NYC's Real Estate Tech Forum hosted panel discussion on April 10; Included panelist Bianco of tw telecom Manhattan

On April 10, the Real Estate Tech Forum hosted a collaborative and enriching panel discussion, "Connecting Tomorrow's Tenants: The State of Technology in CRE" in alliance with WiredNYC. Held at the offices of Reed Smith LLP, the hour-and-a-half long event featured panelists Robert Bianco, vice president/general manager at tw telecom Manhattan; Eric Gertler, director of the Center for Economic Transformation at NYCEDC; Charles Buscarino, co-founder, The Clarient Group; Jay Caseley, director of leasing at ABS Properties; and David Falk, president of the New York Tri-State Region at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. The Real Estate Tech Forum explored the rise of technology and creative industries in the New York market, and how tenant demand is growing for not just the city's steel high-rise buildings, but buildings throughout the city, including within the five boroughs. As the tenant demand soars, it is becoming abundantly clear that not all buildings can support the technology needs of tenants in the digital economy. Panelists described the need for greater transparency throughout the leasing process, emphasizing the importance of updating office telecom systems to include high speed fiber access and communicating internet availability through the brokerage community. "Buildings need more transparency or the building tenants will suffer," said Bianco. "Access to quality broadband infrastructure here in NYC continues to be a hot topic. On a daily basis, my team and I work with some of the city's top real estate firms and property managers to ensure that tenants have access to more network connectivity choices, increased redundancy and business continuity throughout all commercial buildings that cater to growing businesses, city-wide." Panelists also outlined new trends among office workers, including the use of mobile devices in corporate offices. Bianco noted that, "As neighborhoods develop, there is an increasing demand for bandwidth, and this is something that's not really available in the outer boroughs yet." Charles Buscarino said, "Given the nature of tech and bandwidth, you can be anywhere; outposts such as the outer boroughs are relevant and not yet on the radar, and will provide opportunity." With increasing tenant-driven demand for high speed data products, all panelists agreed that in addition to WiredNYC's efforts to lend transparency to broadband access in buildings, property owners must recognize connectivity as a requirement for communication and begin investing in higher bandwidth connections to accommodate New York City's burgeoning tech industry and keep its competitive edge among other tech-driven cities. For more information on the Real Estate Tech Forum and other upcoming events, visit www.retechforum.org. Learn more about tw telecom Manhattan at http://www.twtelecom.com/NYC.