More than 10 years on and SiteLink Still leads the Way in Australia

SiteLink was introduced in Australia in 2007. At the time, Centreforce did not sell software – it had represented another brand until 2006 and was very busy completing Self Storage security installs.

A meeting in Las Vegas with SMD Software’s Chief operating officer Markus Hecker saw an agreement reached to look at the feasibility of establishing SiteLink in Australia and the wheels were set in motion to a fantastic partnership that continues today.

Centreforce had planned one of its Expos at the Q1 centre in 2007 on the Gold Coast and at that event SiteLink Web Edition was launched by Ross Lampe, President of SiteLink. Prior to the launch, Centreforce staff worked with the development team to make the changes needed to use the software in Australia.

It was a tentative start to a successful roll out of leading edge software for Australian operators. Dallas Dogger had pioneered other brands in Australia, including Mini Storage Plus, RentPlus, PTI and in later years, Storman.

Dogger realized that the only way forward as we entered the internet age was to work with a company that had two core values – Commitment to our market and commitment to innovation. The pace of change would be fast and any company not willing to innovate would falter. Many did.

Long Term Commitment

“Ross Lampe showed us his companies’ total commitment to Australia and that remains to this day and I have to give full credit to the SiteLink team in those early days – we pushed them hard to deliver on features!”. Dallas Dogger, founder of Centreforce said. There were lots of changes needed, especially around our unique tax model in Australia and SiteLink diligently made those changes so that the software could be marketed here.

GST was introduced in Australia in 2000. The way in which the tax is calculated proved a challenge to the techs at SiteLink and with the launch set for the 2007 Expo, the midnight oil was burned, and the changes needed were made.

I can’t emphasise enough how, but these challenges were huge as our tax system is fundamentally different to the US and it was not just a case of “adding a button”!

These changes effected every report and much more.

Australian Self Storage operators had been used to US offerings in the past with Mini Storage Plus, RentPlus and Space Control used by various operators and the GST had a big effect on the viability for US Self Storage software. Most could not cope with the changes.

“At first, we were reluctant to even consider getting back into Software”. Dogger said. It can be a tough business – one that requires an enormous financial investment from not only the US supplier but us locally with regular visits and endless communications.

The risk of failing was high, but we had faith that Australian Self Storage owners wanted choice and innovation.

The Tough Years

2008 to 2009 was tough – the GFC hit, ironically at the SSAA show in Perth. Phones started ringing and whilst we were in the trade show, suppliers were saying well this will be interesting! Sales for Self Storage products really dried up and we were lucky to survive.

Many businesses didn’t make it, Self Storage businesses stopped building and existing sites hunkered down and saved money. We really thought that the industry might crash, luckily, we fought on.

During the tough times we focused on data accuracy and ensuring that the financial reports generated were accurate to the cent. It’s easy to have sleepless nights worrying if data is real. SiteLink data is real and its accurate. Every operator should be able to trust the accuracy of their data and SiteLink users can. SOC 1 certification gained after the GFC helped prove our data accuracy.

Our suppliers stood by us and our loyal customers and we weathered the storm of the GFC.

Solid long term support to the Australian market

“SiteLink to this day have proven time and time again their commitment to our local market and we made it clear that without this clear commitment that the software would not work for our local market right at the start”. Dogger commented.

Since 2007, SiteLink Web Edition has delivered thousands of enhancements and these changes have continually offered the feature set that most local operators need; many just for our end of the world.

Our market is small when you look at US comparisons with Australia and New Zealand and we represent the equivalent of about 2 or 3 US states of Self Storage sites.

“When we started back in 2007 the fear of storing “data in the cloud’ was real and many sites did not want to take the risk”. Dogger said. We had to prove ourselves and we well and truly have. Those early days were a challenge and we really do thank those pioneers who helped us establish – they are still our customers!

“The reality has been that over 11 years, SiteLink’s uptime has been 99.997%, confirming the commitment that was made when we started representing SiteLink. In that time, we have had no breaches of security, lost data or any other attack and every month the product has got better and better”. Dogger commented.

The efforts that SiteLink go to protect data and provide security of information has been exceptional, underpinning their commitment to protecting storage sites data. The PCI-DSS Level one certification gained many years ago proves that SiteLink was and remains secure, adding payment processing in the US 3 years ago, these security protocols have remained and have been enhanced, leading the industry.

SiteLink Web Edition retains data pertinent to the site locally in its local database on user’s PC’s. Even with internet interruption, sites can access vital information. This model has ensured industry leading access and speed combined with data centre reliability for its 15,000+ global sites.

The facts remain that SiteLink’s data is the most secure in the industry, with 4 factor authentication, encryption on all data and class 1 data centre security.

“We use cloud-based solutions every day and I have full confidence in the security of the data and I know I would rather have my data secure in a data centre than in an office where the computer can be accessed or even stolen” Dogger said.