Put back the ping-pong tableand the yoga mats. Internet with a quality connection is a toppriority for office users today, second only to location. Not onlyis it the number one concern of office users signing new leases, itcan ultimately determine lease renewals as well. According toresearch from Wired Score, which analyzed thevalue of connectivity, 77% of tenants would sign a longer lease ina building with quality connectivity. Internet has become soimportant to office users because so many companies experienceconnection issues. According to the same report, 80% of officeusers experience connectivity in the office and 77% of office userssay that connection issues impact the company business. We sat downwith Arie Barendrecht, CEO of Wired Score, to talkabout the importance of quality Internet today and what officeowners should be doing to ensure quality Internet.

GlobeSt.com: Why has a digital infrastructure becomeso important to the value of an office asset, and how does itimpact office leasing?

Arie Barendrecht: For decades, officeleasing decisions were driven by C-Suite decision-makers withpreferences that favored features like executive boardrooms andflashy corner offices. That top-down mentality has been largelyabandoned and the industry has seen a shift towards creatingexperiential offices that serve as a tool to attract and retaintalent across the organization. This is reflected in the rise ofnew community amenities like green spaces, collaborative andflexible configurations, and a pivot towards providing optionalityfor different working preference, which in turn fuelsproductivity.