Power Protection FEATURED ARTICLE

Debunking Power Protection Myths

July 23, 2012

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

A number of myths surround the subject of power protection. When it comes to the service provided by data centers, power protection issues are a wide-reaching subject that includes the cost of power, its availability, and the protections that go into maintaining a constant supply to ensure reliability.

Regardless of the size of a business, it can never be too small to have a power protection plan in place, according to this Data Center Journal report. Any amount of downtime is going to result in a cost to the company. So, the myth that a business is too small to consider power protection provider is just that – a myth.

There are also reported savings that go along with energy efficiency steps. Some believe that investing in hardware that adds just a little efficiency here and there isn’t worth the cost, but those costs add up, and in a year’s time, companies are finding that their upgrades are on the right path to paying for themselves.

There are also many who believe that the energy they receive from their utility is clean and reliable just because they’re on the grid. The reality is it’s not; in fact, utility power can wreak havoc on IT equipment. Some say that if utility power is 99.9 percent effective, and that that’s close enough. When it comes to critical processes in the data center, however, that one percent can equal up to nine hours of outages every year.

Those who are cognizant of the issues with utility power sources might invest in a generator and perhaps a series of surge suppressors to deal with any issues that crop up. While the generator can cover for a company experiencing a blackout, it can’t address a number of other issues that can occur with utility power, which includes under-voltage – a problem that can be just as damaging as a surge.

Data centers that aren’t monitoring their power are losing out in more ways than one. If an uninterrupted power supply is overloaded for any length of time, it could fail. Monitoring solutions can give the alerts to the right staff that can fix the problem before it leads to catastrophic ends.

Choosing the right power protection provider is important to the integrity of the data center. Minuteman UPS/Para Systems (News - Alert) is a company that specializes and dedicates themselves to keeping the power protection needs of small to large companies finely tuned.

The products offered by Minuteman are being used in 100 countries, providing power protection for equipment ranging from desktops to full racks of sensitive server equipment. As companies rely more heavily on data and the centers supporting information processes and storage, the demand for power protection will inevitably continue to grow. Needless to say, one should absolutely keep themselves protected.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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Edited by Allison Boccamazzo

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