Client story 7B+ Data Points Per Day: ORBCOMM’s Data Lake Adapts To Market
Client
ORBCOMM is a global leader in industrial IoT, operating a proprietary constellation of 31 LEO satellites and a network that connects over 2.4 million trackable assets across 160 countries.
Industry: Technology
Challenge
Establish a modernized, highly governed cloud environment or data lake capable of scaling to process ~21 million messages per day across all devices.
Outcomes
A governed Azure® Landing Zone ensuring critical messages are processed in minutes — and facilitating secure delivery of 30+ billion annual messages.
Solutions: Cloud cost optimization, Compliance, Consolidation
For more than three decades, ORBCOMM has consistently redefined what's possible in IoT and global logistics — by acting on what’s next in data.
The power of data potential
ORBCOMM sees a huge opportunity in the vast data collected by diverse devices. Across their organization, data had been used mainly for historical reference. Their latest vision: to turn real-time data into a value-adding asset that meets the needs of every user.
The goal was to consolidate data from various sources and devices — from trucks and heavy equipment to intermodal containers on trains and marine vessels. ORBCOMM needed to unify these disparate datasets into a cohesive "data lake," known internally as the ORBCOMM Data Lake (ODL), powered by Microsoft Fabric.
This transformation would enable ORBCOMM to:
- Generate new revenue streams by offering tiered data services, providing customers with actionable insights into asset performance.
- Significantly boost operational efficiency by helping clients identify critical trends, benchmark performance against anonymized industry data, and uncover opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Rapidly develop innovative offerings by bringing new, data-driven products to market that add substantial value to their customers' operations.
Knowing who to count on: ORBCOMM’s journey with Insight
It was an ambitious vision for unifying data at a massive scale, relying on Microsoft Fabric for its robust data orchestration environment. Leaning on their 15-year relationship with Insight Canada, ORBCOMM turned to Insight for deep Azure and Microsoft expertise.
The longevity of our relationship with Insight Canada is incredibly important...you don't often have companies that play together so well for such a long period of time. I know who I can count on."
Ram Dravida
VP,
Analytics and Engineering
Together, Insight and the ORBCOMM global technical team collaborated closely in a phased approach.
Proving scalability with a Fabric Proof of Concept
First, Insight focused on ingesting live telemetry and operational data at a remarkable scale. ORBCOMM processes at least 21 million messages per day across all devices — roughly 600 million messages per month across all platforms. With each message containing up to 350 data points, the platform’s ability to manage vast amounts of data was proven instantly.
Insight deployed an Azure Landing Zone with strict governance to host resilient, secure API Management components. We also integrated this new network into ORBCOMM’s existing cloud environments.
Data was meticulously modeled for both real-time analytics and historical reporting (locations, zones of interest, unit health, and trends), providing a comprehensive view. Dashboards and reports were designed for specific user roles, including operators, managers, and executives, ensuring relevant, timely information.
We integrated Fabric's AI features into the PoC, which meant executives were able to ask questions about the data and get rich context — rather than just hard facts."
Dan Kronstal
Principal Architect,
Insight Canada
Expanding data horizons and value
ORBCOMM scaled from pilot to production, unlocking significant benefits for the business. As their journey with data continues to evolve, future initiatives will deliver even greater value.
- Empowered customers everywhere: Developing a web application for customers to easily access data via Power BI® and Fabric, enhancing their autonomy and experience.
- Optimized global supply chains: Implementing a new data warehouse within Fabric specifically for supply chain data, promising significant logistical improvements.
- Robust, reliable operations: Enhancing their multi-environment deployment strategy with pre-production environments and sophisticated asset and release management, guaranteeing stability and efficiency.
Today, ORBCOMM's commitment to a future-forward data strategy, with Insight as a trusted guide, firmly positions them at the forefront of the IoT landscape.
By Insight Editor / 28 Feb 2026 / Topics: Cloud cost optimization , Compliance , Consolidation
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