CRN Impact Awards: Barhead Platform Leads the Way to a Safe Return to the Office

Ken Struthers (Barhead CEO)

Microsoft Gold partner Barhead’s Clearspace platform is designed to help organizations make a safe return to the office in the wake of the pandemic, earning it an eventual spot in the Platform Innovator category of CRN’s 2021 Impact Awards.

Clearspace is a comprehensive solution that is built on the Microsoft Power Platform and can be delivered through team integration or as a web or mobile app to ease access for employees.

Through Barhead’s platform, users can book, manage and monitor the movement of office areas and employees in the workplace, and companies can manage employee footprint and use of facilities.

It offers a quick view of area potential and allows users to manage physical distancing procedures and contact tracing efforts.

Administrators can customize user requirements, setting office space based on structure type, volume, floor area, or property type.

It also integrates with Microsoft Power Virtual Agents to provide a chatbot that can help users book and check in or out within the team.

For smart-building, IoT integration has been developed with pre-built settings to connect to standard sensors and scanners such as people counting, temperature checking stations and facial recognition.

The app can feed data to business workflow assets and work order management applications such as Service Now, IBM Maximo, SAP, and more.

Barhead has already deployed solutions for key customers including the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and the National Roads and Motorists Association (NRMA).

Clearspace helped 1,600 BoM employees and 1,500 NRMA employees return to work.

BoM Enterprise and Business Architecture Manager Peter Fattoush said, “The Barhead solution seemed the most logical as it was built on the Power platform, which is part of the Microsoft Foundational System. It was a fairly logical approach. The other option was building it yourself – But we want to spend our development time on products unique to the Bureau, not the digital workplace.”

NRMA Marine and Corporate Technology Business Partner Alana Azar agreed on the efficiency of deploying the Clearspace platform.

“At NRMA Group we believe that time is precious and providing flexibility helps people meet the challenges of work and personal commitments,” she said.

“We also know that achieving a good balance between work and home life makes a better workplace full of happier, healthier, more productive and more engaged employees. It’s about results, about coping times.” I’m not.”

Barhead has enjoyed continued success since first investing in Microsoft Power Platform technology in 2018. In 2020, for the third year in a row, Barhead retained its position as the Microsoft Gold Partner for Microsoft Inner Circle and Business Applications.