Announcing the 2018 Microsoft CityNext Partner of the Year Awards
Microsoft is pleased to share the 2018 Microsoft CityNext Partner of the Year Award Winner Bentley Systems, and our finalists Meemim Inc, Black Marble and Cubic Transportation Systems. As always, partners are the core to Microsoft CityNext and provide impactful and creative solutions to help cities digitally transform to become Smart Cities, and this year’s winner and finalists are no exception. The Microsoft CityNext Partner of the Year Award recognizes Gold level Co-Sell ready partners that excel at providing innovative and unique services or solutions based on Microsoft technologies to Microsoft CityNext customers, demonstrating thought leadership in their industry, as well as consistent, high-quality, predictable service or solutions to Microsoft CityNext customers. This year, there is a common theme amongst the partner solutions around Connected Data and Visualization. We would like to share some information about our winner and three finalists’ offerings, and how they use data, AI, visualization and connected infrastructure to address city concerns:
Winner: Bentley Systems
Bentley Systems is a global leader dedicated to providing engineers, architects, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for the design, engineering, operations and asset management of the world’s infrastructure. Bentley’s Connected Data Environment (CDE) comprising the shared services of ProjectWise and AssetWise leverages Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to enable multi-discipline design collaboration from any location and the management of asset information to ensure optimal asset performance during operations and maintenance. Bentley provided key infrastructure for the Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) while MRTC builds a new rail and evolves their transportation infrastructure for their 9 million inhabitants. MRTC is harnessing the latest digital technology to deliver one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken in Asia with the aim to increase the public transport modal share from 18% in 2009 to 40% in 2020. Bentley’s Azure-hosted platform enabled the 1500 project members to manage large amounts of 3D design and engineering records, and effectively control the project information to be shared and used without loss or misinterpretation for the whole project life cycle. This is expected to increase productivity by an estimated 35%.
“Our ecosystem of partners is crucial to delivering transformative solutions, and this year’s winners have proven to be some of the finest among their peers,” said Gavriella Schuster, corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. “We are pleased to recognize Bentley Systems for being selected as winner of the 2018 Microsoft CityNext award.”
Finalist: Black Marble
Black Marble has worked with the police for years, recognizing the pressure Forces face, witnessing crime fighting ‘getting by’. Austerity catalyzed a wholesale change in thinking. Budget cuts of 25% or more meant ‘getting by’ potentially meant ‘getting more crime’. To just maintain operational capabilities change was needed. That change is tuServ. tuServ HoloLens is a global first for policing and is shaping its future. Pushing the UWP boundaries with an interactive, multi-person experience in a crime scene environment. The core tools of policing in the hands of frontline officers. tuServ has meant paper and manual interactions are gone. Change has gone beyond transformative, it has revolutionized policing. ‘Getting by’ equals ‘getting on’ with significantly greater success.
Finalist: Cubic Transportation Systems
Cubic Corporation designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services focused in the transportation, defense training and secure communications markets. Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services to create intelligent travel solutions for transportation authorities and operators. In 2016, Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) awarded Cubic a $33 million contract to modernize the revenue management system and provide 10 years of back office cloud computing and support services. Today, Miami’s transit system no longer relies solely on physical infrastructure, ensuring service isn’t impacted by random events, such as hurricanes that plague the region numerous times a year. Cubic’s EASY Card based on Microsoft Azure is operational across Miami DTPW’s 23 Metrorail stations, 136 rail cars and 850 buses. The upgrade also enabled Miami-Dade Transit to communicate with other transportation agencies for more seamless travel countywide.
Finalist: Meemim Inc
Meemim Inc. developed and introduced the world’s first holographic GIS (Geographic Information System) system. vGIS is a visualization platform for spatially-tagged data, which was designed to augment field staff’s view by displaying underground assets as holograms. Meemim vGIS leverages Microsoft Azure, ESRI’s ArcGIS, and Microsoft HoloLens to deliver real-time in the field 3D visualization of serviceable infrastructure assets. From delivering visualization of underground infrastructure for Public Utilities, to displaying ground penetrating radar for mining and exploration, Meemim’s commercially-successful GIS solutions have been deployed globally to address real-life challenges.
About Microsoft’s Partner of the Year Awards
The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. Award winners are recognized at Microsoft Inspire, Microsoft’s annual partner event, to be held this year in Las Vegas, July 15 through 19. Learn more about the awards program.
