Phoenix, AZ — OpenTech Alliance, the leading developer of innovative smart-connected technology solutions for the self storage industry, helped growing operator B&C Storage upgrade access control across their portfolio with INSOMNIAC® CIA. Founded in 1994 by Bruce Pollock, B&C Storage is a locally-owned operation with 18 facilities in and around Syracuse, New York that prides themselves on making the storage experience easy. With a varied portfolio that offers every type of storage (bulk warehousing, RV/Car/Boat, drive-up climate controlled, etc.) and a changing business model that favors remote management from a central location, they needed an access control solution that could help them deliver a seamless customer experience.
According to VPs of Operations for B&C Storage Collin Donahue and Matt Slade, CIA delivered above and beyond their expectations. A new partner to OpenTech this year, B&C has rolled out CIA to 14 facilities — replacing existing equipment at every property that supports an access control system. “We had an access system from the 90s, which was an archaic solution,” stated Donahue. “You needed a computer, it was all manual, and required you to input codes on site. It worked, but we wanted to get to the 21st century. It was important to us to have a cloud-based system so we can change codes anywhere. Our model is changing — we wanted to be able to support a remote rental where you don’t have to meet people onsite. CIA allows us to work with customers over the phone, change codes and provide instant access, all from one central office.”
With an eye to the future and plans for continued growth, Donahue and Slade knew the flexibility and central control offered by CIA through the OpenTech IoE platform would prove critical to their operational strategy — a theory they’ve already had the opportunity to validate. “In the last year we purchased two local warehouses,” stated Donahue. “INSOMNIAC CIA allowed us to seamlessly support a remote rental process because it allows the customer to move in right away. We can track everything on the backend, and the system gives us control of and insight into who is at the site at any time. We’re looking to acquire more facilities and build out current sites. The INSOMNIAC system allows us to expand without employing more people — keeping our staff relatively small, but growing the company.”
In addition to the remote management benefits provided by the cloud-based system, the integration with their property management software was one of the main advantages that swayed their decision to implement CIA over a competing product. “The integration with Sitelink was the kicker,” stated Donahue. “We were using another system where you had to use a portal, and we were having to put information in two different places. The ease of information input has made a big difference — now we just put it in Sitelink and it feeds directly to CIA.”
The ease of installation and quality of customer support were icing on the cake. “We had the wires from our old equipment,” stated Slade. “OpenTech’s technical support and customer success teams did a great job of guiding us through the whole thing. After we got one or two systems done together, we were able to do the rest. The entire onboarding process was pretty seamless. We dealt with the same support team throughout the process, so it helped because they knew us. They would call as soon as they saw we were online. It really is a ‘plug and play’ solution, and OpenTech has a great team backing it up.”
While they’re still in the early stages of adopting added benefits like the Storage Genie tenant mobile app that offers hands-free access, CIA has already positively impacted their operations. “Everything is more streamlined,” stated Donahue. “We can look things up in a matter of seconds from one central control center. We’re able to pull up reports, view gate activity and see when people are on-property. OpenTech has proven to be a great partner in our storage operations. It comes down to customer service and the product – from the ease of use and quality of the system all around, the training and ongoing support, to the resources to pass along to our customers. OpenTech has their CIA access control system streamlined, which helps everyone else.”
B&C Storage also utilizes StorageTreasures online auctions. To learn more about CIA or any of the products mentioned here, contact OpenTech Alliance at sales@opentechalliance.com.
