Most asset managers in commercial real estate are working with incomplete information. Not because they are not doing their jobs well, but because the data they actually need has never been made available to them.
This is the core problem that OpticWise has been solving across the commercial real estate industry. And according to Bill Douglas, CEO of OpticWise, it comes up in nearly every prospect conversation.
“I had a call last week with an asset manager at a prospect who has about 15,000 apartments in their portfolio,” Douglas said. “Halfway through the call, he said, point blank: I have no idea what you are talking about. We are flying blind when it comes to operating technology.”
The Reports Are Not the Whole Story
Asset managers are trained as financial analysts. They model forecasts, track KPIs, review P&Ls, and manage relationships with lenders and partners. What they are not doing, usually because they are unable, is looking at the operational data underneath those numbers.
The problem is not a lack of effort. It is a structural gap. Reports sent from property level to the home office are filtered. Managers send what was asked for and leave out the rest. By the time numbers reach an asset manager, they are lagging, summarized, and stripped of the root cause data that would actually explain what is driving them.
When Douglas asked that 15,000-unit prospect how they were driving down utilities, the answer was telling: “We don’t know. We are just telling the property manager to do it.”
That is a common answer. Asset managers are managing outcomes without visibility into the inputs.
Three Portfolio Decisions Being Made in the Dark
Douglas identified three areas where incomplete data is having the most impact on portfolios right now.
Utilities. Most asset managers are not monitoring demand curves, peak usage times, or how individual systems within a property are contributing to the utility bill. They set budgets using last year’s numbers plus a multiplier and hope the property manager trims costs. Without operational data, there is no way to know which systems are wasting money, which properties are outliers, and why.
Insurance. Annual renewals come around and most owners simply accept whatever rate they are given. But if you have documentation of your operating procedures, system maintenance history, and leak detection protocols, you walk into that renewal conversation with leverage. Without the data, you have nothing to show an underwriter.
Occupancy. Lease data from a property management system tells you what is happening. Operational data from the building tells you why. Space utilization, foot traffic, HVAC patterns tied to room bookings, parking usage. All of that feeds into tenant experience, and tenant experience drives retention. Most asset managers have no visibility into any of it.
The Triangle Nobody Is Filling
Douglas describes the problem as a triangle. Property managers, IT managers, and asset managers each occupy a corner. In the middle, largely unmanaged, sits the operational technology (OT) running the building.
Property managers are focused on leases, tenant satisfaction, and keeping things running. IT managers handle security, identity management, and corporate IT infrastructure. Asset managers look at the financial data that these two roles generate. None of them owns the operating technology layer, and nobody is accountable for the data it produces.
“There is a vacuum in the middle,” Douglas said. “Operational technology is the foundation of the data that a commercial real estate property and portfolio generates. And without that data, AI is useless.”
This is not a question of competence. It is a question of role definition. Property managers are not trained to pull data from HVAC systems, lighting controllers, or access control platforms. Asset managers are not expected to run machine learning across a data lake. But right now, nobody is doing it, and the financial consequences are significant.
What Asset Managers Should Be Asking
Douglas has a short list of questions he believes every asset manager should be able to answer about their portfolio right now.
Do you have operating data, not just financial data? Do you have a way to plan capital expenditures based on what your operating technology is telling you, rather than on a best guess? Are you including digital infrastructure as part of your due diligence when acquiring properties? Can you benchmark your utility consumption against industry norms?
And perhaps most importantly: do you want to know what you do not know?
“If you know what you do not know, you can address it,” Douglas said. “If you do not know what you do not know, you have a bigger problem.”
The good news is that the data already exists. It is being generated by every elevator, thermostat, lighting controller, parking meter, and access panel in the building. The issue is that it is sitting inside vendor platforms, siloed and inaccessible to the people who own the asset.
Getting control of that data does not require a massive technology overhaul. It starts with an audit, a clear strategy, and a decision to treat digital infrastructure as an asset rather than an expense. The Peak Property Performance framework lays out exactly how to do it.
About OpticWise: OpticWise is a digital infrastructure and data strategy firm focused on commercial real estate. The company helps owners and operators take ownership of their building data, reduce operating expenses, and build the foundation needed for AI-ready properties.
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
