An IT-Label is not a finish line, but a starting point

A building keeps developing over time. New installations arrive, new tenants and users move in, and the technology they bring with them keeps changing. So why would the digital infrastructure stay exactly the same for years on end?

That question lies behind a persistent misunderstanding about the IT-Label. Many people read a label category as a report card for a building. It is not. An IT-Label describes which digital facilities are present at this moment, not whether a building is good or bad.

In this article we explain why an IT-Label is a starting point rather than a final destination, and how a building can grow toward a higher digital delivery level throughout its lifespan.

An IT-Label is a snapshot

The IT-Label makes clear which digital infrastructure is present in a building today. It answers the question: which facilities are currently in place, and which are still missing? It makes no statement about what the building will look like in a few years.

This is what makes the label deliberately dynamic. If the infrastructure is expanded or improved, the label can change accordingly. This resembles the energy label, which also receives a different value after a sustainability upgrade. Anyone who wants to understand how these two relate to each other can find a clear comparison in our overview of the difference between the IT-Label and the energy label.

Because the label is a snapshot, it says nothing about the value of a building as a whole. It is an objective description of a situation at a given moment, no more and no less.

Why buildings grow over time

The digital quality of a building rises as soon as investment is made in the infrastructure. That investment can come from two sides.

A landlord can, for example, invest in fiber optics, new data cabling, a well-organized patch room, redundancy in connections and Smart Building technology. That raises the baseline level for the entire building.

A tenant can invest in enterprise WiFi, additional network equipment, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, server space or IoT applications. These additions also raise the digital quality of the leased space, although this happens within the boundaries of the leased area.

The strength of an IT-Label lies not in achieving the highest possible score, but in clarity about where a building stands today and where it can grow toward.

Not every tenant needs the same thing

An administrative office has different requirements than a law firm. A software company has different needs than a logistics company, and an AI start-up requires something different again than a media company.

That is why not every building needs to sit at the highest level by default. For one organization, an IT3 READY building with basic infrastructure is more than sufficient, while a data-driven company may only be well served at a higher level. The label helps both parties make that trade-off consciously.

So the goal is not to score as high as possible, but to reach a level that fits the intended use and the leasing strategy.

The labels once more

The overview below shows what each level typically means and how the roles of landlord and tenant relate to one another.

• IT5 SHELL: digital shell. The landlord provides an entry point for telecom and space for connections. The tenant fills in the complete IT infrastructure themselves.
• IT4 CORE: minimal infrastructure present. The landlord provides a patch room and preparatory cabling. The tenant adds internet, WiFi, network equipment and AI facilities.
• IT3 READY: functioning basic infrastructure with data cabling and connection points. The tenant adds extra capacity, redundancy and enterprise WiFi.
• IT2 PLUG & PLAY: extensive digital basic facilities. The tenant mainly adds company-specific expansions and security.
• IT1 HIGH PERFORMANCE and IT1+ PREMIUM: very complete infrastructure, suitable for intensive use. The tenant essentially only needs to add its own applications, equipment and management.

These are example situations. The actual division of responsibilities is always laid down in the lease agreement, a topic we cover extensively in the article on IT in the ROZ lease agreement.

The landlord's role

The landlord determines which digital delivery level is offered. This is comparable to the choice between a shell space, a turn-key office, a business center or a fully furnished office. Each strategy requires a different level of investment.

Anyone who puts a building on the market as move-in ready typically opts for a higher digital delivery level. Anyone who leases as a shell space leaves more up to the tenant. In our article on turn-key offices and the IT-Label we explain this choice in more detail.

The tenant's role

The tenant determines which digital facilities are needed for the business operations. A tenant can deliberately invest in higher internet speeds, in redundancy so that a single outage does not bring the organization to a standstill, in enterprise WiFi, in AI capacity, in Smart Office solutions and in cybersecurity.

As a result, the digital quality of the leased space grows along with the organization. A company that is growing fast or becoming increasingly data-driven can scale up the infrastructure step by step without having to move immediately.

Why this matters

The IT-Label prevents discussions. Every party knows where the building starts, which facilities are present, which investments are still needed and who is responsible for what.

This prevents surprises during fit-out or occupation. Instead of discovering afterward that a crucial facility is missing, the situation is made clear beforehand. That is precisely why leasing a shell space with an IT-Label brings less uncertainty.

The IT-Label as a growth model

A building might, for example, start out as IT4 CORE. After investments in fiber optics, cabling, WiFi, redundancy and Smart Building technology, that same building can grow toward IT3, IT2 or even an IT1 level.

The label therefore grows along with the building. It is not a fixed stamp, but a reflection of the current situation that changes as soon as the infrastructure changes. This makes the label useful throughout the entire lifespan of a property, not just at a single moment.

This creates a shared reference point for landlords and tenants to make well-considered choices about investments and the further development of the digital infrastructure.

Getting started with your digital starting point

An IT-Label is not a judgment and not a final destination. It is a transparent starting point that shows where a building stands today and what possibilities exist to further develop its digital quality. The future of commercial real estate is not static; it grows along with its users, and the digital infrastructure grows along with the building.

Want to know at which digital delivery level your building currently sits and which steps are possible? Take a look at how the IT-Label is determined and, together with the landlord or tenant, map out which investments fit today's needs and tomorrow's technology.