Danish Industry: BeZoned makes the online office as alive as the physical one

When the founders behind BeZoned worked with colleagues across continents, they noticed a problem. Even the best digital tools could not recreate the feeling of sitting together in an office. So they built a solution designed to make working from home or across different office locations more spontaneous, social, and effective.

An office born from their own experience

BeZoned was founded in 2024 by Thomas Kolenda, Magnus Therkildsen, and Peter Sørensen. The three founders had previously worked together in a company where they experienced the challenges of collaborating across countries and time zones.

Employees were based in Denmark, the US, and Canada. While digital meeting tools made it possible to hold meetings, something was missing in everyday work.

“Our North American team didn’t really feel like part of the company. We could hold meetings, but the informal and spontaneous collaboration was missing,” says Thomas Kolenda.

They tried a simple solution where employees used avatars in a virtual office. This made it possible to see who was online, say good morning, and start a quick conversation.

But the system had limitations. So they decided to build a better solution themselves.

The problem existed long before remote work became the norm

According to the founders, the need existed even before the pandemic, but after COVID-19 the challenge became much clearer.

“It’s not just about working from home. The problem appears whenever teams are not sitting together, whether they are in different countries or different offices,” explains Thomas Kolenda.

When employees work apart, many of the small daily interactions disappear. The quick question across the desk, the chat by the coffee machine, or the fast back and forth with a colleague.

The result is often more scheduled meetings and less spontaneous knowledge sharing.

“Small questions don’t get asked when it requires a meeting. Over time, small things can turn into bigger problems,” he says.

“Our North American team didn’t really feel like part of the company. We could hold meetings, but the informal and spontaneous collaboration was missing”

Thomas Kolenda

A digital office integrated into Microsoft Teams

BeZoned is built as an app directly inside Microsoft Teams. This means companies can install it through Microsoft Marketplace and use it within their existing setup.

The platform shows an office where employees have avatars and can see each other in real time. If you sit at the same table, you can talk naturally without booking a meeting. If you need focus, you move to a quiet desk.

Calendar, status, and messages sync with Outlook and Teams, and users can start a meeting directly from the platform without planning it first.

“The idea is to recreate the parts of office life that digital meeting tools don’t support today. Knowing who is present and being able to start a quick conversation,” says Thomas Kolenda.

Focus on culture and well-being

For the founders, the solution is not just about efficiency.

They believe that lack of visibility in remote teams can affect culture, engagement, and well-being.

“Culture is built on trust and connection. If you don’t have the ability for spontaneous conversations and knowledge sharing, it becomes difficult to maintain a strong company culture,” says Thomas Kolenda.

BeZoned also includes social spaces like a lounge area where employees can take breaks, eat lunch together, or have informal conversations.

The goal is to reduce isolation in remote teams and create a more natural workday.

“It’s not just about working from home. The problem appears whenever teams are not sitting together, whether they are in different countries or different offices”

Thomas Kolenda

A new category of collaboration tools

The market for digital collaboration tools is large, but BeZoned is positioning itself in a new category called online offices.

This is also one of the company’s biggest challenges.

“No one searches for ‘online office’ because almost no one knows the category exists. So we have a big task in creating awareness,” says Thomas Kolenda.

At the same time, the founders believe their integration with Microsoft Teams is a major advantage, since companies do not need to implement new systems or move data.

Global ambitions

BeZoned is already sold globally through Microsoft Marketplace, where potential customers include more than 300 million Microsoft Teams users worldwide. The platform already has users in Australia, North America, and Scandinavia.

Within three to five years, the founders expect the online office category to be more established.

“We see ourselves as a leading player in that category. At the same time, we will remain a relatively small organization working remotely and supporting customers globally,” says Thomas Kolenda.

“The idea is to recreate the parts of office life that digital meeting tools don’t support today. Knowing who is present and being able to start a quick conversation”

Thomas Kolenda

Founder advice: Start with the diagnosis

If companies experience challenges with collaboration in remote or hybrid teams, they should first figure out what the real problem is.

“Talk to both managers and employees about what they are missing in their workday. Once you have diagnosed the problem, you can start finding the solution,” says Thomas Kolenda.

If the issue turns out to be lack of visibility, quick clarifications, and spontaneous dialogue, he believes online office solutions can be an important part of the answer.

Source: This article is an English translation from the original written by Frederikke Harkjaer Hare from Dansk Industri. Read the original article her.