Arie Barendrecht Discusses Wired Workplaces

It’s unavoidable today—companies that want to compete on any appreciable scale must become tech companies, and this need must be accommodated by better-wired offices.  

WiredScore co-founder Arie Barendrecht tells us even if technology does not fall within the purview of a business’ core competency, tech drives virtually every facet of business. This includes communications, both internally and with clients, business process management, and marketing, which is increasingly digital and social media oriented. 

A building’s technological sophistication is of chief importance to corporate tenants evaluating office space as well as residents selecting units in apartments and condos. In a 2011 survey, it ranked fourth among business owners and property managers’ priorities, after location, price and parking, ahead of customizability and amenities. WiredScore conducted its own, more recent, poll of office workers and found 78% agreed access to reliable internet should be the most important factor in selecting office space.  

Arie says conservative estimates predict a 27% year-over-year increase in data transmitted over the next five years. He recalls being in a building and watching as diligent workers persevered through the lights going out and even air conditioners failing. The thing that forced them to leave, that they couldn’t work without, was internet, which, when lost, finally drove the data-starved employees out.

WiredScore is a digital connectivity rating platform for commercial real estate, and potential tenants rely on its tiered four-level certification system to decide where to set up shop.

The rating takes into account the variety of service providers—to meet individuals’ needs, redundancies—to protect data, resiliency of connections—for reliability, and many other factors. Since October 2013 WiredScore has rated over 650 buildings encompassing over 250M SF in the US, UK and Canada.

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