Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Minuteman, a Texas based company whose power protection products are sold in more than 100 countries, has been a leader in power protection technology for the past few decades and it has its second-to-none infrastructure to thank for that.

This week, Minuteman’s Marketing Communications Specialist Duston Nixon sat down with TMCnet to discuss the company’s infrastructure and Minuteman’s stellar performance during the week of the Super Bowl despite rolling blackouts.

TMCnet: Tell us about Minuteman’s infrastructure and what sets it apart from other companies.

Nixon: We have built the communications systems within our building to make use of our products – essentially, we “practice what we preach.” Each workstation in the building is linked together with a VoIP telephone system, which is standard practice for most businesses today.

To ensure continuous, clean power, all of our communications equipment is powered by Minuteman Endeavor Series rack-mount UPSs, each with an additional external battery pack. The Endeavor provides our systems with a true sine wave electrical signal and guarantees that no matter what is happening with our incoming utility power, we can still communicate with our customers even when extended outages occur.

TMCnet: How do your products protect your individual systems and ensure uptime?

Nixon: Our network system, for instance, features multiple servers and an array of switches, routers, and other equipment, all being powered by the same Endeavor and battery pack setup as our phone system. Again, the Endeavor guarantees us access our email and vital documents, allowing us to maintain operations even when problems occur.

TMCnet: Please tell us a little bit about what you experienced during the week of the Super Bowl and how your power protection company was able to continue its operations during that week.

Nixon: The extreme winter weather we experienced during the week the Super Bowl was held in Arlington made national headlines. The shock of sub-20 degree temperatures eventually led to ongoing rolling blackouts for multiple days during the week, which left many businesses across the state crippled. It was a very rare occurrence for this area, but fortunately we were prepared thanks to both the infrastructure within the building and a range of tools for employees such as remotely accessible email and workstations.

Most members of our sales department live between 30 minutes and an hour away from the office, which made it impossible for them to come in due to the poor road conditions. Thanks to remote access tools, our guys were able to continue doing business from their homes, even though the power was up and down for much of the week. This allowed us to salvage an already short month that was shortened by nearly a week by the weather.

TMCnet: What sets Minuteman apart from other companies?

Nixon: Everyone within our company is focused on the customer first, and during the trying winter weather we were able to maintain the high level of customer service we pride ourselves on. Our sales and tech support departments remained open for business and ready to help both prospective and current customers properly size new UPSs, as well as diagnose issues with existing units.