OpenTech Alliance Inc., a Phoenix-based provider of self-serve kiosks, call-center services and other technology solutions for the self-storage industry, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The company was founded in July 2003 after Robert Chiti and former colleagues Mike Connolly and Davin Dameron conceived a self-service kiosk to bring greater automation and convenience to self-storage owners and customers. Today, the company has more than 100 employees and serves more than 2,000 self-storage locations worldwide.
"When we started OpenTech, we wanted to work in an environment of high integrity, with people we liked, doing things we believed in. Our mission is simple: make self-storage more convenient, so more people will use it, said Chiti, president and CEO. We have heard that 9 percent of Americans use self-storage; our goal is to push that percentage into the teens."
In its decade of operation, the company has diversified its products and services to now include several models of INSOMNIAC self-serve kiosks as well as a range of self-storage rental solutions including the INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center, INSOMNIAC Online Web and mobile applications, LiveAgent! software products, and the INSOMNIAC ILock Security System, all available through OpenTech's Self-Storage Cloud.
Chiti credits the companys evolution and longevity to an ecosystem of its employees, customers and partners, including vendors. We feel the vendor community has also played a big role in our success. They have embraced us, given us creditability through their support and, most of all, become personal friends, he said. Without the help and support of our peers we would not be here. It is a wonderful group of people, and they make being in self-storage a fun journey."
Chiti said OpenTech will continue to strategically grow its business through internally developed solutions, partnerships and acquisitions.
