UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES
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coupled with the associated battery backup is an essential component of any power management strategy, providing backup power in case of outages or other disruptions. “Resellers who are supplying any form of critical IT hardware, should see UPS, as well as associated critical infrastructure products such as PDUs, as an opportunity for increased attach rate and additional revenue streams.” Patrick Fenner, co-founder and head of engineering, DefProc Engineering, adds that a common challenge is businesses not having anyone in charge of power/energy management. “Energy tends to be the fourth largest spend for companies, but it often lacks a dedicated manager,” he says. “This means that they may not fully understand the need and benefits of their business having a UPS, especially when it comes to lost time and opportunities as a result of a power outage. “Resellers also need to be pushing awareness of the PSTN switch-off. Despite repeated attempts at publicity, it’s still not well known and will catch people unaware. From a business perspective, the switch-off will increase risk levels around health and safety and measures
CONTINUED benefit of increasing the value of the sale. Entering the market Indeed, with UPS becoming more important to businesses, it is a market that resellers should be looking at. But to get into the market successfully requires knowledge and strong partnering. “At Vertiv, we understand that different organisations work in different ways, and we pride ourselves on working closely with our partners to help them find the right solution for their customers,” Martin says. “Resellers should look for partners that are equipped with industry-leading global portfolios of critical infrastructure solutions and simplify what can often be a complex path to navigate. The vendor should have a clear strategy to drive channel growth through investment, industry leading and reliable products, extensive training and easy to implement, practical marketing campaigns. It is beneficial for resellers if partners have many years of experience and an established global footprint, including dedicated customer support. The solutions should also be margin rich, providing channel partners with flexibility.” But at the core should be good communication and solid partnerships, he adds. “Vendors should equip their partners with what they need to succeed and work to stay in step as their business and the market changes,” he says. “Choose a vendor that is committed to rewarding partners and consistently and seamlessly share high quality leads. They should treat each other as extensions of their own team and provide a comprehensive list of value propositions including a sophisticated channel dedicated product portfolio, training courses and channel marketing programmes.” Brian adds that strong application knowledge is a must to ensure reliable UPS sizing and selection in addition to a complete product range for every possible application. “All backed up by knowledgeable support and a responsive maintenance team who can be relied on at short notice if needed,” he says. UPS as a managed service With demand for UPS rising, calls for backup power solutions as a managed service is on the rise too, says Jason. “This highlights the critical role these systems play in an organisation's electrical infrastructure,” he says. “Offering backup power solutions as a managed service allows for regular health checks, professional
Jason Koffler CEO and founder
criticalpowersupplies .co.uk
need to be put in place beforehand.” Mike Barron, UK managing director,
SYNAXON, adds that while businesses are aware of the risks and while a UPS may not be their number one priority, it will usually only take one power outage incident to convince them that it’s a good investment. “Also, while the power supply in most parts of the UK is very reliable, the more frequent extreme weather events that we are now seeing increases the chance that outages will occur, and that’s something customers need to be aware of. “This is a good area of business for our partners. By using our EGIS e-commerce platform, our partners can identify the right UPS for their customers and easily add products to their quotations. We also work closely with APC, one of the leading suppliers in this market, to ensure our reseller customers have access to their best-selling products through SYNAXON Hub. “Our UPS product sales over the past year have grown in line with our overall business and we’d expect that to continue. Whenever a reseller is quoting for new systems or infrastructure, it makes sense for them to quote for a suitable UPS as well. Making customers aware of the need to protect power supplies is a responsible thing to do, and from the partner’s perspective, has the added
Martin Ryder channel sales driector, Northern Europe
vertiv.com
Resellers should look for partners that are equipped with industry- leading global “ portfolios of critical infrastructure solutions...
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