Microsoft Regional Headquarters today held its grand opening in downtown Detroit at Suite 500 of One Campus Martius (formerly Compuware Building), where the company unveiled its new Technology Center.
The event included a breakfast, tours, and a ribbon cutting. Microsoft also presented a software grant to Detroit’s Southwest Solutions, a nonprofit specializing in integrated services and neighborhood revitalization.
The new 40,000-square-foot center will accommodate 200 employees from the Southfield Town Center location (which will remain open). Neumann/Smith Architecture, which has offices in Detroit and Southfield, designed the space.
“Microsoft, like many tech companies in Detroit and around the country, recognizes that being located downtown is great for business. Today’s tech talent wants to work and live in urban cores,” said Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., when the move was announced in February 2017.
“Not only will the Microsoft Technology Center provide a much-needed resource for Detroit-based businesses, its presence will also connect Detroiters with a wider global network. This is another great example of an innovative, global business moving downtown and further evidence that Detroit is quickly becoming one of the technology centers of the country.”
Microsoft has some 40 Technology Centers worldwide, where the company offers its latest products and works with local clients on a range of projects. The Detroit facility includes state-of-the-art conference rooms, a learning theater, and other amenities.
Working with companies big and small, including Ford Motor Co. and Quicken Loans, the Microsoft Technology Center offers a boot camp-like atmosphere of software customization to customers at no cost. Not only does Microsoft hope to teach customers how to better use its tools as well as sell them other products, but it can better stay abreast of fast-moving business trends like machine learning and artificial intelligence.
On the health care front, for example, the software giant’s new and existing tools can track a group of patients at a hospital to see how they respond to a particular procedure. Some patients may recover better than others, and by mining that data via Excel 2013 and other offerings, possibly more successful outcomes could result.
“We are strongly committed to Detroit’s thriving technology hub by providing resources and experienced team members to help your team find solutions to its technology challenges,” said Phil Sorgen, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of U.S. enterprise and partner group, in February 2017. “By providing a customer-facing center dedicated to the business community, we’re also supporting Detroit’s continuing revitalization.”
