5 Tips for Preparing for WiredScore Certifications
With companies becoming more and more dependent on cloud enterprise solutions, reliable high-speed internet is at the backbone of nearly every modern business model. According to a recent survey, 90% of Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) participants said that building connectivity is the fourth most important selling point for their commercial real estate listings (behind only parking, price and location) and that 75% of their clients want to discuss advanced telecommunications services before signing their lease.
This is a huge development in the commercial real estate business – everyday new tenants are asking tougher and tougher connectivity questions about the space they will be leasing and the overall communications infrastructure of the building itself. Premium Building Property Managers have been quick on the uptake, trying to keep ahead of the curve by continually addressing their tenant’s needs, but with every new technology comes new service requirements. Say, for example, a high-profile client wants a different carrier than is already available. That means a new demarc extension will be needed, that there is adequate space in the riser and that the connection is installed properly and everything is up to code.
Cue WiredScore. WiredScore is the first organization to rank commercial buildings based on their overall connectivity and its certification process has quickly become the industry’s benchmark standard.
Before we discuss how you can prepare for your official WiredScore survey, let’s first take a look at what each WiredScore level actually means.
The WiredScore Certification Rankings and What They Mean
- Platinum – The Platinum WiredScore rating is awarded to buildings that exhibit best-in-class technology across multiple categories. Buildings that receive a Platinum certification have building access to multiple service providers, can easily support new telecom technologies, have high infrastructure redundancy and security, and can easily support the future needs of their tenants.
- Gold – Awarded to buildings with reliable and diverse internet connectivity and cabling types, including fiber, while also providing adequate infrastructure for future upgrades. A WiredScore Gold Certification is the standard that all metropolitan commercial buildings should strive for if they want to attract high-profile tenants who take their technology seriously.
- Silver – Awarded to buildings that have fiber connectivity in the building, have multiple internet service providers, have adequate connectivity security and modern communications infrastructure that can support today’s tenants.
- Certified – Awarded to buildings that can support the current needs of their tenants and have some safeguards in place to minimize the risk of connectivity loss.
Whether you are targeting a Platinum, Gold, Silver, or a WiredScore Certification, understanding all of the technology in your building before your scheduled survey will ensure you receive the highest possible score.
Here are 5 tips to help prepare your building for a WiredScore Certification.
Know All the Telecom Carriers in Your Building
If you have multiple carriers providing services to your clients, they might be providing services from different demarc locations. You want to make sure that all of those carriers are counted and scored appropriately. According to the same survey of BOMA owners and property managers that showcased the importance of building connectivity in the leasing market, 1 out of 2 respondents said that having two or more carriers increased their close rate by up to 19%. Assessing your access agreements before your certification, so you know exactly where the carrier’s services are in the building, will ensure that you get all of the appropriate points your building deserves.
Know All Your Telecom Entrance Facilities
Having various paths from the street into the building for different carriers can pose difficult conditions for a technician, and they may overlook an entire carrier or pathway. Diverse pathways can impact your score, so it’s important to know where all the facilities are coming into the building to ensure that all pathways are counted towards your overall score.
Know All Your Vertical Paths
If you have multiple diverse riser spaces, you want to make sure that the technician is aware of every pathway and that they are counted for. Congested, neglected telecom cabinets are a tell-tale sign of mismanaged risers and will almost always result in missed pathways during the certification process. Cable abatement and telecom closet clean-ups of every riser space will ensure that you have the best chance at securing the highest possible score.
Know All Your High-Tech Telecom Amenities
Does your building have a wireless broadband provider? Does it have a DAS system? These are newer technologies that some technicians might be inexperienced with, but they can have a big impact on a WiredScore survey. You want to make sure that all high-tech telecom amenities are included in your report. Understanding exactly what technologies are available to tenants in your building beforehand will allow you to easily guide the technician through the certification process.
Know All Your Low-Tech Telecom Amenities
Lastly, having a list of all of your low-tech telecom amenities that are available for your tenants will help boost your score. Do you have a fiber backbone in place to provide extensions for your tenants or building Wi-Fi amenities? Are they readily available on every floor? Delineating each technology to your WiredScore technician will allow them to quickly confirm the location and state of any appropriate cabling and equipment, further guaranteeing that you receive every possible point towards your WiredScore Certification.
Technology, Technology, Technology-
The tenant’s progression from a ‘Location, Location, Location’ mentality to one that demands ‘Technology, Technology, Technology’ is quickly materializing as new communication innovations continue to bring businesses together. Futureproofing your commercial real estate building means actively managing your building technology so that it can be easily maintained and updated as new technologies are adopted. In order to guarantee you have the best chance at landing high-profile clients, be sure you have adequate management in place that allows you to continually offer your tenants the best possible technology services.
