Software Soundoff: What Self-Storage Operators REALLY Want

Accepting online reservations and payments has also helped us generate additional business as well as earn the goodwill of our customers. I have reduced my operational costs and improved customer service. The transformation has been significant, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking to accelerate their business growth. The best way to tackle an e-commerce site is to find a provider who offers a front-end and back-end solution.

Persiano: What is the primary feature that you look for in self-storage management software?

Bartolacci: I couldn’t ask for more if the self-storage management software came in with a built-in revenue-management module. The ideal module would enable us to better interpret our business and spot trends and variations early enough to plan for higher yield management. The self-storage industry is becoming more competitive by the day. Having this kind of a tool at our disposal would certainly give us the competitive edge to stay ahead in the demanding market place.

Rolly Curtis, Stor-All

Persiano: Rolly, you are an industry veteran and have been using self-storage management applications for many years in your facilities in the Southeast. What is your perspective on the evolution of the industry, and what do you view as the intrinsic value of the software?

Curtis: I have seen the self-storage industry progress from archaic card-indexing systems to the use of localized databases. Gone are the days when legacy applications ruled and the corporate offices spent hours consolidating data to gain a measure of their market share.

The value of the next-generation management software lies in its ability to centralize operational control, standardize operations across all sites, offer a localized backup capability to cope with Internet breakdown, and enable quick and easy reconciliation of information to facilitate swift analysis and decision-making. Data is like gold in our industry. Without it, we cannot effectively survive in what is becoming an incredibly data-driven environment. It’s my opinion that most of the software developers are scrambling to deliver a product that leverages a centralized database. I am only aware of a few who offer this feature.

Persiano: How do you see your business leveraging the benefits of hi-tech management software?

Curtis: Throughout our day-to-day operations there are many improvements. The manager’s life is better from an operational perspective, and the benefits to our customers through faster, easier service delivery are real. In particular, an online presence is a must and a key constituent of any business plan. We have plans to take our business online to exploit the immense potential the Web has to offer. Phone-based and call center reservations are other options we are exploring in enterprise-level self-storage management solutions.