Spaces and Microsoft team up and create AI innovation hub

The future is tech. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are revolutionising every aspect of the world around us. Of course, it’s important to stay on top of these rapid changes. And we’ve got the best way for you to do it, since Spaces and global computing giant Microsoft have teamed up to create an awesome space where entrepreneurs can come together in the spirit of innovation and cooperation. With this, Spaces Schiphol Airport gives AI and cloud experts the opportunity to thrive in this creative incubator hub for tech companies.

This international AI tech hub at Spaces Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is trailblazing in every sense, combining Microsoft’s cutting-edge innovation with the flexible office’s philosophy of working independently, where and whenever you like. Let’s see what tech can do for your business, shall we?

Microsoft X Spaces

So, what makes this innovation hub so interesting? Well, for starters, tech giant Microsoft is part of the project GoinGDutch together with Schiphol Group, BAM infrastructure and OrangeNXT. ‘Microsoft and Spaces stand for vital cities, buildings and people. They have a great network of knowledge and understand the needs of people’, says Johan Winnubst, partner at GoinGDutch. At GoinGDutch they want to improve the accessibility and mobility around cities and airport cities, contribute to a fitter working population and reduce the Dutch CO2 footprint. ‘The challenges of urbanisation and mobility are too complex to be solved by just one party. We need to work together. The component data – facilitated by Microsoft – and Spaces services, location and facilities are very important in this.’
Where innovation meets creative spaces

This incubator of innovation is already home to a community of data-driven companies and entrepreneurs, with Microsoft-certified partners on site and developing a true tech-savvy business community. ‘The cooperation with Microsoft is a great opportunity to experience working closely together with such a big corporate as Microsoft’, says Ilome Groels, Community Manager Spaces Schiphol. ‘We are lining up a series of new exciting events in collaboration with Microsoft, like ‘How to build an app in a day’ and ‘Women in the Tech School.’ With these events at Spaces we want to share knowledge with the community, work together to help businesses to implement tech facilities using Microsoft technologies but also, per example, pave the way forward for women in tech.

Besides GoinGDutch, other companies like Wortell and o9 Solutions have partnered up with Microsoft. ‘As an AI-powered platform, we see a lot of opportunities in an AI community for networking events, information events, bringing customers into these meetings and really leveraging the power of AI in solving the problems that customers are dealing with these days,’ says Mitchell Smit, Project Delivery Manager. Wortell also wants to solve the problems and challenges of the future, by making businesses operate more efficient, smarter and safe by using Microsoft technologies. ‘Wortell is an experienced business partner of Microsoft. ‘The collaboration between Microsoft, Wortell and Spaces is an extra asset in our mission to have the best-connected workplace out there. When working at Wortell, you now you have the possibility to work everywhere, at any given time.’

Spaces broadens the scope for collaboration

Also, at the hub you will find Intercept, who have been certified by Microsoft as an Azure Expert Managed Service Provider and will join the Azure Management Elite partner programme. Then there’s Plain Concepts, who are a Microsoft AI & Mixed Reality partner. Jabra, meanwhile, is a leader in engineering communications and sound solutions. So, as you can imagine, there’s a great span of expert-knowledge you can learn from.

The scope for collaboration, both now and in the future, is huge says Smit. ‘Microsoft is one of our partners and being in the same building allows us to team up on events and customer interactions as we develop our relationships in Europe,’ he says. ‘I think in the near future we can definitely team up with the other tenants to have cool networking events, to approach things differently, I think being in Spaces really allows for that as well.’

A homey feeling

While mixing with such exciting companies is an undoubted draw in itself, let’s not forget this is a Spaces location too. Plug into the creative vibes that we have to offer and join our free-spirited and open-minded community. Step into the beautifully designed spaces with that homey feeling and grab a coffee at the barista-staffed coffee bar for those early-morning brainstorming sessions and lunchtime chillouts.

There’s plenty of choice depending on your needs too: ‘Whenever we have clients or potential clients over here in our office we can either use one of the Spaces meeting rooms or the executive lounge to get a more homey feeling. What we see is that we get a lot of positive feedback from our customers on the design, the freshness of the building and the proximity to the airport.’

As well as what’s inside the hub, let’s not forget what’s outside either – a small matter of one of the world’s busiest airports and a centre of European and global business virtually on the doorstep. ‘It’s also easy to drop something off at the office when we go to a flight or come home from a flight,’ adds Smit.

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