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

Prediction: Website accessible statements and pay-at-the-gate based payments. Mike Richards, of Hi-Tech Smart Systems, was clairvoyant with his view of tenants being able to access a statement of their account: "I also think it will be possible, in a few years, for customers to go to a facility’s website, enter a pin code (password) and see a statement of their account." Eric Young with Quikstor indicated that pay-at-the-gate would become more prolific: "It’s the kind of integration where the industry is headed."

Outcome: Richards was right on with his forecast, and I suspect he knew it wouldn’t just be statements that tenants would be looking for online, but the actual ability to make a payment once they received an update of their current status. Young’s vision has come to pass as well, although kiosks are also providing that capability and more.

Prediction: Integration with third-party applications, such as accounting packages and gate-access solutions. Hunter stated, "We don’t have a payables module. We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. Instead we interface with all the currently available accounting packages." Regarding gate-access products, Tom Garden of Syrasoft pleaded with the gate-access vendors to offer an integration standard. "Someone has to develop a standard that people will comply to. A standard needs to be thrust upon the vendors who don’t seem to understand that open systems are positive and will enhance their sales. It’s the gate vendors that need to do this."

Outcome: Hunter’s direction for integration to accounting packages has become the norm in the industry. Unfortunately, Garden’s pleading fell on deaf ears. But the need was there and continues to be a hoped-for solution.

What Can We Learn?

It is my observation that when the software vendors listened to their clients’ needs and could see a clear path to a technological solution, they were generally able to find it. Their ability to predict the future was generally limited to three to five years, as none of them predicted a solution that was not implemented within that timeframe.

The one big miss for the industry was the request from the software vendors that the gate-access vendors provide a universal standard for integration to improve the information and capabilities of both the gate-access and the rental-management solutions.

Most important in the article was the discussion of choosing a software vendor based on the ability to form a partnership. I like the statement best from Jim Teske of O’Neil Software. "The primary things to consider are: How does this investment help me generate more revenue? How does it help me lower my operating expenses? And, how does this solution minimize my risk? By risk I mean both the risk that what I buy will do everything I want for the customer today as well as be able to provide the same solutions and competitive advantages five years from now."