SPIE advances data-driven building management with Microsoft Fabric IQ

Breda, The Netherlands, 30 September 2026 – SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, is working with Microsoft’s new Fabric IQ capabilities as one of its selected partners. With Fabric IQ, SPIE is creating a digital representation of buildings in which data from different systems is not only brought together, but also given meaning and context. Yesterday, 29 September, Barry Tuip presented this application on behalf of SPIE Nederland at FabCon Europe in Barcelona, together with Yitzhak Kesselman, Corporate Vice President, Messaging and Real-Time Analytics at Microsoft, during the keynote session ‘Trusted AI Starts with Fabric: Unified Real-Time Intelligence and IQ Context’.

Digital twin provides AI with context to identify faults faster, support more predictable maintenance and deploy technical teams more effectively

Giving data context

Buildings generate large volumes of data from sensors, building management systems, and maintenance and energy systems. This information is often spread across different systems, making it difficult to identify connections and quickly determine the right course of action. 

“The real value emerges when you not only have data, but also understand what that data means and how everything is connected,” says Barry Tuip, Manager PULSE CORE Digital Twins & Data Analytics at SPIE Nederland. “When AI has access to that contextual information, we can identify the likely cause of an anomaly more quickly and determine the best next step. This enables us to prevent disruptions earlier, deploy our people more effectively, and improve the quality and efficiency of our services.” 

With Microsoft Fabric IQ, SPIE therefore captures not only data, but also the relationships between data points. Which sensor belongs to which installation? Which installation serves which space? And what maintenance history is associated with it? This creates a digital twin: a digital representation of the building that provides AI with the context it needs to understand data and the relationships between different elements. 

For Evert Lemmen, CEO of SPIE Nederland, this ties in with SPIE’s broader digital strategy: “For us, data is not the end goal. It is about putting data into the right context and using it to make better decisions. The approach we are now applying to building management also creates opportunities for other areas in which SPIE operates, from bridges and locks to energy installations and wind turbines. The future belongs to those who know how to intelligently combine and use data. AI is not a hype, it is a game changer.” 

SPIE contributes to further development

As a selected partner, SPIE already has access to the new Fabric IQ capabilities before Microsoft makes them generally available. Ahead of the general release, SPIE is putting the technology into practice and sharing its experiences and insights with the Microsoft product team.

“What makes this particularly valuable is that we not only have early access to this technology but can also use our practical expertise to contribute to its further development,” says Tuip. “At the same time, we are already gaining the experience we need to apply this technology more broadly across our services in the future.” 

The knowledge gained is also being shared internationally within SPIE. “This will help other SPIE entities assess how the experience gained in the Netherlands could support their own activities and customer applications.”