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4 arguments to convince a director to buy a UPS in a small business



Is fear and greed about Wall Street passions? Not at all, it is these two feelings that a director in a small business company experiences when an admin comes to ask for money for a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for a server, an online cash register and workplaces. Most likely, the administrator will be denied. But there are 4 arguments, thanks to which a much-needed purchase can be approved.

“The base lies”, shock and awe in the office


Has the company “leaned” on saving and lost valuable data when the power was turned off? Admin - ask for money for UPS for the server, without leaving the cash register. This is your finest hour.
The standard situation is that when the power is turned off, the 1C server crashes, and after resuming power supply, users notice that normal operation with 1C is impossible. For example, the following messages appear: "Error logging into 1C xx: invalid data store format, Unrecoverable error when executing POST request", etc. etc.

The result is clear, at least one working day for the business is lost, the sober administrator is trying to debug the work of 1C again. For a company of 5 people, losses only on staff salaries - from 10 thousand rubles. Yes, salaries in Moscow and the regions are different, but "on average in the hospital" and taking into account social contributions - the figure looks plausible.

But that's not all. Indirect losses from downtime can be significantly higher than the “payday” when it comes to trading in salable goods. Customers, having received by phone the answer “We cannot ship, 1C does not work with us”, simply dial the number of the next seller on the list.

The solution is to purchase a UPS for the 1C server, as well as for all other servers used in the in-house mode (application server, etc.). Modern server models for small businesses have modest power supplies (200-250 W), for example, HPE ProLiant MicroServer, Lenovo ThinkSystem ST50, etc. For such IT equipment, it is entirely possible to purchase a UPS with a capacity of 600 VA or more, which will close the need for uninterrupted power supply.


Pricing example for Eaton 5P Series UPS models. Source: Yandex.Market

Given that this is a server, i.e. important business equipment, it is advisable to choose a UPS with service functions, the ability to adjust the input voltage limits and the ideal shape of the output sine wave. Although such models are more expensive than simple UPS for home PCs, but they have advantages in operation. For example, the Eaton 5P Small Business UPS uses Eaton ABM battery management technology, which, thanks to its three-stage charging algorithm, extends battery life by up to 50%. A suitable UPS model can be selected, for example, on Yandex.Market.

Well, do not forget that in the event of a power failure, important accumulated information (bills, warehouse conditions, shipments, etc.) is often lost until the last backup. And backups are rarely done in small businesses, it’s good if they do it once a week (in medium-sized businesses - once a day, which is also sensitive to losses).

Another solution is to switch to a cloud-based model of servers that are physically located in the provider's data center. For example, there are providers that provide cloud 1C or other corporate CRM systems. In the event of a power outage, the data center has all the necessary equipment for uninterruptible power supply, including industrial UPS and DGU (diesel generator sets). From the UPS, the servers in the data center are powered for the first few minutes while the diesel generator sets are started.

In fairness, it must be said that the cloud solution has many both supporters and opponents. Among the frequent arguments against the cloud and for the “in-house” is the mistrust of the business owner to host their applications and data in a third-party organization, as well as the situation when the servers are already purchased as part of previous purchases and the owner does not want to refuse them until the equipment is out of date.

The online ticket office should work “by all means”


For small businesses in the retail sector, power outages are critical, in which the online ticket office stops working. We are talking about stationary models that do not have autonomous power from the built-in battery (there are cash desk models for traveling work, but not about them). Since the online cash register registers revenue, and it is from it that salaries are paid to all staff, the administrator should take special care of the UPS for this equipment. The argument to the director here is iron - there is no trade without a working cash desk.


Online checkout. Image Source: Contour. Partner

Yes, there are no legal reasons to continue selling without an online cashier. For the non-use of this important device, the outlet faces a fine from the Federal Tax Service under Article 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Of course, the likelihood that a tax audit will come to the store at such an unfortunate moment is very small, but more often it happens that a dissatisfied buyer who is left without a check is not too lazy to make a corresponding complaint.

Some entrepreneurs believe that in a situation with a non-working online cash register, you can continue trading with the subsequent input of a correction check with the requisite “Parish” for the entire amount of sales, and in case of a complaint, request a certificate from the resource supply organization indicating the time of power outage. This may work if the power outage was at the level of a city substation. If the problem is local - blackout in a separate building, then the tax authorities’s certificate is unlikely to be considered.

The solution - a situation of a dispute with the Federal Tax Service is much easier to prevent than to resolve its consequences. The energy consumption of the online ticket office is very insignificant - in standby mode, especially with a “sleeping” screen, it is about 5-10 W, and in the print mode of a receipt - up to 50 W.

