Lots of interesting information being shared here, and lots of different
things to consider.  The original post was talking about a multi-national
operation where records are stored by a number of entities across the globe,
and naturally there are different dynamics to consider in this situation.

Safety/security at the privately held locations opposed to a commercial entity
Availability of an adequate space (environmentally) for storage
Legal requirements for protection of information where business is conducted

There are many other considerations that impact someone in this situation
that are common to all others as well.

Cost of office space as opposed to warehouse space
Volume of records
Frequency of access and usage patterns
Variety of retention periods of the various records
Level of indexing of the contents and ease in accessing units in cartons
Cost of burdened labor opposed to contracted services
"Time to hand" from request to delivery meeting needs
Availability of quality service providers and adequately protected storage
Value of the information being stored and the protection provided
Ability to upgrade existing space to manage floor loads 
Ability to provide adequate fire protection for the contents in existing space
Cost of capital acquisitions to provide storage
Seismic requirements for bracing and shelving
Safety and ergonomic concerns for in-house staff

Projections of cost over a 5 year period should be used to determine a break
even point for cost issues, based on 

Existing volumes and activity levels
Trends for volume (growth) and destruction (attrition) 
Existing contract rates and projected increases
Cost for permanent removal
Cost for routine removal and destruction 
Adequacy of service
Need to respond to rush (non-routine) requests
Cost of equipment and depreciation
Cost of power and HVAC for proper environmental protection
Cost of staff and projected labor to service records
Re-use of existing space or lease/purchase of new space

Lots of these issues are sort of like buy vs. lease of a vehicle or rent vs.
buy of a living space on a personal level.   Sometimes there is a value in
owning it or having direct control, other times, it's not worth the effort
you have to go through and the pain to maintain, so you let someone else
worry about it.

IF YOU ARE going to build/manage your own space, there are some things to
consider.  NFPA232 provides guidance for "Protection of Records" that should
be looked into, UL72 provides guidance on "Record Storage Equipment", NFPA75
provides guidance on "Protection of Computer Equipment" (and has a section
on associated data storage), if you're storing any Federal Records, 36CFR
gives some minimum requirements that must be met (and the Agency you are
under contract to has to accept your space, private OR commercial first).

And a lot of work went into developing the ARMA "Guideline for Evaluating
Offsite Storage Facilities" that can be used no only for evaluating
commercial facilities, but determining if your existing personally managed
facility is up to snuff.  Also, if you have any Vital Records you intend to
store, ANSI/ARMA 5-2003 "Vital Records Protection" should be reviewed.  

DISCLAIMER: I worked on both of the ARMA publications and sit on the NFPA232
Technical Committee, and have provided input to pending revisions to 36CFR
as a member of the DOE RM Council.

I have managed in-house records storage, contracted with commercial
providers, and operated a commercial storage facility for a number of years.
 Presently, all of the records in the Program I'm involved with (private and
Federal) are stored in-house. 

Larry
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