Energy labels, BREEAM, WELL, NEN and ISO standards: commercial real estate is measured, assessed and documented on more dimensions than ever before. Sustainability, health, safety, structural quality — the list keeps growing. Yet RE-SEARCH has identified one striking blind spot that still slips through almost every property search: what does a tenant actually receive in digital terms when they move in? As AI places growing demands on connectivity, that question is becoming just as important as rent per square metre or how many square metres you need per employee.
The Question That Arrives Too Late
A typical letting process moves fast. How much space is needed? How many workstations fit? What is the asking rent? When can the tenant move in? Floor plans are drawn up, workplaces are mapped out and both parties drive toward signing. One subject, however, has a habit of surfacing far too late in that conversation: how is the IT actually arranged?
In many cases the topic only comes up after the lease has been signed and the fit-out has already been decided. That is precisely the moment when critical choices still need to be made about internet connectivity, fibre access, in-building cabling, Wi-Fi coverage, network hardware, cybersecurity and the division of responsibility between landlord and tenant. Raising those questions after the ink is dry rarely leads to better outcomes for either side.
RE-SEARCH sees a commercial opportunity in solving this earlier. A clear digital delivery level gives everyone at the table a shared understanding of what is present, what is included in the lease, and what the tenant must organise independently. That prevents surprises, makes buildings genuinely comparable and can actually accelerate the decision-making process. Transparency about IT does not have to make a property deal more complicated. It can make it considerably easier.
What IT-Label Is (and What It Is Not)
IT-Label was born out of that practical reality and, frankly, out of some professional frustration. It is not a new certification scheme, at least not yet. It presents itself explicitly as an awareness initiative: a movement aimed at making visible what is currently invisible.
The digital delivery level of a building already exists. Every building has some level of digital infrastructure, or a notable absence of it. The problem is that this level is rarely communicated in a uniform, comprehensible way. IT-Label wants to change that by creating a shared language between landlords, tenants, brokers, fit-out specialists and IT professionals. You can find more information at www.it-label.com.
"In real estate we can tell you down to the decimal point how many square metres someone is renting," says RE-SEARCH founder Colin Westerneng. "But the moment someone asks what a tenant receives digitally, everyone suddenly starts looking at each other."
IT-Label wants to make that translation. What is installed in the building? What is handed over as part of the lease? And what does the tenant still need to arrange on their own side?
No Two Buildings Are the Same
The range of digital delivery levels across the market is wide, and that range is not a problem in itself. In a modern business centre, a tenant can sometimes sign the lease today and walk in tomorrow with a laptop. Internet, Wi-Fi, network infrastructure and other digital provisions are already in place and fully operational.
In conventional commercial property, a landlord might offer a fibre connection to a defined demarcation point, after which the tenant takes full responsibility for internal cabling, Wi-Fi, network equipment and security. There is nothing wrong with that model. It gives companies the freedom to build their IT environment exactly as their operations require.
The critical point is that a tenant needs to know this before signing, not after. That distinction is still not consistently incorporated into most property searches. When companies are looking at office space for rent in Amsterdam or exploring office space for rent in Rotterdam, digital delivery is rarely part of the shortlisting criteria, even though it can have a significant impact on move-in costs and timelines.
RE-SEARCH: Research First, Then Search
The name RE-SEARCH was not chosen at random. Finding the right space begins not with searching, but with thorough research into what an organisation actually needs. What does the company require today? How will it work tomorrow? What technology does it run? And what do cloud computing, data handling, cybersecurity and AI place on the demands of a new working environment?
That is why RE-SEARCH wants to add a new question to the standard intake conversation. Alongside "how many square metres do you need?" comes "what must your workplace be capable of digitally?" Where RE-SEARCH investigates the needs of the user, IT-Label maps what a building offers. Aligning supply and demand on the digital dimension is the logical next step, and it mirrors how platforms have already made sustainability data a standard part of the commercial property search. For a practical starting point on lease requirements before digital matters even come up, the 10 key points in a commercial lease agreement remain a useful reference.
From Smart Building to Digital Real Estate
Internet use inside buildings is still a relatively young phenomenon. In just a few decades, digital connectivity has shifted from a nice-to-have extra to an absolute operational baseline. AI is accelerating that shift again, and the infrastructure implications are substantial.
"We are making buildings increasingly SMART, but SMART does not automatically tell you what a tenant can actually do with that," says RE-SEARCH co-founder Miquel van Dongen. "An entrepreneur ultimately just wants to know: can my organisation function digitally here?"
That is the next step toward what RE-SEARCH calls digital real estate: treating bricks, data and digital infrastructure not as three separate worlds, but as a single integrated question. For anyone curious about how AI is already placing pressure on building networks, the article AI is pushing building networks to the limit provides useful context.
A Shared Language, Not a New Standard
IT-Label is explicit that it does not want to replace existing norms, technical inspections or certifications. That knowledge base is precisely what is needed to eventually produce a clear and trustworthy translation for the market. This is why an independent knowledge collective is currently being built, bringing together professionals from commercial real estate, lettings, fit-out, IT, cybersecurity and AI.
The goal is not for any single party to dictate what is good or bad. The goal is to jointly investigate how the digital delivery level of commercial property can be communicated simply and reliably, so that it becomes a standard part of every property comparison, from the first search to the signed lease.
The Netherlands wants to lead in AI and the knowledge economy. That ambition requires companies to have access to data, connectivity, security and a healthy digital infrastructure. And all of that technology has to land somewhere: in offices, business premises and workplaces across the country. The real estate question of tomorrow is therefore not just about where a company wants to work. It is also about what that place can handle digitally.
IT-Label wants to make visible what is currently invisible. That, for RE-SEARCH, is what digital real estate means.
