NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Radius Global Market Research and WiredScore released the findings of a new study, The Value of Connectivity: What’s the Cost of Poor Digital Connectivity for Commercial Real Estate, revealing that more than 80 percent of businesses experience regular internet connectivity problems. The study, which polled a random sampling of 150 leasing decision makers across the top ten largest US cities, also discovered that quality of a building’s internet connection was cited by the majority as a factor in evaluating future office – surpassing both location and price as the important factors when searching for workspace in the next ten years.
In the survey, leasing decision makers including chief executives, heads of real estate, workplace and facilities professionals were asked about issues pertaining to the availability and quality of internet connections in the workplace. The results showed a high incidence of connectivity failure in the workplace, reporting an average of more than four (4) disruptions in internet service each month. Approximately three-quarters (77 percent) said that these disruptions hurt their business’ profitability.
“Tenants want an assurance that their building’s infrastructure will meets their connectivity needs in the immediate, but also in the future, regardless of whatever technological leaps are in store for their business down the road,” said Arie Barendrecht, founder and CEO of WiredScore. “Landlords can provide the level of transparency that tenants are seeking though an independent assessment of a building’s technological infrastructure, which we now know increases initial leasing interest and prompts tenants to sign faster and pay more.”
Additional results from the study include:
- 72 percent of decision makers feel it is extremely critical to have a reliable internet connectivity in their office space to conduct company business.
- 87 percent say that connectivity is an important factor in selecting a work environment. This figure was edged only by location (90 percent) and registered as a more important factor than price (82 percent).
- When asked about selecting workspace in the next ten years, connectivity was most frequently cited as an important factor at 92 percent, surpassing both location (89 percent) and price (88 percent).
- 63 percent say it is difficult to obtain critical information about a workspace’s connectivity infrastructure during leasing contract negotiations.
Added Barendrecht: “WiredScore’s ultimate goal is to prevent any company from being unpleasantly surprised by connectivity issues, which have been proven to cause increased stress levels and frustration among employees and decreased profitability.”
According to the study, a decision makers’ understanding of the quality of their building’s internet connectivity contributes significantly to a business’ decision to lease office space. In fact, 91 percent said that a lack of reliable internet connectivity would affect their rental decision; more than half (51 percent) said that they would not consider renting office space at all if they knew it possessed poor connectivity infrastructure and would, in fact, limit their search to Wired Certified buildings.
WiredScore is the organization behind Wired Certification, the internationally recognized rating system that helps companies identify buildings that serve their digital connectivity requirements. The Wired Certification is a standard trusted by tenants to verify that buildings have been independently evaluated and certified to provide the Internet infrastructure that businesses require to thrive.
Download the report from WiredScore and Radius Global here.
ABOUT WIRED CERTIFICATION
Wired Certification is the internationally recognized rating system that helps landlords design and promote their buildings’ great digital connectivity to tenants. Over 4 million tenants in more than 1000 buildings globally trust Wired Certification as the benchmark for internet that meets their needs. http://wiredscore.com/
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Radius Global Market Research on behalf of WiredScore from August 2nd – 4th, 2017 among 150 office tenants defined as having at least some decision in leasing office space or facility locations working in NYC, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Francisco/Oak/San Jose, DC, Houston, Boston or Atlanta. A complete survey method is available upon request. For further information, please contact info@wiredscore.com.
