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Self Storage Manager ™: Elevating Self-Storage Management Through Cloud-Based Innovation}

The self-storage industry, which has long been reliant on outdated processes and fragmented technologies, has discovered its ultimate solution in the form of Self Storage Manager (SSM). As a cloud-based software, SSM is leading a transformation characterized by enhanced operational efficiency, increased automation, and heightened service standards within the self-storage industry.

SSM Cloud Platform is a comprehensive management software for single and multi-facility operators. It offers a complete suite of products and services, including electronic signature and digital storage of leases, advanced revenue management, online reservations/rentals/payments, integrated credit card processing, and automated payment reminder as well as past due alerts. It also provides site walkthroughs/audits and work order management, business intelligence and analytics, and third-party API integrations to leading service providers in the industry.

A standout feature is a fully integrated customer relationship management (CRM) module with efficient lead-to-lease and calltracking capabilities, offering a consolidated view of customer interactions and activities. The CRM provides crucial insights into the customer journey, helping businesses effectively target their marketing efforts and maximize conversions.

Seamless Onboarding and Continuous Support

The process begins with an in-depth application review with the client and identifying the data that needs to be migrated from existing legacy systems to SSM. In the subsequent data conversion phase, a dedicated team comprising project managers, implementation specialists, and conversion experts collaborate with the client’s team to ensure a seamless transition from the client’s legacy systems. The data migration that is performed overnight guarantees minimal disruption and operations downtime. The dedicated project team also provides comprehensive training, helping end-users familiarize themselves with the various functionalities of SSM and Go-Live Support.

SSM has an extensive API library that gives clients the flexibility to select their preferred vendors for integration. The implementation involves establishing connections with various third-party platforms, from website platforms to e-mailing/mailing services. This approach places customer preferences at the heart of SSM’s technological strategy, creating a truly client-centric solution. The company has further enhanced the API and integration features to provide customers with contactless rental and payment solutions, with the increasing demand for remote and contactless services following the pandemic.

“Another step we take in enhancing business performance is integrating our platform with business intelligence and analytics tools to provide valuable insights into not only customer behavior, but also market trends and operational metrics,” says Kat Shenoy, Chairman and CEO of Self Storage Manager.

Dynamic Solutions to Maximize Revenue and Control Cost

SSM provides valuable insights into price optimization to help operators effectively identify revenue opportunities, adjust pricing strategies, and make data-driven decisions to boost the bottom line of the businesses.

Through advanced revenue management features and integration to leading third party revenue management service providers, SSM allows companies to adjust their unit rental prices for their sites based on two primary factors—occupancy levels and competitors’ pricing. The pricing is automatically adjusted depending on the increase or decrease in occupancy. Operators can control discounts that can be dynamically applied during the rental process. They can also match their competitor’s pricing and offer competitive prices. The data-driven insights enable operators to sell the right product at the right time, ensuring maximum revenue.

Its online reservation, on the other hand, boosts presence on the web and increases revenue, simultaneously lowering overhead costs for operators. It streamlines the rental process, allowing prospective customers to search for units 24/7 in specific locations. Additionally, it facilitates using digital lease agreements and paperless contracts, increasing customer convenience and lightening staff workload. These changes result in substantial labor savings and improved flexibility for operators.

Beyond just adding flexibility, these features also shed light on a broader emphasis on remote operations as a means to effectively control cost. The automated marketing and lead management tools are integral to this shift, in addition to tight integrations with kiosks and call centers. Streamlining administrative tasks, the software also features automated text messaging capabilities that send tenants past-due alerts and payment reminders. This significantly reduces the time managers spend on rent collection calls and enables them to concentrate on more critical tasks.

Upholding Security and Privacy

Amid the increasing cybersecurity concerns escalated by the pandemic, SSM has been proactively analyzing the latest requirements per Sarbanes-Oxley (SoX), NIST, PCI, and OWASP frameworks. The company has been pursuing certifications, including PCI-DSS and SSAE/SOC reporting to ensure robust internal controls are in place to securely support the software. In addition, it has also been using advanced security tools to ensure that any potential vulnerability findings are addressed continually.

A Standout Feature Is A Fully Integrated Customer Relationship Management (Crm) Module With Efficient Lead-To-Lease And Call-Tracking Capabilities, Offering A Consolidated View Of Customer Interactions And Activities. The Crm Provides Crucial Insights Into The Customer Journey, Helping Businesses Effectively Target Their Marketing Efforts And Maximize Conversions

In response to growing concerns surrounding customer financial data protection, SSM leverages Azure Active Directory, ensuring account credentials are securely linked to the respective customer email addresses. More importantly, this strategy guarantees that passwords are not stored in the database, safeguarding customer information and enhancing overall data security.

With data privacy standards like GDPR (Europe), CCPA (California), and PIPEDA (Canada) in place, SSM also uses identity management services to ensure it has proper security permission within APIs that distinguish the data points that are accessible and those that can be retained per customer’s permissions. It can also anonymize consumer data upon request.

