Week 14: Reclaiming Control – The Owner’s Role in Data Governance

Welcome to Week 14 of our 52-week series exploring how data and digital infrastructure can unlock value in commercial real estate.

I’m Bill Douglas, CEO of OpticWise and co-author of Peak Property Performance. Each week, we share insights for CRE owners who want to regain control of their properties, modernize intelligently, and uncover hidden value.

For years, data governance has been treated as an IT problem. Something handled by vendors, platforms, or integrators.

But here’s the reality: if you’re the owner, you are the data steward—whether you know it or not.

CRE portfolios are becoming increasingly digital. That means every device, system, and sensor installed on your property is generating data. And that data is either:

1. Owned and controlled by you, feeding your business intelligence and bottom line,
   
   
2. Or leaking into third-party systems, serving someone else’s business model.

The difference between those two outcomes comes down to governance.

Governance Isn’t About Restriction. It’s About Strategy.

When we talk about data governance in the context of real estate, we’re not talking about compliance checklists or legalese. We’re talking about strategic control of a valuable asset. Here’s why this matters:

• Property data is monetizable — when structured, owned, and integrated properly.
  
  
• Most owners don’t know what data they even have — or where it goes.
  
  
• Vendors default to their own data terms — unless owners assert control.
  
  
• Tenants care about privacy and transparency — and will favor landlords who demonstrate it.

We’ve seen owners inadvertently give away long-term value simply by not negotiating data terms in their contracts. Or worse, discover after the fact that they can’t access insights from systems they paid to install.

That’s why we created the PPP Digital Infrastructure Review.

It’s designed to help you answer the critical governance questions most portfolios overlook:

• Who owns the data generated by your building systems?
  
  
• Where does it live? Who can access it?
  
  
• How is it secured, standardized, and leveraged across your portfolio?

Until you can answer those questions with confidence, you’re operating without full visibility—or full control.

Your Role as the Owner is Changing

Digital infrastructure is now a core operational layer. And data is a strategic asset. That means governance can no longer be delegated. It must be owned. By you.

Just like you wouldn’t hand over the keys to your building without a lease, you shouldn’t hand over data rights without intentional, informed decisions.

Want to stop the data leaks and start building long-term enterprise value?

Schedule your PPP Digital Infrastructure Review today at OpticWise.

And connect with Bill Douglas to talk about putting data governance back where it belongs—under your control.

 

Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR

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