Exclusive Q&A: What You Need to Know About Wired Certification

As demand for high-tech infrastructure in buildings has grown, so has interest in Wired Certification, with more than 400 properties (totaling 185M SF of office space in 30 cities) achieving the standard to date. Bisnow talked certification this week with David Weinstein, who joined WiredScore last month as director of business development for the West Coast.

Bisnow: What are the top things owners and brokers should know about Wired Certification?

David Weinstein: Wired Certification provides advantages for the entire real estate community because every business needs to be connected, which requires top-notch broadband connectivity. Wired Certification benefits commercial real estate owners by:

• Attracting and retaining tenants: WiredScore’s expert recommendations for improvement and cutting-edge technology prevent tenants from seeking better-connected properties elsewhere.
• Increasing property value: Offering top-notch connectivity and redundancy enables the owner to upgrade the tenant base and realize higher rental rates.
• Showcasing the asset: The marketing engine behind Wired Certification allows owners to drive leasing activity as they continue to innovate.

Wired Certification also helps brokers weed out properties that don’t meet the tenant’s technology needs.

Bisnow: What is the current state of office tech?

David Weinstein: Internet capacity varies widely from building to building, especially in cities that have diverse spaces. Some buildings may have limited options of broadband Internet service providers. Others may have wiring to the network beneath the street at only one point of entry with no alternative to serve as a back-up. Often the preferred fiber wiring is inside the building but not connected to the tenant’s floor. Answers to these questions are what virtually all tenants should be demanding to know up front, prior to signing a lease.

Bisnow: What do tenants want?

David Weinstein: Office tenants want cost-effective, reliable, high-speed Internet connectivity. A Wired Certified building is the answer to this demand as it is an official set of standards to rate the connectivity levels of any commercial office building. 

(Above are two San Francisco buildings with Platinum certification: One Market Plaza, left, and 100 First St, right.)

We live in a digital age where commercial tenants have ever-growing broadband needs and if a building doesn’t meet their expectations, they will go elsewhere. Connectivity is considered the third-most-important factor when searching for office space, behind cost and location. Wired Certification helps tenants make informed decisions by offering a simple way to compare one building’s connectivity offerings against another.

Bisnow: Where are things headed?

David Weinstein: Currently, WiredScore brings transparency to Internet connectivity and transforms the market for commercial office buildings around the world. When you work with WiredScore and get Wired Certified, you set your building apart from the rest.

Bisnow: What’s your favorite piece of tech?

David Weinstein: My favorite piece of tech in my life is the Internet. I think most people would answer this question by saying their phone, tablet or laptop. We can easily forget that these everyday devices will not work without a connection to the Internet.