Data Lake / Data Warehouse Modernization · Real-time Analytics
Syracuse University needed to turn campus connectivity and occupancy data into actionable decisions about space utilization, operating costs, and student experience without defaulting to new construction or more manual reporting.
Reported impact
Syracuse increased occupancy accuracy to 95%, unlocked more than 40 high-value operational insights, and expects about $10 million in return from better use of campus space, energy, maintenance, and scheduling decisions.
Syracuse University turned campus connectivity into an AI-governed planning system rather than a standalone network upgrade. After building one of the largest private 5G networks in the United States, the university and PwC first proved value with trolley wait-time analysis from real-time cameras and GPS feeds, then expanded to space and occupancy management. Using Microsoft Azure, the team routed live data from IoT thermal sensors, cameras, roughly 5,400 Wi-Fi access points, and 10 cross-department data sources into Microsoft Fabric, where the data was cleansed, standardized, and mapped to the right room, building, and time. Power BI exposed the unified model through a single real-time dashboard, while Copilot AI enabled plain-language questions about room utilization. The platform lets Syracuse measure capacity, challenge new-building assumptions, and operationalize smarter scheduling, custodial, and energy decisions.
Private 5G, Wi-Fi, camera, and thermal-sensor signals plus 10 campus data sources flow through Azure into Microsoft Fabric, where the data is standardized and mapped to rooms, buildings, and time windows. Power BI serves the unified model in a real-time dashboard, and Copilot AI lets staff query occupancy and utilization in natural language for space, scheduling, custodial, and energy decisions.
A user could ask, “Which room is least used in the lab science building?” and receive an instant, trusted answer: “Room 309 which averages 10% usage of available capacity.”
PwC and Microsoft Fabric layer campus data with AI—helping free capacity and drive cost savings
Syracuse expects a $10 million return on its 5G investment from reduced energy and maintenance costs, buildings that won’t need to be built and more.
The new IoT sensors increased occupancy accuracy from 80% to 95%.
Using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, we routed real-time sensor and camera data into Microsoft Fabric, where it was cleansed, standardized, and unified with 10 cross-department data sources.
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“With nearly 5,000 benefits-eligible employees, Syracuse University is home to a diverse community of individuals who support our academic mission and our students.”
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