Microsoft Places consulting for connected and hybrid workplaces.

Hybrid working changes how offices are planned and experienced. Teams need visibility of intended workplace presence and office attendance to coordinate time together. Microsoft Places can support this coordination through work plans and workplace information within the Microsoft environment. The starting point is understanding how employees use offices, meeting rooms and collaboration spaces.

PSGroup helps translate these needs into workplace requirements and practical processes. We consider team coordination, workplace planning and the employee experience alongside operational responsibilities. Information about presence should help people organise useful office days and support informed decisions about the workplace, with clear expectations about how that information is used.

Finding an appropriate workplace or meeting room depends on understandable information about locations, spaces and availability. Microsoft Places provides workplace discovery and booking experiences within supported Microsoft 365 environments. Available functions depend on configuration, licensing and the resources established by the organisation.

PSGroup considers the complete journey: planning an office visit, locating a suitable space and coordinating with colleagues. We help relate these activities to room information, workplace services and local practices. Clear descriptions and reliable availability information can reduce uncertainty for employees, while consistent processes support the teams responsible for managing shared spaces.

Workplace attendance, planned presence and space bookings describe different aspects of office use. They should be interpreted alongside the coverage and limitations of each source. A booking does not necessarily confirm physical occupation, and planned attendance can change. Understanding these distinctions supports more useful analysis of capacity, meeting room use and hybrid working patterns.

PSGroup helps assess how this information relates to Smart Building & IoT measurements, IWMS space records and AI & Data analysis. Combining sources requires consistent identifiers, defined rules and appropriate access. The objective is a clearer understanding of workplace use rather than an assumption that every signal measures the same activity.

Microsoft Places is part of the Microsoft workplace ecosystem, with experiences available through Outlook and Teams. Deployment needs to align with the organisation’s Microsoft 365 environment, identity arrangements, permissions and collaboration tools. Building and resource information must be organised in a way that supports the intended employee experience.

PSGroup works with workplace teams and technical stakeholders to clarify responsibilities and dependencies. This can include reviewing information readiness, functional requirements and the relationship between workplace processes and Microsoft administration. Integration choices are assessed against supported capabilities and the client’s environment; configuration, licensing and access requirements are confirmed during project preparation.

Microsoft Places and an IWMS can serve complementary purposes. Places focuses on workplace experience and hybrid coordination, while an IWMS can support broader space, asset, maintenance and real estate operations. Organisations benefit from understanding which system owns each record and how information should move between them.

Room data in Archibus, CAD & BIM information and connected building signals can provide operational context. PSGroup helps assess mappings, workplace services, occupancy definitions and integration considerations with the responsible teams. Any exchange needs a supported technical approach, validation and an agreed update process. This connects the employee experience with the physical workplace and its management.

Workplace information can support space planning, capacity decisions and office portfolio reviews when its meaning is clear. Attendance patterns may indicate changing demand, while room use and employee feedback can inform discussions about collaboration settings. Reporting should distinguish observations from assumptions and reflect the period and locations covered.

PSGroup approaches workplace analytics from both technology and real estate perspectives. We help define questions, relevant indicators and the information needed to answer them. Our AI & Data work connects analysis with workplace strategy and operational decisions, with attention to data quality and human interpretation. Findings become useful when teams can relate them to their buildings, working practices and priorities.

Reliable building, floor, room and workplace identifiers underpin a coherent digital experience. Organisational structures, user information and naming conventions also need to remain understandable across systems. Inconsistent room names or outdated floor information can create confusion for employees and weaken the value of reporting.

PSGroup helps structure and validate workplace information, clarify ownership and establish update rules. Governance includes responsibility for changes, appropriate access and the purpose of collecting and sharing information. These arrangements should continue after deployment as buildings, teams and working practices evolve. Clear stewardship helps workplace and technical teams maintain a dependable common reference.

Successful deployment combines technical preparation with operational readiness. PSGroup can support requirements, functional design, stakeholder coordination, data preparation and testing. Scenarios should reflect real activities, including locating spaces, planning office attendance and coordinating meetings, with issues reviewed before wider adoption.

User guidance and change management support help teams understand the experience and their responsibilities. We consider workplace processes, feedback and ongoing ownership alongside activation. Our role is independent advisory and coordination, helping organisations align technology with the way their offices operate. Discuss your workplace requirements with PSGroup to define an appropriate scope and practical next steps.