Ensuring Optimal Performance and Reliability

As SSM onboards more users to its platform, it is proactively implementing the latest Azure monitoring tools to monitor the performance of hosted resources, and the response times of the middleware APIs. Leveraging its findings, SSM takes appropriate actions to ‘profile’ its code to assess for optimization opportunities. It also leverages Azure’s auto-scaling capabilities to scale in/out resources based on performance thresholds.

Moreover, in the wake of recent cloud service downtimes affecting numerous Fortune 500 companies, SSM has implemented stringent internal controls designed to minimize downtime and prevent data loss. Other measures include the execution of disaster recovery and business continuity tests by leveraging Azure’s recurring backup and failover technologies, highlighting its commitment to providing a reliable and robust service.

Upgrading Products with Evolving Industry Requirements

SSM maintains a robust feedback system to continuously improve its products and services based on customer needs and preferences, whether incorporating AI, contactless payments, tight integration with cloud-based gate systems or keyless entry. An advisory committee comprising various mid to large-sized operators meets regularly, providing input on product plans and indicating priority levels for development. SSM also conducts frequent meetings with clients on a weekly or monthly basis to gather feedback and plan development cycles, new releases, and updates based on their needs. This approach ensures that the product suite remains relevant to the evolving industry demands.

“With a commitment to an ongoing improvement driven by customer feedback and industry demands, our product suite now serves over 2,000 facilities, including many multi-facility storage operators,” says Rohan Shenoy, President of Self Storage Manager.

Client Success Driven by a Focus on Quick Adaptability

SSM’s partnership with SmartStop Self Storage, REIT, Inc. (“SmartStop”), a self-managed and fully integrated self storage company with close to 200 properties in Canada and the U.S. —is a notable instance demonstrating SSM’s swiftness to adapt.

Guided by its aggressive technology roadmap and ambitious expansion plans, SmartStop sought a strong partner and a system that could help them realize the innovation they were pursuing, enhance their customers’ experience, and perform at a large enterprise level. With its modern technology stack and advanced APIs, combined with 20 plus years of experience in developing applications for the storage industry, SSM stood out among the many options in the market. Through a unique partnership, the SmartStop and SSM teams worked together to enhance SSM cloud platform and help SmartStop advance their capabilities in revenue management, digital advertising, distributed call center, and an integrated sales process. This collaboration not just underscores SSM’s commitment to evolving with the industry by leveraging customer insights but also its strong expertise in delivering modern suite of applications that meet the strategic and business objectives of large operators and REITs.

Strategic Expansion with a Client-Centric Approach

From humble beginnings to becoming pioneers in the self-storage software realm, Kat Shenoy’s journey epitomizes strategic growth powered by relentless ambition. Shenoy embarked on a transformative journey when he immigrated to the U.S. in 1987. After dedicating 13 years to a public software company, where he ascended through the ranks to ultimately take the helm of one of their software divisions as the President—he was imbued with a vision of creating a bespoke venture brought to reality through SSM. Under his astute leadership, SSM experienced exponential growth, from partnering with a single large operator in 2004 to serving over 100 large and multi-facility operators in 2023.

Central to this expansion has been emphasizing teamwork, fostering strategic relationships, and ensuring customer service excellence. SSM’s success in this regard is reflected in the significant business acquired through word-of-mouth and client referrals. This client-centered ethos is further demonstrated through quick response times and 24/7 accessibility to technical support, both hallmarks of SSM’s excellence in client satisfaction.

“With A Commitment To An Ongoing Improvement Driven By Customer Feedback And Industry Demands, Our Product Suite Now Serves Over 2000 Facilities, Including Many Large And Multifacility Storage Operators”

The success of any multi-site operator implementation hinges on SSM’s multifaceted team. By assigning dedicated resources— including project managers, implementation specialists, conversion specialists, and quality analysts—the company ensures a timely and qualitative data conversion process. This approach guarantees applications are accessible with the converted data on the next business day morning, minimizing downtime and maximizing efficiency.

Kat sheds light on SSM’s corporate culture, identifying immense respect for both employees and clients as a driving force behind the high-performing team. This philosophy, encapsulated in the belief to “treat others how you want to be treated,” resonates throughout the company. With the team’s cumulative experience surpassing 300 years in the storage industry, their stability, domain knowledge, and expertise give them a unique ability to understand client needs and deliver solutions that exceed expectations.

With lot of consolidation in the IT spaces of the self storage industry in the past 7 to 10 years, SSM has chosen to remain independent and according to Kat and Rohan Shenoy, SSM plans to remain independent for many more years to come and continue to provide storage operators best in the class software suite.

Looking to the future, SSM aims to double its client base within the next three years. To realize this ambition, the company is refining its software to enhance security and scalability, particularly for multi-site operators and REITs overseeing thousands of locations. Committed to innovation, SSM is also exploring ways to further expand its API/interfacing capabilities to integrate with additional third party service providers in the industry, and allow clients to develop their own BI applications and reporting systems by leveraging the data stored in SSM. These strategic initiatives exemplify SSM’s continued dedication to meeting industry demands, while providing top-tier services and support.