsoft Digital device management team. \u201cNot only does this cause different features across locations, but it also fragments the experiences. You can\u2019t use one company\u2019s hardware with another\u2019s software, so different buildings would have to use different employee apps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some suppliers use APIs, others require Microsoft to ping for the data, while others might push data when a sensor is triggered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve created a set of integration patterns that can talk to whatever hardware we\u2019re trying to outfit campuses with and onboard that data into the Digital Integration Platform,\u201d Patel says. \u201cOur patterns can use webhooks, MQTT protocol, consume from EventHubs, or communicate through APIs. That\u2019s how we can power our experiences consistently even when different campuses buy different devices that behave a little differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

By making integrations with IoT devices smoother, employee experiences become consistent. Bringing signals into the Digital Integration Platform allows Microsoft Digital and Global Workplace Services to expose insights in a standard way, regardless of the device supplier.<\/p>\n

Keeping pace with the future<\/h2>\n

Construction of a Microsoft smart building can take up to three years, and the lifecycle extends for even longer, so the company has to plan IoT device integration and experiences for the long run.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to add to our global real estate portfolio and refresh cycles are ongoing,\u201d Shanmugam says. \u201cUsers always expect something new, but it takes time and onboarding is critical. There are unknowns.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, we\u2019re still reliant on suppliers to expose data in a way that we can consume. In many cases, we are working with suppliers that are exposing data at this scale for the first time, which presents a lot of challenges to deliver integrations in a predictable and schedulable way.<\/p>\n

\u2014Rohun Patel, program manager, Microsoft Digital<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sometimes it takes several months before an experience becomes a reality, and even then, it carries some uncertainty. Until the IoT device is onboarded and tested, Global Workplace Services and Microsoft Digital have limited time to play around with an experience in the real world.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployees will use it because they love it or they\u2019ll leave it alone,\u201d Choudary says.<\/p>\n

Even with the Digital Integration Platform, IoT device integration still has its challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re still reliant on suppliers to expose data in a way that we can consume,\u201d Patel says. \u201cIn many cases, we are working with suppliers that are exposing data at this scale for the first time, which presents a lot of challenges to deliver integrations in a predictable and schedulable way.\u201d<\/p>\n

And of course, security, governance, privacy, and device health are also top of mind for managing IoT devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can now be mindful of data privacy issues,\u201d Daniel says. \u201cUsers will only trust these services if we are respectful and governed appropriately. Data is centralized in the Digital Integration Platform\u2014it serves as the secure backbone for data extraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cool experiences start with collaboration<\/h2>\n

Microsoft\u2019s smart building experiences need to operate at scale, but the Digital Integration Platform allows Microsoft Digital and Global Workplace Services to replicate and fine-tune experiences across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unique challenge has been effectively digitizing the environment,\u201d Daniel says. \u201cWorking with Microsoft Digital has allowed us to correlate data to device to space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of Microsoft\u2019s large and diverse portfolio of global real estate, the two organizations will continue to collaborate on finding improvements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to work towards automation and make systems self-serve,\u201d Shanmugam says. \u201cAn experience in a box, packaged as smart plug and play that just starts working when they\u2019re plugged in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft Digital is currently working on helping the industry build seamless systems that can be shipped anywhere, allowing Microsoft to grow its IoT-driven experiences without complicating IoT device deployments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly trying to standardize and automate how we onboard,\u201d Patel says. \u201cThe gold standard for our message format is adopting the RealEstateCore Digital Twins Definition Language (DTDL) models, which declare what the device is and what data it can supply in Azure Digital Twins. As companies continue to adopt this, their devices will be able to speak the same language as many others and align to a data standard that is quickly growing and being deployed at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

This standardization effort not only helps Microsoft, but IoT adoption at large.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest benefits is the ease at which I can onboard a building to offer services,\u201d Daniel says. \u201cTenants and users will now get fine-tuned experiences to better collaborate in a way that\u2019s best suited for their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as new experiences roll out, Microsoft users will reap the benefits of an awesome experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIoT is valuable because you can provide a consistent experience,\u201d Choudary says. \u201cYou can get information as to what\u2019s going on inside a building. It\u2019s a consortium of devices, sensors, integration, people, and information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Key<\/p>\n