Key points
- IT4 CORE and IT5 SHELL describe a delivery level — the building provides the basics, the tenant fits out the rest.
- That is not a shortcoming. For a storage facility or a small office, this level often matches the use precisely.
- The label makes visible, before signing, which investment sits with the landlord and which with the tenant.
- The delivery level — shell, shell-plus, new-build or turn-key — largely determines which classification a building receives.
- Anyone who wants a different delivery level can invest deliberately. The label shows what that would take.
A classification is not a school report
As soon as a building receives an IT-Label, people tend to look at the number first. IT1? Good. IT4 CORE or IT5 SHELL? Then the feeling quickly arises that something is wrong. That feeling rests on a misunderstanding of what the label does.
The IT-Label does not judge a building as good or bad. It makes visible what is delivered digitally and who is responsible for what. An IT5 SHELL is therefore not a failed IT1 — it is a different agreement about who fits out what. See the pages on IT4 CORE and IT5 SHELL for what each level covers.
What IT4 CORE or IT5 SHELL means in practice
A building in these categories generally has a basic internet connection, standard cabling, limited redundancy, little or no backup power, basic security for the IT rooms and few integrated building systems.
For a large share of users, that is exactly enough. Not every building needs heavy digital infrastructure. A storage facility has different requirements than a fintech firm; a small office has different needs than a hospital. The question is not which level is highest, but which level matches what actually happens in the building.
The difference is often the delivery level
The classification is closely tied to how a building is delivered. With a shell delivery, the tenant receives an essentially empty building: structural work and basic connections, without finished IT provisions. It is logical that such a building lands in IT5 SHELL — and it gives the tenant maximum freedom to fit it out their own way.
With shell-plus, some provisions are already in place: basic cabling, patch cabinets, sometimes fibre. New-build is often prepared for fibre, modern cabling and integrated installations — though execution determines the result, because new does not automatically mean well configured. With turn-key everything is complete, and there too the quality of the work is decisive.
The delivery level is therefore not a consequence of the classification, but its cause.
Curious about your building's IT-label?
Discover how your property scores on digital infrastructure.
Request IT-labelWhy this insight has value
An IT4 CORE or IT5 SHELL shows precisely which provisions are present and which are not. That makes clear in advance which investment the tenant has to make themselves — instead of it surfacing only after signing.
For the landlord that is an honest proposition: you promise no more than you deliver. For the tenant it is a calculation that can be made before signing. For an investor it is a line item that belongs in the business case rather than outside it. Read more about digital infrastructure and the value of your real estate.
An IT4 CORE or IT5 SHELL is not a verdict on a building. It is an agreement about who delivers what — and that agreement is worth more when it is on the table beforehand.
Not every building needs heavy infrastructure
Digital infrastructure should match the type of user, the risk profile and the business activity. A classification that does not match the use serves no one: a storage facility with redundant fibre pays for capacity nobody uses.
What counts is not the position on the scale, but that the level is transparent, that responsibilities are clear and that a tenant knows what they are taking on. Tenants who want to know what to look for when choosing a property will find a practical framework on the page what to look out for.
Moving to a different delivery level
A building can move to a different classification. An additional internet connection, heavier cabling, a backup power supply, better access control or integrated building systems shift the delivery level — and with it the classification.
Whether that is sensible depends on who uses the building. For a landlord targeting data-driven tenants it may well be worth it. For a landlord of storage space, often not. The label does not tell you what to do; it tells you what you currently deliver. See the full range of classifications and what each level covers.
Curious about your building's IT-label?
Discover how your property scores on digital infrastructure.
Request IT-labelIn closing
An IT4 CORE or IT5 SHELL reflects the delivery level of a building. Nothing more, and that is precisely enough. The IT-Label is not a final verdict but a measuring instrument: it makes visible what is there, so that landlord and tenant are discussing the same thing.
