WILLIS TOWER: IMG TECHNOLOGIES CONNECTS THE
TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Stretching 110 stories skyward from Chicago’s
downtown, Willis Tower has been an
unmistakable part of the city’s skyline – not to
mention one of its most prestigious addresses
– since the building first opened as the Sears
Tower in 1973.
Dean Johnson,
Senior Vice President
U.S. Equities Realty
U.S. Equities Realty
WILLIS TOWER FAST FACTS
• World’s tallest building until
1998 – currently the eighth tallest
• 110 stories tall
• 4.5 million gross square feet,
3.8 million rentable square feet
• 12,000+ daily workers
• 25,000+ daily visitors
• 43,000 miles of voice & data cable
• 25,000 miles of electrical cable
Until recently the tallest
building in the world, Willis
Tower is no ordinary high-rise.
Supporting the growing and
evolving telecommunications
needs of the tower’s more than
12,000 workers is a one-ofa-kind exercise in scope and
logistics as well.
Consider this: the Willis
Tower has more than 43,000
miles of voice and data cable
throughout its 3.8 million
square feet of rentable office
space.
When new data capacity needs
to be added for a top-floor tenant, the cables
have to travel more than a quarter mile
vertically from the office suite to reach the
network point-of-presence (NetPOP) in the
tower’s sub-floors where the circuits for more
than 10 telecom carriers enter the building.
So who does Willis Tower’s exclusive
managing and leasing agent rely on to ensure
this signature property remains one step
ahead of its tenants’ connectivity needs?
They choose IMG Technologies, the largest
and most experienced riser management
company in the country.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL: 1-888-464-5520 | VISIT: WWW.IMGTECHNOLOGIES.COM
A DEMANDING ENVIRONMENT
“Willis Tower is a demanding environment for
a riser management company for a number
of reasons,” says Dean Johnson, senior vice
president of U.S. Equities Realty. “The scale of the
building in terms of the total square footage. The
record-setting verticality. The fact that the tower
was built before many of today’s connectivity
standards were adopted. All of these pose a
unique set of connectivity challenges.”
“There is 40 years’ worth of connectivity
technology in Willis Tower, and that technology
is constantly being upgraded to keep the building
on the leading edge,” says James Chinetti, IMG’s
vice president of Technology.
“[Our] goal… is to deliver a tenant
experience that is unlike any
other.... IMG Technologies helps
us achieve that goal, while also
ensuring that Willis Tower remains
technologically ahead of the curve
of our tenants’ needs as well as our
competitors.”
Dean Johnson, Senior Vice President
U.S. Equities Realty
“Ensuring that the tenants are satisfied and the
building is ready for what’s to come is a full-time
job – literally. We have one of IMG’s support hubs
on the property, and it keeps several of our service
technicians busy around the clock.
“There aren’t too many properties that require that
level of support, but it’s just another indication of
what a unique property Willis Tower really is.”
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
But the technical hurdles are only part of the story.
“Some of our tenants choose Willis Tower because
of its convenient location in the West Loop,”
Johnson explains. “But many more are here because
of the building’s landmark status and prestige.
Simply put, they expect more from their tenant
experience.
“So it’s up to us to find management support
partners that meet and exceed the service levels
and professionalism our tenants expect. That’s why
we’ve relied on IMG Technologies to be the riser
management partner for Willis Tower since 2007.”
IMG’s unique combination of infrastructure,
experience, professionalism, and scalability
have allowed IMG to become a seamless part of
the Willis Tower property management team,
supporting the ongoing connectivity needs of the
tenants and the building as a whole.
As a result, the property management team can
focus on other value-creating tasks, knowing that
their tenants’ technology needs are being met with
the kind of speed, service and professionalism they
expect.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CALL: 1-888-464-5520 | VISIT: WWW.IMGTECHNOLOGIES.COM
SUPPORT & ACCOUNTABILITY
“IMG Technologies has been a wonderful
riser management partner for us for
the last seven years,” said Gary Michon,
general manager of Willis Tower. “With
their call center team
available 24/7, we know our
tenants’ emergency support
needs will be addressed any
time, day or night. Their
IMG Advantage database
keeps all of our support
ticket history, contracts and
relevant documents right at
our fingertips. That drives
accountability and efficiency.
And their team of trained
technicians can handle
anything we throw at them
with professionalism.”
“Willis Tower is a high-rise office building
unlike any other,” Johnson added. “The goal
of Gary’s property management team is to
deliver a tenant experience that is unlike
any other as well. IMG Technologies helps
us achieve that goal, while also ensuring
that Willis Tower remains technologically
ahead of the curve of our tenants’ needs as
well as our competitors.”
To find out more about Willis Tower, please
visit www.willistower.com