Magazine Article | August 1, 1998

Power Management: Mission Critical In Today's Market

For many of Dade Behring's customers, next-day delivery is not good enough. The $1.3 billion laboratory instrument manufacturer often has to ensure same-day delivery. Integrating technologies with its new SAP system helps Dade Behring deliver the goods on time.

Business Solutions, August 1998
Written by: Lisa Kerner

The average computer will experience 289 disruptive or destructive power disturbances each year, or about one each workday, according to Bill Allen, director of marketing for Minuteman (Carrollton, TX). These disturbances include sags (brownouts), spikes, blackouts and surges. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices protect against these instances. They provide backup power when electrical power fails or drops to an unacceptable voltage level. UPS devices may also condition power by providing voltage regulation. Minuteman, with over 50 employees, has manufactured UPS devices for worldwide distribution for the past 14 years.

Selling UPS Benefits VARs
Allen says selling UPS devices is a win-win situation for VARs and their customers. "VARs can decrease the number of service calls on customers' equipment and increase their customers' ‘uptime' by including the right power protection in every deal," says Allen. He cites three trends that make selling UPS devices easier.

  • Critical applications - "Protecting data is crucial to any business," says Allen. VARs fail to realize that protecting terminals and servers is not enough. Routers, hubs and bridges (small, power-consuming connecting devices within a network) also require power protection. "A brownout that shuts down a hub, for example, could shut down the entire network, even if the terminals are protected," says Allen.
  • Power management software - This software automatically alerts network administrators of a power outage affecting a networked system. The software also sends messages to individual workstations indicating that the system will be shutting down. Power management software can also name and save open files at unattended stations before shutting down the system. "VARs have the opportunity to become ‘experts' about power management software," says Allen.
  • Extended runtime - A UPS can have additional battery packs attached to it to extend runtime. Allen says for many companies, 15 minutes of battery backup time isn't adequate. Systems that are required to operate 24 hours a day often need additional runtime in order to download information to off-site facilities.