Industry Reinvention: The Tech-Driven Future of Self-Storage

Self-storage operation is in the midst of a fundamental reset being driven by technology. This transformation isn’t due to any single device or piece of software, though. It’s fueled by a broader realization that innovation allows the industry to be more efficient, meet customers where they are and redesign its approach to facility management.

In fact, the operational playbook for self-storage is being rewritten in real time. What was once a manager-led, site-dependent business is shifting toward models in which software, artificial intelligence (AI) and centralized teams carry much of the daily load. Even long-established assumptions about the need for full-time, onsite staff are being re-examined. Is the industry inching toward full automation? Many properties aren’t there yet, but the path is more heavily traveled.

Technology is no longer a luxury but the foundation for a business in the process of reinventing itself. Read on to learn more about the tech-fueled solutions that are allowing self-storage operators to streamline, economize and improve as well as the product integrations that create powerful business networks. We’ll examine the tools that are eliminating operational friction points and delivering great return on investment (ROI), plus insight to implementation and adoption.

Today’s Management Models

10 Federal Storage operates on a fully remote management model, with no onsite managers at any of its 120 properties. Automated access control, integrated cameras and an AI-powered call system allow the company’s staff to manage customer needs from a centralized hub.

Copper Storage Management (CSM) applies a hybrid approach across its 150 active stores, pairing remote oversight with scheduled maintenance visits. In fact, a growing number of self-storage companies are adopting this type of model in which one onsite employee is supported by virtual managers and AI tools that help them “triage” customer interactions.

For most operators, the priority now is simple: Adopt tools that work reliably and eliminate friction for staff and tenants.

“We learned that customers prefer simple tech over flashy tech. Your phone is a better, faster kiosk than anything on the market,” says Brett Copper, president of CSM. He points to the widespread retreat from expensive, self-service kiosks and Bluetooth locks that sometimes overpromise and underdeliver.

Dwight Broering, vice president of operations for self-storage management firm The Jenkins Organization, echoes this sentiment. He says that motion-sensing, in-unit security devices have produced far clearer ROI for his company than the “frosting on the cake” smart-lock ecosystem.

For many self-storage operators, it’s the customer’s smartphone that’s the most powerful and intuitive interface the business can leverage. With the right technology, it’s the only tool your facility needs to rent units, take payments, manage accounts, fix customer problems and more. In fact, online rentals have moved from novelty to table stakes and are now “the only true must-have,” Broering says.

Supportive Infrastructure

Even with all the customer-facing features being enabled by technology in the self-storage industry, the most significant advancement is happening behind the scenes. AI-driven call handling has become a core of operation, with digital assistants now resolving more than 50% of inbound calls for some companies. Brian Oakley, vice president of technology for 10 Federal, says his company’s AI call-handling has jumped from 10% early in 2025 to nearly 80%. Those gains aren’t about removing humans, but “freeing them to focus on issues that truly require empathy or sophistication,” he adds.

Lower-level tasks are being vaporized, too. Cloud-based access systems, automated payments, remote unlocks and digital workflows allow a smaller staff to oversee more self-storage facilities without sacrificing service consistency. Motion sensors and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices add another layer of visibility, especially for operators managing larger or more geographically dispersed portfolios. The cumulative effect is an operational shift that feels both rapid and inevitable.

Meeting Customer Needs

As self-storage operators refine their tech stacks, one reality remains constant: Customers don’t behave in unison. Most fall into one of two camps—those who want a fully self-service experience and those who still prefer human interaction at key moments. The mix varies by market, but there’s often a split almost down the middle.

“About 40% of customers prefer a completely touchless experience, but the other 60% still want to come into the office and talk to somebody before they move in,” Broering says.

Kim Robinson, vice president of marketing for industry technology firm OpenTech Alliance Inc., says that tenants increasingly expect self-storage interactions to mirror the convenience and immediacy of Amazon deliveries, hotel check-ins and food-delivery apps. That often means solving simple issues around payments, gate access and lock checks on their own schedule, without waiting on a facility manager.

More advanced systems may improve the human side of service. Josh Boyd, founder of StoreEase, which operates self-storage facilities and offers a virtual third-party management platform for the industry, notes that AI-driven tools can “remember, connect and personalize” interactions more reliably than a rotating cast of employees, creating continuity that’s hard to replicate manually.

Evaluating Technology Choices

When sorting through an expanding universe of tools and platforms, the first requirement should be a clear understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve. The market is full of clever features seeking justification. Robinson suggests a simple filter: Successful technology must remove friction. If it complicates processes or creates extra steps for staff or tenants, it’s unlikely to last.

Once a potential solution aligns with a real operational need, testing becomes the next proving ground. Rather than taking vendors at their word, self-storage operators increasingly rely on tightly controlled pilots designed to expose value and failure points.

For instance, OnTrac Storage founder Rob DuBroc evaluates tools in a small subset of the brand’s facilities, looking for concrete improvements—such as higher conversion rates, reduced call volume and fewer service tickets—before considering broader adoption. He’s become skeptical of high-priced offerings that promise transformational results but can be outperformed by inexpensive, general-market alternatives. “If it doesn’t make life easier for my team or the customer, we get rid of it,” he says.

ROI modeling completes the evaluation cycle. For StoreEase and 10 Federal, the calculus is highly structured. If a tool can’t demonstrate clear returns within a six-month window, it doesn’t earn a place in the stack. DuBroc extends that discipline to contract terms and long-term costs, pushing back against vendor lock-in and subscription creep.

