BOMA publication helps owners keep up with technology.

Since the passage of The Telecommunications Act of 1996, critical business relationships have formed between property management professionals, tenants, telecommunications service providers (TSPs) and building owners. While each has a clear goal in brokering access to technology, they have not always agreed on how to reach all of their goals simultaneously.

Rising to this challenge, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, in partnership with Riser Management, OnSite Access, MetroMedia Fiber and SBC, all TSPs, has published: Critical Connections: The Property Management Professional's Guide to Partnering in the Information Age. The publication is a result of extensive research and industry surveys that examined the industry's experience and future expectations in telecommunications and technology.

Through its three-part format, critical Connections answers these questions:

* What telecommunications services do tenants want?

* How can owners and managers add value to a TSP's bottom line?

* How do managers demonstrate to owners that they understand valuation equations and can maximize the owners' long-term return on investment?

Part one of Critical Connections addresses the rules and realities of the marketplace, enabling property management professionals to determine if they are ready to do business in the telecommunications marketplace.

Part two of the guide is derived from BOMA's recent telecommunications and technology study, which surveyed nearly 1,100 property owners representing nearly 400 million square feet of office space and nearly 2,100 buildings. The study also provides insight into what tenants are looking for in the tenant portion of the survey, culled from 642 responses received from tenants of BOMA members.

In general, the survey revealed that tenants have four basic demands:

* Choice among telecommunications providers (the average owner/manager provides the choice of three TSPs, although some offer as many as 15!);

* Enhanced Internet access speed and ultimately true broadband connectivity;

* Choice in enhanced telecommunications services and providers at little or no additional rent;

* Flexibility in property management responses and adaptability of leased space.

Tenants' needs are discussed in detail, with additional information about their viewpoints on brand loyalty, TSP relations, alternative officing strategies and the impact of technology and telecommunications on office space needs.

Owner responses indicate that they are generally in step with tenant demands. The leading services offered by owners are the same as those demanded by tenants, but some differences do arise when owners state what services they plan to offer next, versus what tenants say they next need. Critical Connections seeks to eliminate these differences by providing detailed descriptions of what tenants need now and in the future, broken down by business type and square footage (tenants in space exceeding 20,000 square feet tend to demand the fastest connections, for example). Owners also address negotiating license agreements with a TSP and general relations with service providers.

Part three of the publication provides actual solutions. BOMA's research partners provide case studies on how they have helped property professionals address their negotiations with TSPs and provide the appropriate level of access to their tenants.

In tandem with the publication of Critical Connections, BOMA International has created an area on its Web site (http://www.boma.org/pubs/critcon.htm) for Critical Connections readers to obtain downloadable copies of license agreements and periodic updates to the publication.

To order a copy of Critical Connections: The Property Management Professional's Guide to Partnering in the Information Age, call 1-800-426-6292 or order on-line at http://www.boma.org/pubs/critcon.htm and indicate order number #177-TELETECH-489. The member price is $50 and the list price is $75.

Founded in 1907, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is a international federation of 101 local associations. The 17,500 members of BOMA International own or manage over 8.5 billion-square feet of downtown and suburban commercial properties in North America.