Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

In the event of a power outage, the home phone would often be out of service. After all, these devices relied on the connection to the power grid to make a call. To avoid this challenge, we had a battery-operated landline phone in the kitchen, one that would work as long as the landline was still operational. It was our own form of power protection.

A kitchen remodeling project meant the elimination of this phone line, turning all reliance to our mobile devices. As long as the battery was charged, we could still stay connected in the event of a power outage. The same couldn’t be said for mobile users in Auckland, New Zealand, according to a recent report. Vodafone (News - Alert), Spark and 2degress customers in Auckland were affected by a power outage that depleted battery backup among 160 cell sites.

While these companies scrambled to get generators online or to investigate why backup systems were failing, great potential existed for panic to ensue among the customer base. No accurate counts of the number of customers affected were provided and no panic was reported. Some might suggest that a massive outrage has been avoided. Others could assume those who have something to say simply don’t have their power back on to say it.

For residents in Auckland, this power outage meant they couldn’t use any phone systems connected to the power grid, their broadband connections or in many cases, even their mobile phones. Such an outage can easily shut down commerce and sever customer connections. For those businesses that may not have had power protection or a business continuity plan in place, the consequences of this outage had the potential to be huge.

This points to the importance of having the right power protection in place, whether at home or at the office. Critical hardware is connected to the power grid, hardware that can stop all business transactions if it’s affected by a power surge or it simply loses power before all data can be saved. Backup generators are great, but can they ensure that the power supply is uninterrupted? If one source has to kick off before another steps in, data could be lost and valuable hardware damaged unless you create the necessary bridge between the two with solutions from a provider like Minuteman.

Focused on more than just power protection, the company’s solutions also ensure your data is saved before power is lost. Whether you’re relying on your mobile device or a data center, knowing you won’t lose valuable information is the best thing to come out of a power outage. Just take the steps to ensure you’re protected.