Commercial real estate owners have traditionally approached technology by letting vendors define their needs, but industry experts argue this backward relationship is costing owners money and strategic control. According to Bill Douglas, CEO of OpticWise, the most expensive technology mistake in commercial real estate isn't buying the wrong system, but letting vendors decide what owners need.
Douglas has observed a consistent pattern where owners bring in vendors, review their roadmaps, sign contracts, and then wait years for products to catch up with their property's actual needs. This approach, he says, is a core reason the commercial real estate industry lags behind other major asset classes in digital maturity. "When you own a commercial real estate asset, you are the one writing the checks," says Douglas. "You should be setting the direction. Your vendors should be responding to your strategy, not defining it."
The issue extends beyond service dependency to data control. When owners don't control their own data and digital infrastructure, they become dependent on vendors for information about their own buildings. If operational data resides in a vendor's cloud, owners can only see what that vendor chooses to show them, preventing independent analysis and creating what OpticWise calls "vendor lock-in" that runs deeper than contract clauses.
OpticWise advocates for owners to control the networks, systems, and data their properties generate. This approach makes switching vendors a realistic option, enables comparison of vendor performance across portfolios, and ensures data travels with the asset rather than being tied to contracts. The company designs and operates owner-controlled data and digital infrastructure specifically for multi-tenant commercial real estate.
Douglas recommends owners ask three critical questions before any vendor renewal or technology purchase: whether they have a written digital strategy for their property or portfolio, whether they own and control the data their building generates, and whether they're telling vendors what they need or asking what they offer. Most owners cannot answer these questions confidently, which is why OpticWise offers the Peak Property Performance (PPP) DDI Review to clarify what data and digital infrastructure owners actually control.
The importance of this shift extends across portfolios. Owners who control their data navigate property sales, management transitions, and asset repositioning more efficiently because operational intelligence stays with the asset. In contrast, buildings where vendor relationships create information silos leave owners managing scattered data across multiple platforms and contracts. Without consistent, comparable data across properties, owners cannot benchmark performance or make confident capital allocation decisions.
This strategic shift matters because commercial real estate represents trillions of dollars in assets globally, and technology decisions directly impact operational efficiency, tenant satisfaction, and property values. As buildings become increasingly connected through smart technology, the owners who control their data infrastructure will have significant advantages in managing costs, responding to market changes, and maximizing asset performance. The industry's move toward greater data control represents a fundamental change in how commercial real estate owners approach technology partnerships and asset management.
