There was a time when “workplace optimization” meant counting heads, dividing by desks, and hoping the maths labored out. You paid hire on 1,500 desks as a result of that’s what you’d at all times paid. You ran HVAC 24/7 as a result of somebody may be working late. You put in assembly room shows by calling electricians, drilling partitions, and ready for IT to configure every little thing. That was costly. That was regular.
Now there’s a Dutch software program firm that may inform you precisely which 450 of these desks no one’s utilizing, calculate the million-pound financial savings should you reduce them, and provides your constructing homeowners sensor information that pays for itself in vitality financial savings alone. No {hardware} gross sales. No set up crews. Simply software program that connects folks to buildings and buildings to folks—and makes each side extra precious.
The workplace infrastructure drawback didn’t get solved with higher {hardware}. It acquired solved when somebody made the constructing itself clever sufficient to show what it’s really price.
The Downside: You’re Paying for Workplace Area No one’s Utilizing
GoBright is a Dutch Sensible Office software program firm established in 2016 that helps constructing homeowners optimize workplace house by way of sensor-driven analytics, room and desk reserving, and constructing administration instruments. The platform integrates with Microsoft 365, Groups, and Google Workspace to supply real-time occupancy information, vitality monitoring, and house utilization insights that allow corporations to chop pointless actual property prices—in some instances saving over $1 million yearly. GoBright operates by way of a 100% partner-driven mannequin, working with AV integrators who deal with {hardware} gross sales and buyer relationships whereas GoBright supplies the recurring software program platform.
Stroll into most company workplaces managing 1,500 staff and also you’ll discover roughly 1,050 desks—70% protection, which was once the usual. However with hybrid work, these desks sit empty most days. You’re nonetheless paying hire on them. You’re nonetheless operating energy to them. You’re nonetheless cleansing round them.
Chris Wiegeraad, CCO, from GoBright, is direct in regards to the math:
“When you’ve got an workplace with 1,500 staff, you in all probability have 70% protection of desks. That’s 1,050. I dare to say that with out instruments, you’ll be able to in the reduction of 450 desks to 600 since you don’t want them anymore.”
The European norm requires 5 sq. meters per desk. In costly cities like London, workplace hire runs $300-400 per sq. meter. Do the maths: 450 desks × 5 sq. meters × $400 = over $1 million in annual financial savings on workplace hire alone.
However right here’s the issue: with out information, you’re guessing. Services managers don’t know which desks are literally unused versus sometimes used. They don’t know which assembly rooms are booked however by no means occupied. They don’t know the place the vitality waste is occurring.
GoBright solves this by turning your workplace right into a data-generating asset.
RELATED STORIES
From Reserving Device to Constructing Intelligence
GoBright began in 2016 as a reserving platform—rooms, desks, parking, areas. That’s nonetheless the muse. However the platform developed right into a constructing administration resolution that makes use of sensor information to optimize how your complete workplace operates.
“We join folks to the constructing and the constructing to the folks. When you’ve got a constructing administration resolution with every kind of sensors, no one’s studying the info. However should you can provide the info again to the customers, they know use the constructing appropriately. And should you use the info from the customers—how they guide, the place they guide, their favorites, once they are available—we will make the most of the constructing higher and save a number of cash.”
Wiegeraad defined.
The platform now contains room and desk reserving built-in with Microsoft Outlook, Groups, and Google Workspace; sensor information for occupancy measurement, folks counting, humidity, CO2, and temperature; vitality monitoring that tracks energy consumption of unattended desks and screens, reducing energy mechanically when areas aren’t in use; digital signage; and analytics that assist constructing homeowners optimize cleansing schedules, scale back HVAC prices, and show ROI.
The ROI on GoBright’s platform is excessive as a result of it’s not about including infrastructure—it’s about making the infrastructure you have already got work smarter.
Why GoBright Doesn’t Compete with Integrators
Most software program corporations need to personal the shopper relationship. GoBright does the alternative. The corporate is 100% partner-driven, which means it really works completely by way of AV integrators, resellers, and set up companions who deal with the shopper relationship, invoicing, {hardware} gross sales, and ongoing assist.
“We do speak to finish clients, however we at all times introduce a accomplice to do the invoicing, assist out with the set up, preserve the contacts. They should promote the {hardware} merchandise. If we now have room reserving software program, we don’t promote the room reserving panels. That’s the place the accomplice is available in.”
