Week 34: Who should “own” tech in a CRE Org? (And why it’s not IT)
In this weekly series, we explore how the commercial real estate industry is being transformed by data and digital infrastructure. Guided by the principles in Peak Property Performance, we unpack a new idea every week to help owners unlock value, reduce risk, and future-proof their portfolios. Learn more about OpticWise and Bill Douglas, the authors of this series.
Who’s in charge of technology within your portfolio properties? If your answer is “IT”—you might be falling behind.
While traditional IT departments play a critical role in managing corporate systems and ensuring cybersecurity, they are not typically tasked with delivering asset-level performance, NOI growth, or tenant satisfaction. Yet in most CRE firms, the assumption persists: tech = IT.
This outdated mindset is a major barrier to realizing the value of Data & Digital Infrastructure (DDI).
Why Your IT Alone Isn’t Enough
In the modern building environment, technology is no longer confined to back-office functions. It shapes tenant experience, enables smart energy management, supports ESG goals, secures buildings, and feeds investor-grade reporting. These functions demand strategic alignment with operations, asset management, and digital control & ownership—not just IT support.
Most IT teams:
- Aren’t incentivized by property performance
- Lack context in leasing, ESG, or engineering
- Focus on tools, not tenant outcomes
- Operate on reactive helpdesk models
- Lag when dealing with data deluge and dynamic property-specific sytems/database automations
Elevating Digital Infrastructure to a Strategic Layer
CRE leaders must shift their mindset: digital infrastructure is now a layer of the business, not just a department. It’s core to asset value, competitive differentiation, and future-ready operations.
Ownership of DDI should sit with a cross-functional role or team that:
- Understands NOI drivers
- Speaks both technology and operations
- Can champion long-term platform design
- Bridges vendors, internal teams, and execs
In Peak Property Performance, we refer to this as the emergence of a Digital Performance Officer mindset—whether it’s embedded in ops, asset management, or strategy. The goal: centralize control of the digital foundation without siloing it inside IT.
Signs You Need a New Tech Owner
Ask yourself:
- Is your digital roadmap tied to building performance goals?
- Are tech decisions driven by NOI or the status quo?
- Who decides what property systems stay or go?
- Does your ESG team rely on IT for performance data?
- Is tenant feedback integrated into platform design?
If these questions cause tension across departments, it’s time to realign ownership.
What the New-Minded CRE Owner Should Focus On
This isn’t about turf wars—it’s about future-proofing assets. The right person or team should:
- Own the Data & Digital Infrastructure (DDI) Review process as well as the DDI Roadmap
- Manage the integration of sensor, system, and platform layers
- Ensure that connectivity, controls, and analytics are built to scale
- Translate business objectives into tech requirements
- Interface with vendors using owner-centric KPIs
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
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Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Prop.com and Reos GmbH launch new strategic partnership
Pan-European €400m micro-living portfolio to be managed and digitised by Reos
Press Release – Hamburg / Abu Dhabi, 15 January 2026. Prop.com, a leading real estate investment manager focused on unlocking value for investors through digital technology, has launched a strategic partnership with property management and digitalisation specialist Reos GmbH to develop one of the most advanced, data-driven micro‑living real estate platforms in the DACH region.
Under the new partnership, Prop.com’s growing pan-European €400m micro-living portfolio will be managed and digitised by Reos, leveraging the company’s market‑leading digital property management expertise and smart‑building ecosystem. Together, the companies aim to implement a future-proof operational model delivering real-time data intelligence, seamless tenant experiences, and highly efficient asset performance.
At the core of the partnership is the full integration of building, operational and consumption data into an end‑to‑end digital workflow. Reos group’s property management services, automation tools, IoT infrastructure and tenant app will connect directly to PropChain, enabling real-time reporting, ESG transparency, and automated operational steering across all managed assets.
Prop.com CIO Paul Hohenstatt: “Micro living is one of the most compelling investment strategies right now in the European residential market. We see continued strong demand and undersupply for micro living. By combining Reos’ digital operating system with our PropChain data backbone, we are building a modern micro‑living platform that prioritises transparency, operational excellence and a frictionless tenant experience.”
Andrew Stanton CEO Proptech-PR
Andrew Stanton Founder & Editor of 'PROPTECH-X' where his insights, connections, analysis and commentary on proptech and real estate are based on writing 1.3M words annually. Plus meeting 1,000 Proptech founders, critiquing 400 decks and having had 130 clients as CEO of 'PROPTECH-PR', a consultancy for Proptech founders seeking growth and exit strategies. He also acts as an advisory for major global real estate companies on sales, acquisitions, market positioning & operations. With 200K followers & readers, he is the 'Proptech Realestate Influencer.'
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