Equipment Document Storage

Hello, I am curious how you guys store pictures of poles or equipment. I have started using the attachment function for storing images, but my IT is saying that putting tens of thousands of images into the database would compromise it's stability. So, I began storing the images in a networked folder and then creating a link field in the attribute table. This has worked with some layers (like easement documents) that only have one linked document. However, some pieces of equipment have numerous pictures and documents. I find it cumbersome to have many fields that contain links.

How any of you used the attachment method with lots of documents? How has this affected the geodatabase? If you use the links method, have you found a way to create the links easier or with less hassle?

Thanks

Will