FEATURE
Keeping the lights on
With the UK experiencing ever-increasing extreme weather events, from heatwaves to flooding, it means that power outages are a concern, especially for SMBs where even a relatively short break in power can cause huge problems. This is where uninterruptable power supplies come in, but SMBs have distinct needs in their solutions, which resellers must be alive to.
For businesses of any size, but especially a small- to medium-sized business (SMB) a power outage is a nightmare – especially given how many functions now rely on a connection to power to work. Power resilience is becoming an increasingly important consideration for SMBs, says Joshua Naylor, channel manager – UPS at Legrand. “While major power outages remain relatively rare, short interruptions and power quality issues are far more common than many organisations realise,” he adds. “Research from Centrica found that 81% of UK businesses surveyed experienced an outage that resulted in unplanned downtime during the previous 12 months (2025), while more than half expect an energy related failure within the next year. Despite this, almost one third still have no energy resilience strategy in place.” Laura Burrell, datacentre infrastructure specialist at Hammer Distribution, adds that power outages are becoming an increasingly common challenge for businesses of all sizes. “Utilities around the world are under growing pressure from extreme weather events, ageing electrical infrastructure and rapidly increasing electricity demand,” she explains. “For SMBs, the question is no longer whether they’ll experience an outage, but whether they’re prepared when one occurs.” Brian Preston, global business manager – elevator at CP Automation, agrees that power disturbances are more common than many SMBs realise. “Particularly
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