WiredScore launched the Portfolio award in March 2023 to reward landlords and developers who have a significant proportion of their buildings certified by WiredScore.
So, what exactly does WiredScore Portfolio bring to the table? We got the inside scoop from Axel du Mesnil, Group Product Manager at WiredScore.
Q: Hi Axel! Please could you give a brief summary of your role at WiredScore?
Axel: Hi! I’m Axel, and I am the Group Product Manager for our WiredScore certification, which recognizes and promotes best-in-class digitally connected commercial buildings across the globe.My job is to focus on increasing the value that our certification offers to our clients using the learnings we’ve gained by certifying over 800 million sq. ft. of real estate – so far!
I identify the new features, tools and services that we can deliver to help our clients meet the challenges they face head-on, and gain the benefits they expect from our certification. To do this, I sit down with our clients and talk through the difficulties they’re having, before working closely with our Research & Development, Product and UX teams to fix them.
Recent examples of this in action would be the GRESB partnership we’ve set up, where our WiredScore and SmartScore certifications are now recognized, as well as the evolution of our products to a global scorecard for clearer benchmarking.
Q: How would you describe WiredScore Portfolio?
A: In the simplest terms, it’s a recognition of clients who apply our WiredScore certification at scale, across their portfolio. It really highlights the clients who make best-in-class technology a key part of their strategy.
From speaking with our clients and advisors within the real estate industry, we understand that tech decisions are made at a portfolio level. WiredScore Portfolio supports these decisions with real-time data and helps clients showcase their achievements.
Q: What are the reasons behind the creation of this new award and what sort of value will it drive for portfolio clients?
A: This award stems from the realization that more and more of our clients apply our certifications across their portfolios, rather than just on one or two assets. Based on our ongoing discussions with them, we identified four key areas where we could offer extra support.
The first centers around how WiredScore can help clients position their portfolio-level narrative as ‘tech forward’. They need the tools to make their portfolio stand out from the crowd. We want potential occupiers to recognize this cutting-edge approach to technology and understand they will have a better user experience when compared to other options.
The second area WiredScore Portfolio will support is investment reporting. The ability to demonstrate that the right steps have been taken to employ a future-ready tech strategy across a variety of assets is invaluable. Investment partners can be reassured that asset managers are making the right decisions to increase asset value and future-proof their portfolio.
The third one focuses on those portfolio-level technology decisions. In order to provide a top tier experience across multiple buildings, WiredScore Portfolio gathers data and presents it in a way that aids top-down decision making around technology strategies.
Finally, we want to make managing a portfolio as efficient as possible. Handling multiple buildings, with multiple certifications, which are all on different timelines is challenging and time-consuming! WiredScore Portfolio provides a premium experience with additional support, lightening the workload of our portfolio clients.
By discussing these challenges with multiple key clients and workshopping our ideas and solutions, we have built something that drives a lot of additional value. It’s been a really collaborative effort, with a nice competitive edge, as ideas are shared and tested.
“From speaking with our clients and advisors within the real estate industry, we understand that tech decisions are made at a portfolio level.
Q: What can WiredScore’s clients expect to receive when they are awarded WiredScore Portfolio?
A: We have a lot of great things to offer our clients who are eligible for WiredScore Portfolio. When they receive their award, they’ll be given all of the marketing tools they need to create a portfolio-level narrative. This includes everything from a plaque to guides on how to talk about technology in newsletters, on social media, on their websites… And much more!
There are also dashboards and reports that are there to showcase the client’s future-ready assets. They can use these to easily and accurately showcase their strategy and success to investors, proving they’re going above and beyond the rest of the market.
Speaking of dashboards, we’ll also take our WiredScore Portfolio clients through a review cycle and have a deep dive into the performance data they’ve recorded. This will identify any red flags and lead to the implementation of a mitigation strategy based around WiredScore’s expertise.
This is all led by a single, dedicated point of contact from WiredScore who will provide regular updates and reviews to ensure our clients can efficiently deliver multiple certifications at scale.
Q: Why is it important for landlords and developers to certify across their portfolios?
A: Because the right tech strategies are taken at a portfolio level. It’s as simple as that. We provide all the building level data and use WiredScore Portfolio to present it in an easy-to-manage format for the best decision making across a portfolio.
Q: How will portfolio-wide certification impact the wider real estate market?
A: Delivering the right data at a portfolio level will ensure landlords and developers make the right decisions in the most seamless way possible.
For occupiers, it will give a new insight into which buildings have the best strategy when it comes to creating tech-enabled spaces. They are presented with a lot of choices when deciding on their next workspace. WiredScore Portfolio gives landlords and building owners a real edge when compared to other available assets.
And then for investors, they will be able to see how tech investments play a key part in the overall company strategy. They will be able to understand how this impacts key metrics such as a building’s leasing velocity, the overall value of assets and the rent premiums a building can achieve through investments in technology.
Q: Thanks, Axel. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A: We launched in March with 39 partners, meaning we have 39 companies working with us to make WiredScore Portfolio the best it can be. Collaboration through ongoing discussions and feedback is so valuable. So, I want to encourage people to get in touch with any questions or ideas they may have on how to make WiredScore Portfolio, or any of our products, even better.