Wiegeraad mentioned.
This mannequin works as a result of it aligns incentives. AV integrators have spent a long time promoting {hardware} with shrinking margins and one-time income. GoBright offers them recurring software program income on high of the {hardware} they’re already promoting.
For an organization managing 1,500 staff, GoBright would possibly cost $50K in software program licenses. The integrator sells the {hardware}, installs the system, and maintains the connection. The client will get a complete resolution. The integrator will get recurring income. GoBright scales by way of companions while not having its personal gross sales and set up infrastructure.
“In our enterprise of Sensible Office options, there’s numerous consolidation as of late. There’s numerous fairness coming in, as a result of we appear to be the brand new gold, particularly for AV integrators, as a result of we add software program, recurring enterprise to the {hardware} folks need to promote.”
Vitality Financial savings, AI Integration, and Cisco Partnership
At ISE 2026, GoBright showcased its newest product roadmap, which extends the platform past reserving into environmental monitoring and vitality optimization.
The brand new options embrace a gateway and sensors for folks counting, humidity, CO2, and temperature monitoring; energy-saving capabilities that monitor energy consumption of unattended desks and screens, mechanically reducing energy when areas aren’t in use; integration with Cisco and WebEx; an AI chatbot inside Groups that permits staff to guide areas conversationally and learns preferences over time; and integration with utility system administration platforms in order that if a booked assembly room has a damaged display screen, the system mechanically rebooks the worker.
The energy-saving options alone create ROI. When you’ve got 400 unattended desks with screens and docking stations on standby, the facility consumption is important. With proximity card tap-in at reserving units, energy solely comes on when somebody really makes use of the desk. The funding pays for itself in 4 years by way of vitality financial savings.
“When you’ve got 400 desks unattended, however there are two screens on and a docking station on standby, the facility consumption is big. You’ll be able to monitor that. We are able to reduce off all of the desks. As quickly as you come to the desk together with your proximity card, you faucet into our reserving system. The facility comes on. The little funding for that you just earn again in 4 years.”
Scalability from Three Rooms to 300 Buildings
Some of the compelling points of GoBright’s platform is that it scales from three assembly rooms to 300 buildings with out altering the core mannequin.
Small workplaces with only a few rooms can use GoBright for primary reserving and digital signage. Giant enterprises with a whole bunch of assembly rooms can use the total platform—occupancy analytics, vitality monitoring, environmental sensors, and constructing optimization.
“We’re there for purchasers who’ve three assembly rooms. Fantastic. Are available in. We’ll enable you out. We do digital signage to unfold each message from each house. Even when you’ve got solely two licenses, we love you as a buyer. However alternatively, as a result of we will join every little thing within the workplace and use your present infrastructure, we additionally appeal to numerous giant workplaces, giant buildings.”
The platform is modular. You stack options like Lego. You solely pay for what you employ. There are not any per-user charges—simply asset-based pricing. And since GoBright integrates with the instruments corporations already use, there’s no separate app staff must be taught.
It’s office intelligence that doesn’t really feel like office know-how. It simply works.
The Future The place Buildings Show Their Personal Worth
Think about a office the place each desk, each room, each sensor, and each display screen is related. The constructing is aware of whenever you’re coming in. It is aware of your most well-liked temperature. It is aware of which rooms are booked however by no means used. It is aware of which desks are drawing energy with no one there.
Now think about that very same constructing generates a report each month exhibiting precisely how a lot cash it’s saving you. $1 million in eradicated desk prices. $200K in vitality financial savings. 30% discount in cleansing prices as a result of the system is aware of which areas had been really occupied.
The constructing isn’t simply infrastructure anymore. It’s a data-generating asset that proves its personal ROI.
“Once I began in 2017 to arrange the entire industrial enterprise, I mentioned, ‘My objective is to grow to be an actual model, well-known by all people. Second, each potential buyer that involves market and says we’re going to tender for this—we a minimum of need to be within the high 5 and get an invite.’ That’s now occurring due to the purchasers we now have, the good accomplice panorama we now have of resellers, and the good integration companions we now have.”
