Extra Space Storage
Extra Space Storage is the second largest operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. When a large initiative began to refresh technology at their stores, Extra Space needed a partner with the skillset and experience to help manage such a large project. INVITE’s previous experience with similar initiatives brought our two companies together and resulted in our partnership that continues today as we work closely on new builds and acquisitions.
Extra Space owns or operates over 2,000 stores that comprise 1.3 million units and 135 million square feet of rentable space. In the last 5 years, Extra Space has added $4.6 Billion in new acquisitions to their national portfolio.
As Extra Space experienced rapid growth in their organization they had a need to refresh their IT stack to continue operating at scale. This refresh project would require coordinating logistics of new equipment, providing hands on at each store to replace aging equipment with new technology, and validating that all peripherals function correctly once migrated.
Through an extensive RFP process, Extra Space evaluated partners that could efficiently migrate their entire portfolio in their required timeframe. INVITE had previously worked on similar engagements with other customers that brought us into consideration by Extra Space. Our engineering expertise, automation of network configuration, and deployment process stood apart from our competitors and we began our relationship with Extra Space as their trusted deployment partner.
Working closely with the Extra Space team, INVITE implemented our process to procure hardware, house the inventory, and perform staging for network switches, firewalls, and wireless access points. A custom automation developed by our engineers simplified the complexity of staging and configuring equipment for each store across multiple devices and locations. Following a successful failover test, the new network stack was sent to the store and a technician dispatched to complete the installation. INVITE’s project management team oversaw each technician and store deployment, ensuring a smooth transition to the new technology and seamless operation for the store team and their customers.
Five years later, and through Extra Space’s impressive growth, INVITE is proud to continue as Extra Space’s partner. At each of Extra Space’s acquisition stores, and all stores in the portfolio, is a Meraki network stack that has been installed through the INVITE managed deployment process. To date that is over 2,000 stores and more than 6,000 network devices – continuing to grow as Extra Space continues to expand their national footprint.
