Key takeaways
- 67% of U.S. firms offer work location flexibility. Yet, aligning space design with actual employee behavior remains a challenge.
- Booking data only tells half the story; presence signals (badge, Wi-Fi, sensors) reveal what’s actually happening.
- OfficeSpace Software’s Universal Presence API pipes those signals into OfficeSpace in real time, no matter which vendor you use.
- Desks and rooms now book (and release) themselves, while dashboards show live utilization down to every seat.
- Implementing the Universal Presence API is a breeze — hand us an API key, we wire it up; Pro customers get it at no extra cost.
Hybrid is the new normal—now what?
Many enterprise companies have settled on a 2–3-day office cadence. Major players like Nvidia even attribute much of their record-shattering growth to letting teams decide where, when, and how they work. Flexibility, not mandates, is their secret weapon. The broader data backs that up: 67 of the Fortune 100 run some kind of hybrid model today.
Our own customer base tells a similar story. Almost half operate hybrid schedules, and 77 % have ditched 1-to-1 seating in favor of bookable desks and team “neighborhoods.” The focus has shifted from getting people in seats to using every square foot wisely.
Why desk booking doesn’t paint the full picture
Where traditional data falls short
Facilities teams and space planners need answers: How often are people coming in? Which areas actually earn their keep? Bookings alone can’t tell you—badge swipes, Wi-Fi pings, infrared sensors, and desk lights often reveal a different reality. But wiring every system together is expensive and slow, so the rich occupancy insights sitting right at your fingertips stay locked away, unused.
Enter OfficeSpace’s Universal Presence API
We built a single, vendor-agnostic endpoint that streams occupancy events from any sensor your teams already use, including Embrava, VergeSense, Density, Butlr, XY Sense, access control, even camera feeds—straight into OfficeSpace. All you do is hand us an API key; our Pro Services team handles the setup. Days later, you’re live.
How it works:
What happens next?
- Walk into a room and it books itself.
- Sit at a desk and you’re automatically checked in.
- No-shows? The space is automatically marked free, killing ghost meetings.
- Live floor plans update in real time so everyone sees what’s open.
Behind the scenes, every event fuels Workplace Intelligence dashboards that reveal utilization and sharing ratios by site, floor, and neighborhood, plus peak-versus-average demand to inform right-sizing or expansion.
How presence data insights solve challenges for workplace teams and employees
For workplace, facilities, and real-estate teams, unified presence data ends the puzzle-piece routine of reconciling badges, sensors, and spreadsheets. You finally get a trustworthy data fabric for portfolio modeling, policy tweaks, and AI-powered forecasting. Employees feel the benefit the moment they arrive: no app taps, no hunting for an open room, and no wondering if that desk is really taken. The workplace simply works.
Ready to let your office run itself?
Universal Presence API is set up for new Pro clients during implementation. Current Essentials or Lite users can unlock it for a one-time fee, and Pro clients can enable it free through their CSM. If you’d like your spaces to book themselves—and to trust every utilization metric—reach out to your CSM or book a quick demo with our workplace experts.
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