The hole between “we expect we want much less workplace house” and “we all know precisely which 450 desks to get rid of and the way a lot that saves us” is widening. On one facet, you have got corporations nonetheless guessing. On the opposite, you have got corporations with platforms like GoBright feeding them information that turns actual property right into a strategic asset.
The workplace that proves its personal worth is the one which survives. The platform that makes buildings clever is the one which scales. And the accomplice mannequin that makes everybody extra precious is the one which outlasts consolidation.
GoBright isn’t promoting software program. It’s promoting certainty. And in a world the place hybrid work makes each sq. meter of workplace house a query mark, certainty is the brand new ROI.
Need to keep forward of office transformation? Be part of the UC Right now publication for insights on Sensible Office tech, AV innovation, and the way forward for hybrid work. Join right here
Be part of the dialog: Join with office know-how leaders within the UC Right now LinkedIn group. Be part of the group
Associated Tales:
Have insights on Sensible Office platforms or partner-driven SaaS fashions? Share your perspective—we’d love to listen to the way you’re approaching office optimization.
Observe Rob Scott on LinkedIn for extra on office tech and unified communications. Join right here
FAQs
What’s GoBright and what does the platform do?
GoBright is a Dutch Sensible Office software program firm established in 2016 that gives room reserving, desk reservation, parking administration, and constructing optimization by way of sensor-driven analytics. The platform integrates with Microsoft 365, Groups, Google Workspace, and Cisco WebEx to assist corporations optimize workplace house utilization, scale back vitality prices, and enhance worker office expertise. GoBright operates by way of a 100% partner-driven mannequin, working with AV integrators and resellers who deal with {hardware} gross sales and buyer relationships whereas GoBright supplies the recurring software program platform.
How a lot cash can corporations save utilizing GoBright’s office analytics?
Firms managing 1,500 staff can probably save over $1 million yearly in workplace hire by utilizing GoBright’s occupancy analytics to determine and get rid of unused desks. The platform’s sensor information exhibits which desks and assembly rooms are literally getting used, enabling data-driven choices about house optimization. Extra financial savings come from vitality monitoring options that scale back energy consumption by mechanically reducing energy to unattended desks and screens, with ROI achieved in roughly 4 years.
Why is GoBright’s partner-driven mannequin precious for AV integrators?
GoBright’s partner-driven mannequin permits AV integrators so as to add recurring software program income (usually $50K+ per enterprise deal) on high of conventional {hardware} gross sales, reworking one-time transactions into ongoing relationships. Companions deal with buyer invoicing, {hardware} gross sales, set up, and assist whereas GoBright supplies the software program platform—which means integrators personal the shopper relationship and seize each {hardware} margins and software program licensing income. This mannequin addresses the trade shift towards recurring income as Sensible Office options appeal to fairness funding.
What new options does GoBright’s newest product roadmap embrace?
GoBright’s newest product roadmap contains environmental monitoring (folks counting, humidity, CO2, temperature), energy-saving options that monitor and management energy consumption of unattended desks, integration with Cisco and WebEx platforms, an AI chatbot inside Groups for conversational reserving, and integration with system administration platforms for automated room rebooking when gear failures happen. The platform additionally launched new gateways and sensors that stretch constructing intelligence past primary reserving into complete facility optimization.
How does GoBright scale from small workplaces to giant enterprises?
GoBright makes use of a modular, asset-based pricing mannequin with no per-user charges, permitting corporations to start out with simply three assembly rooms and primary reserving options, then scale to a whole bunch of rooms with full occupancy analytics, environmental monitoring, and vitality optimization. The platform integrates with present infrastructure (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Cisco) and works by way of accomplice networks for set up and assist, making deployment sensible for each small workplaces and world enterprises managing a number of buildings.
What occurs if each constructing turns into clever sufficient to show its personal ROI?
If office platforms like GoBright make each constructing able to producing information that proves its worth by way of occupancy analytics, vitality financial savings, and house optimization, the workplace stops being a set price and turns into a strategic asset with measurable efficiency. The hole widens between corporations making actual property choices primarily based on guesswork versus information. Buildings that may exhibit ROI by way of sensor-driven intelligence grow to be those that justify their existence in hybrid work environments—and those that may’t show their worth grow to be those that get eradicated. The workplace infrastructure that survives is the infrastructure that may present precisely what it’s price.