Taken together, these practices point toward a quieter truth underneath the industry’s technology wave. Effective adoption is about diagnosing real problems, rigorously testing solutions and ensuring every tool earns its keep.

Bracing for Challenges

As technology reshapes self-storage operation, the transition comes with real friction, often starting with infrastructure issues. Tools frequently fail not because the concept is flawed but because the environment can’t support them.

For example, an early all-in-one camera system performed well on paper for 10 Federal but broke down in harsh outdoor conditions, Oakley says. This forced an expensive pivot to a more modular approach.

In addition, many self-storage facilities still lack the communications backbone required for modern access systems, sensors and cloud platforms, Robinson notes. “Operators want advanced capabilities, but the site itself isn’t always ready for them.”

Technology also creates stronger insight to a self-storage business that can be refreshing but also unsettling. Operators often experience a “visibility shock” when data brings to light issues that were previously invisible.

“When you can watch every missed greeting, every unanswered call, every long gap between office visits, it exposes things you never knew were happening,” Boyd says. “It’s uncomfortable at first; but once you push through, it becomes the foundation for operating at a much higher level.”

Finally, customer transitions require care. New tenants adapt quickly, but existing renters need guidance when systems change, Broering says. Copper cautions against swinging too far toward automation and removing human interaction entirely, which can be a mistake.

The Impact on Growth and Consolidation

Beyond day-to-day operations, technology is quietly reshaping competitive dynamics across the self-storage sector. Efficiency gains are enabling faster scaling, broader geographic footprints, and new staffing models that fundamentally change what a successful operation looks like.

DuBroc has already seen the effects. His team recently onboarded seven third-party management facilities in two weeks, something he says would’ve been impossible without AI-driven pricing, call automation and consolidated software systems.

“I don’t want an army of 50 people,” he says. “I’d rather have 20 really good ones with the tools to be three times as effective.”

Boyd believes these forces will accelerate industry consolidation. Hybrid and remote management models dramatically reduce the staffing constraints that once limited growth, allowing mid-sized self-storage operators to manage portfolios that would have REIT-level headcount a decade ago. As he puts it, efficiency isn’t the only benefit.

“For the industry to consolidate, it needs a more efficient operational model. Hybrid and virtual management aren’t optional anymore, they’re the future,” Boyd says.

This shift suggests a widening gap between operators who invest early in tech and those who continue relying on legacy systems.

What’s Lies Ahead

There’s a strong consensus throughout the self-storage industry that AI sits at the center of the shifts expected to transform the sector. StoreEase’s system classifies customer interactions, routing sales calls to top performers and escalating issues based on sentiment. Oakley says it’s clear that AI is more than a cost-cutting tactic; it's the engine that enables leaner, more scalable operating models.

“AI is only valuable if it amplifies the parts of the job that humans are best at. We’re not interested in replacing people. We’re trying to eliminate the noise around them,” Oakley says. “Every minute an employee isn’t digging through emails or answering the same five questions is a minute they can spend actually solving a tenant’s problem.”

AI is also transforming revenue strategy. At OnTrac, daily rate adjustments across hundreds of price groups are now handled by an algorithm that scans occupancy, competitor rates and rental trends. What once took hours of manual review now takes minutes and produces tighter pricing discipline across the portfolio.

Security and risk mitigation are evolving just as quickly. OnTrac recently used AI to analyze gate logs and identify the access point of a theft ring, quickly executing on work that previously required hours of manual review. As more sites move to remote or hybrid models, these kinds of investigations will become essential.

Beyond AI, several longer-term technologies are gaining traction. Robinson points to increasingly sophisticated IoT ecosystems, from in-unit sensors to full-site monitoring platforms, though she cautions that their effectiveness depends on improving a facility’s underlying communications infrastructure.

Robotics remains early but not theoretical. Leaders at 10 Federal Storage and StoreEase believe routine maintenance duties like unit checks, simple repairs and cleaning may be handled by autonomous systems within the decade, further reducing the need for full-time onsite labor.

Marketing is shifting, too. DuBroc warns that traditional SEO dominance doesn’t automatically translate to visibility within AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT or Grok, creating a new frontier for discovery.

Together, these developments signal a near future in which AI drives decisions, automation handles routine work and self-storage operators manage larger footprints with fewer constraints.

It’s Prep Time

If there’s one unifying viewpoint from self-storage operators, it’s that they should focus less on predicting the future and more on preparing for it. The specifics will change as new AI tools, sensors and automation models emerge, but the underlying principles won’t.

Start with clarity. Know which problems matter in your operation and which don’t. “A lot of products look fantastic on the surface, but once you implement them, the ROI just isn’t there,” Copper says. “Technology for technology’s sake can actually make operations worse.”

Build the muscle of experimentation. CSM, Jenkins and OnTrac all run structured pilots, logging real data before committing to a piece of technology. Boyd says this kind of discipline will separate tomorrow’s winners from operators who cling to legacy workflows. “The industry is about to see the greatest productivity advancements in its history. The question is who will be ready to take advantage of them.”

Through it all, don’t lose sight of the people involved: your staff and tenants. As Oakley puts it, AI’s real power is to “free humans to focus on the issues that truly require empathy or sophistication.”

Technology will keep shifting. The self-storage operators who’ll thrive will be the ones who remain curious, data-driven and willing to evolve.

Chad Swiatecki is a business-to-business marketing and technology writer based in Austin, Texas. His work has appeared in the “Austin Business Journal,” “Austin American-Statesman,” “Texas Monthly” and general interest and trade publications across the country. To reach him, email [email protected].

About the Author

Chad Swiatecki

Freelance Writer

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