Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- Hawaii Space Crunch Spawns Posh Storage
- Where Dell Went Wrong
- Business digest
- Rethinking IT budgets: IT finance is moving from a take-what-you-can…

Hawaii Space Crunch Spawns Posh Storage
Bay News 9 – Feb 19, 2007
76 square feet of self-storage per person, well below the national average. But with eight recently built facilities and at least another dozen storage operations planned, the rapid growth of these facilities in Hawaii has outpaced the national growth. Once identified with ugly warehouse-like eyesores, storage companies are now designed to meet community architectural standards as they pop up in prime residential areas and in the midst of busy retail complexes, said Mike Scanlon, president of the Virginia-based Self Storage Association. Regardless of the architecture, hidden inside the flashy exteriors are thousands of locked spaces _ in sizes from mailboxes to roomy garages. They hold overflow inventory and files from local businesses, stacks of aging boxes and furniture saved from family deaths or divorce and collections of stuff too big to fit into cramped condos or tropical houses that often have no attics, basements or garages. Hawaii is a great area for growth of self-storage businesses, with nearly no residential basements, expensive homes and a plethora of new compact condos. Plus, many residents have kayaks, canoes, surfboards and other bulky watersports equipment.

Where Dell Went Wrong
BusinessWeek – Feb 19, 2007
In 1999, Dell bought a startup called ConvergeNet, which had a sophisticated storage product that turned out to be not ready for prime time. Dubbing rival EMC Corp. (EMC) the “Excessive Margin Company,” Dell seemed to expect storage to follow the same pattern PCs had, moving from pricey, feature-laden models into a standards-based commodity. Dell underestimated the competition and is an also-ran in the segment. By 2005, PC rivals, particularly HP, which has taken the market-share lead from Dell, had closed the efficiency gap and were enjoying resurgent sales at retail stores. PEOPLE-INTENSIVEDell’s loyalty to its business model could make it difficult to recapture growth. Dell has suggested a new offensive to enlarge its computer services business, which so far has focused largely on repair and upgrading of Dell’s hardware.

Business digest
St. Petersburg Times – Feb 19, 2007
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Deadline for submissions is at noon Feb. * * *Phillip and James Kofmehl, owners of Charlie's Fish House Restaurant and Fish Market, have opened 495 Self-Storage, LLC at 4055 N Citrus Ave. Unit sizes, ranging from 10 by 20 feet to 15 by 45 feet, some with a height clearance of 13 feet, 8 inches, were built with boat and RV storage in mind. Buildings are rated to withstand 140 mph winds. Office hours are 9 a.

Rethinking IT budgets: IT finance is moving from a take-what-you-can…
Free with registration – Computerworld – AccessMyLibrary.com – Feb 19, 2007
“Now we are facilitating the dialogue and helping to establish the priorities. This subtle change makes a world of difference and allows my team to get an early heads-up so that we can plan resources accordingly,” says Robert Golden, director of strategic business services at Insurance House, a Marietta, Ga. -based brokerage company that works with independent retail insurance agents throughout the Southeast. Table Talk Now afforded a more active role at the budgeting table, many CIOs feel immediate pressure to come up with better ways to plan and account for expenditures. “We need to become more sophisticated with our budgeting models, yet.