Willow and Carahsoft Partner to deliver Operational AI platform to the Public Sector. Willow brings Operational AI to Government facilities and infrastructure. SEATTLE and RESTON, Va., May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Willow, the global leader in Operational AI for the built world, and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider(R), today announced a partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Willow's Public Sector distributor, making the company's operational AI platform available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft's reseller partners and National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint, OMNIA Partners and E&I Cooperative Services Contract contracts. "Partnering with Carahsoft gives Government agencies direct access to Operational AI built for the scale and complexity of Public Sector infrastructure," said Bert Van Hoof, CEO of Willow. "For decades, facilities have operated reactively - something breaks, someone notices and a technician responds. Willow changes that model by giving teams a unified view of every asset, with predictive intelligence and autonomous action that can reduce operating costs, avoid costly disruptions and protect against safety, compliance, resilience and operational risk. Through Carahsoft's network, agencies can deploy these capabilities faster than ever, operate their facilities with greater intelligence, confidence and control and redirect savings towards their mission." Willow's Operational AI platform unifies every system in a facility - from HVAC and electrical to controls, water and maintenance records - into a single operational view, powered by one of the largest ontologies for the built world. The platform enables operational teams to predict and prevent failures, automate building controls and maintenance actions based on live conditions and execute complex operational workflows without human intervention through Willow's agentic AI capabilities. Willow Copilot offers a natural language interface for on-demand diagnostics, decision support and workflow activation across entire portfolios. Built on Microsoft Azure, the Willow Platform is designed to meet the rigorous security and data requirements of Government organizations, large universities, healthcare systems and Public Sector infrastructure. Customers such as Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Georgia Southern University have used Willow to save millions of dollars in operating costs and shift from reactive to predictive operations at scale. "Willow's solutions enable agencies to manage mission-critical systems with greater control and real-time visibility," said Lacey Wean, Program Executive for Smart Cities Technology Solutions at Carahsoft. "The platform uses AI to deliver actionable intelligence, empowering informed decisions that help avoid system failures. Carahsoft and our reseller partners look forward to working with Willow to bring its advanced digital twin technology to the Public Sector." Willow's solutions are available through Carahsoft's NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement #AR2472, OMNIA Partners Contract #R240303 and E&I Contract #EI00063~2021MA. For more information, contact the Carahsoft Team at (844) 722-8436 or [email protected]. Learn more about Willow's solutions here. About Willow Willow is the global leader in Operational AI for the built world. The Willow Platform combines digital twin technology, the world's largest ontology for the built environment and agentic AI to unify data, predict failures and take autonomous action across buildings, campuses and critical infrastructure. Deployed across 38 countries on six continents, customers report millions in operational savings, from avoided equipment failures and reduced energy costs to compliance, security, and extended asset life. Named AI Startup of the Year by AI Breakthrough and a Microsoft Partner of the Year finalist, Willow serves Fortune 500 enterprises, leading global organizations, and major airports, health systems, and universities. To learn more, visit www.willowinc.com. About Carahsoft Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, supporting Public Sector organizations across Federal, State and Local Government agencies and Education and Healthcare markets. As the Master Government Aggregator(R) for its vendor partners, Govcloudnetwork deliver solutions for IoT, OT & Smart Cities, Cybersecurity, MultiCloud, DevSecOps, Artificial Intelligence, Customer Experience and Engagement, Open Source and more. Working with resellers, systems integrators and consultants, its sales and marketing teams provide industry leading IT products, services and training through hundreds of contract vehicles. Visit Govcloudnetwork at www.carahsoft.com.

Willow recognised as a finalist for 2025 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year Award. By Willow Technology COMPANY NEWS: Willow Technology Corporation Ltd. ("Willow"), a leading Operational AI company, has announced it has been named a finalist for the 2025 Microsoft Education Partner of the Year Award. The company was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. The recognition highlights Willow's role in helping educational institutions transform how their buildings and campuses operate, making them more responsive, sustainable and human-centred. Powered by Microsoft Azure and Willow's Operational AI platform, schools and universities can now understand and adapt to real-time conditions, from classroom occupancy and energy usage to equipment performance and carbon emissions. "We are deeply honoured to receive this recognition from Microsoft, a partner that has been foundational to Willow since our inception," said Bert Van Hoof, Willow's CEO. "Buildings are no longer static assets. They are becoming intelligent participants in our operations, energy systems and even climate strategies. Together with Microsoft, we are helping educational institutions lead this transformation, creating campuses that sense, learn, and improve for the benefit of the students, teachers and staff they serve." As buildings evolve from automated systems to self-optimising ecosystems, Willow's Operational AI platform represents a new category of intelligence - one that connects energy, operations, and people into a shared digital fabric. By enabling data interoperability across HVAC systems, lighting, sensors and IoT devices, Willow helps educational campuses reduce emissions, lower costs and enhance the learning environment. This recognition commemorates Willow's leadership at the intersection of AI, energy, and the built world, shaping a future where every building responds to the people, purpose and environments it serves. "Congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards," said Nicole Dezen, chief partner officer and corporate vice president at Microsoft. "This year, our partners harnessed the transformative power of Microsoft's Cloud and AI platforms to deliver transformative solutions that redefine the boundaries of innovation. The energy and ingenuity across our ecosystem continue to inspire us. The 2025 honourees exemplify what's possible when technology and vision unite to empower customers around the world." The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognise Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft Cloud applications, services, devices and AI innovation over the past year. Awards were classified into various categories, with honourees chosen from more than 4,600 nominations across the globe. The award recognised Willow for providing outstanding solutions and services in education. The 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards are announced ahead of Microsoft Ignite, which will be held in San Francisco from Nov. 18-21. Additional details on the 2025 awards are available on the Microsoft Partner blog: https://aka.ms/2025POTYA_Announcement. The complete list of categories, winners and finalists can be found at https://aka.ms/2025POTYAWinnersFinalists. About Willow. Willow, a leading Operational AI company, brings AI to the systems and teams that keep the physical world running. Turning scattered data into real-time insight, Willow empowers organisations to make smarter decisions, boost operational efficiency and achieve measurable cost savings and sustainability. Trusted by Fortune 100 companies and built on Microsoft Azure, Willow drives safer, smarter and more efficient operations across education, healthcare, transportation and enterprise environments. Visit www.willowinc.com to learn more about how Willow is redefining the way we manage and interact with the built world. Maximising cloud efficiency - LUMEN WEBINAR 23 april 2025. According to KPMG, companies typically spend 35% more on cloud than is required to deliver business objectives The rush to the cloud has led to insufficient oversight, with many organisations struggling to balance the value of cloud agility and innovation against the need for guardrails to control costs. Join us for an exclusive webinar on Cloud Optimisation. In this event, the team from Lumen will explain how you can maximise cloud efficiency while reducing cost. The session will reveal how to implement key steps for effective cloud optimisation. Register for the event now! Promote your webinar on itwire. 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