Rethink the Modern Workplace With Microsoft Places
Learn how Microsoft Places helps organizations optimize hybrid work with workplace insights that improve collaboration, enhance employee experiences and maximize office space utilization.
The Office Hasn't Disappeared. It's Been Redefined.
Today’s workplace is built around flexibility, collaboration and employee choice. But as hybrid work evolves, many organizations still lack visibility into how their physical spaces are being used.
Without meaningful workplace data, decisions about office design, collaboration spaces and future investments are often based on assumptions rather than real employee behavior.
Microsoft Places helps close that gap by bringing workplace intelligence into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, giving organizations the insights they need to create more connected and efficient workplaces.
Hybrid Work Demands a More Intelligent Workplace
Hybrid work has transformed the role of the office. Rather than serving as a place employees report to every day, today’s workplace has shifted to being a space where collaboration, innovation and meaningful connection can occur.
That shift requires organizations to rethink how physical spaces are designed and managed. Previously, organizations were only able to draw on their own assumptions, rather than employee behavior, to determine the layouts of the office.
The result?
- Misallocated office space: Organizations may continue investing in conference rooms that sit empty while employees compete for shared desks or collaborative areas.
- Poor employee experience: Employees arrive expecting to work with their team only to find there aren’t enough workstations or meeting spaces available.
- Missed collaboration opportunities: If teams aren’t coordinating when they’re in the office, employees may commute in only to find themselves spending the day on virtual meetings.
- Reactive instead of proactive planning: Workplace changes are made only after complaints arise, rather than using data to anticipate future needs.
- Difficulty justifying workplace investments: Leadership increasingly expects decisions to be backed by measurable data. Without it, facilities and IT leaders struggle to build a business case for expanding, reducing or redesigning office space.
Why Now Is the Right Time to Evaluate Microsoft Places
Microsoft has made it significantly easier for organizations to begin using Microsoft Places as part of their existing Microsoft 365 investment. Recent licensing changes have expanded access to many of the platform’s core workplace coordination capabilities, allowing many organizations to take advantage of features they may already be entitled to use.
That means organizations can begin improving hybrid work experiences without introducing an entirely new workplace platform. Rather than adding another standalone solution, they can extend the value of the Microsoft tools employees already rely on every day.
For organizations that have previously dismissed Microsoft Places because of licensing complexity or cost, now is an ideal time to reassess what’s available and determine how the platform can support their evolving workplace strategy.
How Microsoft Places Delivers Actionable Workplace Insights
Microsoft Places extends the Microsoft 365 experience by bringing workplace coordination into familiar applications like Outlook and Microsoft Teams.
Employees can create work plans, share when they expect to be in the office and view coworkers’ workplace presence to better coordinate in-person collaboration.
Hybrid RSVP capabilities make it easier to understand who plans to attend meetings onsite, helping teams schedule meaningful face-to-face time rather than commuting in for another day of virtual meetings.
When employees arrive, Places Finder and interactive floor maps simplify locating and reserving desks near teammates, while desk and room booking, workplace check-in and automatic space release help organizations make better use of shared workspaces.
For IT and business leaders, the value extends well beyond workplace scheduling.
Microsoft Places provides aggregate workplace analytics that help organizations understand how office spaces are being used overall, not how individual employees spend their time. Rather than tracking employee attendance or movement, the platform reports on space utilization trends, helping organizations identify high-demand collaboration areas, underutilized meeting rooms and opportunities to optimize workplace design.
These insights can guide your organization’s real estate spending. With greater workplace intelligence, you can be sure you’re leasing, maintaining or renovating spaces your employees use the most.
Maximize the Value of Microsoft Places with CDW
Successfully transforming the workplace involves more than implementing new technologies. Organizations need a strategy that aligns workplace experiences with business objectives while encouraging employee adoption and maximizing existing Microsoft investments.
CDW helps organizations evaluate which Microsoft Places capabilities are available within their existing Microsoft 365 environment, identify opportunities to improve workplace coordination and implement a strategy that aligns technology with business goals. From planning and deployment to adoption and ongoing optimization, CDW helps customers maximize the value of both Microsoft Places and their broader Microsoft investment.
As the hybrid workplace continues to evolve, organizations have an opportunity to transform their office from simply being a place where employees work into a destination that fosters strong collaboration, facilitates great employee experiences and supports smarter business decisions.
It’s time your organization started building a workplace informed by data rather than assumptions.
Matt Toltzien
CDW Expert
Nick Hartmann
Principal Consulting Engineer