Commercial real estate owners are unknowingly giving away millions in value by letting vendors control and monetize their buildings’ operational data, according to one industry expert who sees a critical blindspot in how properties are managed.
“That data is yours, Mrs. Or Mr. Portfolio holder, Mrs. Or Mr. Property holder. It is not your vendors,” says Bill Douglas, CEO of OpticWise, highlighting what he describes as a widespread failure of property owners to maintain control of valuable building data.
The Data Ownership Crisis
Douglas points to a stark contrast with other industries: “You don’t see Amazon, you don’t see hospitals, you don’t see manufacturing plants, letting other companies come put a network in their building and mine data out of it and sell stuff people inside their building. But it happens every day in commercial real estate.”
This fragmented approach to data ownership creates significant challenges, Douglas explains. Property owners often lack visibility across critical building systems, making it difficult to track performance or identify inefficiencies. Without centralized control, they cannot implement comprehensive AI or advanced analytics solutions, missing key opportunities to reduce costs and optimize operations. As a result, valuable insights that could drive smarter business decisions are effectively given away to third parties who profit from the data instead.
“If you’re not monetizing your data somebody else is, it’s that simple. It’s worth millions. Why aren’t you banking it?” Douglas asks.
At the root of the problem, Douglas says, is how building systems are typically deployed. “We’ve seen 12 networks in a 300,000 square foot building before. Why? I mean, one, maybe two, not counting emergency systems…it’s a waste of money, both CapEx and OpEx.”
Each separate network represents a separate data silo, with vendors maintaining control of the information generated. “You’re paying them for a thermostat control system, or access controls…But why don’t you have a copy of that data? It’s your data,” Douglas emphasizes.
The consequences of this fragmented approach extend well beyond lost potential value. Douglas notes that property owners face tangible operational setbacks, including limited capacity to implement predictive maintenance programs that prevent costly breakdowns. They also lose leverage with insurance providers, which increasingly reward data-driven risk management. Without unified control, owners cannot optimize performance across building systems and often incur higher expenses when making system changes or upgrades.
“Your building engineer would love to have predictive maintenance instead of failure react mode,” Douglas notes. “Why can’t you look at utilities and say, I expect a 5-10% reduction…and then ask, how do we do that?”
Douglas advocates for a systematic approach to regaining control of building data, beginning with what his firm calls a “digital infrastructure audit.” This process identifies existing networks and systems, clarifies data ownership and access rights, pinpoints integration opportunities, and highlights potential optimization strategies. By mapping these elements, property owners can create a clear path to consolidate data, strengthen operational control, and unlock the full value of their building intelligence.
“Then you have a playbook. Then you know what you don’t know right now,” he explains.
For owners willing to tackle the data ownership challenge, Douglas sees significant upside. “When you trade your property, it trades at a higher multiple. It trades over the premium because the data set is there,” he argues.
“The data is super valuable. Everybody’s in a data business. How come your property isn’t being treated like one?” Douglas concludes.
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