Predictions for Storage Technology: Have the Forecasts Come True? And What’s Next?

Predictions and Outcomes of 1998

Prediction: Accelerated movement to Windows-based management software. Marcus Hecker with SMD Technologies stated the most obvious, "Users finally have a choice of Windows-based programs for managing their sites because DOS vendors finally had to offer Windows versions."

Outcome: Although a very small number of owners/operators still use DOS-based management software today (10 years later), those management software providers that either came into the market or released a Windows-based version of their software early in the game obtained a competitive advantage over those that were slow to market.

Prediction: Windows-based products will not be the end of the road for self-storage software. Hunter predicted, "I’ll make a future prognostication that, within three years, Windows-look products will appear as momentary bumps in the road to tomorrow’s software. I believe the most exciting, interesting, innovative and simple design work that’s taking place in the field of software is on the Internet. I think that’s where you’ll see the future of software design, at least as far as the look and feel and user complexity."

Outcome: In my opinion, Hunter was right on the money. By 2001, the first of a number of Internet-based rental-management applications were getting a start. Public Storage, for example, was running trials of its initial version of Web Champ application, StorageUSA was testing its PropertyMax solution, U-Haul was introducing its WebSelfStorage product, and Centershift had released its initial version of STORE.

Prediction: More service-oriented features. According to Space Control System’s Ramona Taylor, "Owners are leaning toward offering more and more service, and certainly software can help them accomplish that." The example was given of the interest of owners/operators to utilize their software to automate a "unified" reservation center where customers can call in to reserve units, with the reservation being forwarded to the appropriate site.

Outcome: Taylor was headed in the right direction, especially as it pertains to the broad use and acceptance of call centers, but perhaps did not envision the use of real-time data exchange between the call-center application and rental-management software that has been occurring for the past five years. As far as the broad category of more service-oriented features, this has been a significant area for many software vendors as they have offered clients services, such as e-commerce-enabled websites, kiosk integration, centralize mail processing, consolidated reporting, recurring automated payments, tax rate updates and many other service-oriented features.