Accordingly, even the weakest UPS can support the operation of an online cash register for at least half an hour. It’s better, of course, to purchase a line-interactive type of UPS (at least the initial level) for the cash register, which additionally has the function of a voltage stabilizer and smooths out various surges and noise in the mains. In this case, business owners using cash registers have a wide choice of solutions depending on the specific situation - if it is a point of sale with one apparatus, it is enough to choose a small (up to 800VA) backup or simple linear-interactive UPS, for example, Eaton 3S or Eaton 5E respectively. You can connect a monitor and related equipment to this UPS - for these purposes, the UPS has standard "euro outlets". When,if the outlet has several cash registers - you can install a UPS for backing up all the devices at once, as well as the server side of the outlet, for these purposes line-interactive UPSs with a pure sinusoid at the output of Eaton 5P or 5PX - whose capacities reach 3 kVA, are well suited.

And yes, it is important to consult with the seller whether the selected UPS can work with a very low load. Some UPS models do not “feel” the micro-load level of 5 W, and simply turn off when the input voltage fails. You can advise the administrator to conduct a full-scale experiment, bringing the cashier to the seller of UPS, or to agree on the "iron" possibility of return / exchange of UPS.

If the UPS is chosen correctly, then with a high probability while the online ticket office is working from this source, the cashier (or seller) will be able to clarify the situation about the prospect of renewing power supply and take measures for further work, up to the launch of an autonomous gasoline generator (especially, if the store has perishable goods in the refrigerator).

The company rents an office of class C or D (a frequent case in the regions)



Class C business center Avtovskaya 15 in St. Petersburg. Source: CIAN

Not all class C business centers look as depressing as in this photo, but they all have similar characteristics according to the generally accepted classification of business centers (from highest A to worst D). This is primarily a low level of infrastructure and outdated engineering services. Class C or D business center buildings are typically former administrative or industrial buildings of the Soviet era, and they were originally designed for other purposes. Subsequently, the buildings were redesigned for rental under offices, mini-warehouses, retail premises and workshops.

In cities with over one million people, the energy supply of such buildings is quite stable, but has its own characteristics in view of the diverse nature of tenants' activities. This is electric noise from pumps, electric motors, welding machines and other repair equipment, short-term voltage subsidence when powerful loads are turned on by other tenants. In the regions, the situation is usually even worse - in the buildings of class C business centers and especially class D, one can observe the whole set of power supply problems that we discussed in article 5 of the myths about UPS, their refutation and the real situation .

For tenants, for whom the main working tool is a computer, and not a grinder or a welding machine, unstable voltage and various kinds of interference in the mains will lead to frequent malfunctions of servers and working PCs, as well as communication equipment (switches, routers, office telephones stations).

There are two solutions here - either to transfer the entire server part to the data center cloud, and use laptops at workplaces (which is often impossible for many reasons), or provide power for all computer equipment, including telephony, via the UPS. There is, of course, an option to advise the director to change the rented premises and move to a class A or B office, but the difference in rental rates will be so high that it is several times cheaper to buy a UPS.

A feature of power supply in Class A business centers is two independent power sources with automatic switching (backup source - DGU). A high power supply of the building should be ensured - power supply for tenants at a one-time load of 1 sq.m. Useful area must be at least 70 VA.

Admin advice - right away, for all computer equipment, they probably will not give money for UPSs, but you need to defend the option to buy in batches, first for the CRM system server (1C or other) and the office PBX, then for workstations. It is highly advisable to buy the same type of UPS, so that it is easier to maintain in terms of monitoring the service life and battery replacement.

The most suitable type of UPS at low or high voltage is line-interactive - they include an input mains filter and a voltage regulator, while also protecting the load from high-frequency interference. The voltage stabilization capabilities of such UPSs are quite significant - from 150-160 V to 270-290 V at the input, depending on the model, while the output will be stable 230 V.

The company moves to remote work - equip UPS employees



Uninterrupted power for remote work is no less important than in the office. Source: Eaton

This is probably the most difficult case with the arguments discussed in today's article. The idea of ​​equipping employees working from home with uninterruptible power supplies is unlikely to immediately find unconditional support from the director. But this is exactly the case when the administrator should not use fear, but the greed of his leadership as an emotional basis.

The quality of power supply in the residential sector can be unstable, especially if employees and their families left for private homes in a suburban area or summer cottages. In order to exclude situations when employees skimp on their duties, referring to power failures and, as a result, declare the loss of daily work results, it is recommended to equip UPS personnel for working PCs (if these are not laptops). Line-interactive or redundant UPSs with a capacity of 500 VA or more can fully cope with this task.

Each employee who receives a UPS will feel their computer is protected from power problems. And when the light suddenly blinks, the UPS will beep, and the computer will continue to work as if nothing had happened, such an employee will probably say to himself “thank you” for the prudence shown by the management.

Yes, of course, at present, many employees work remotely from laptops, but power outages are just one of the problems encountered. No other household appliances are protected from other electrical problems. This applies mainly to power surges and unstable power supplies, which are highly dependent on the quality of the electrical system in the house. It is also recommended to secure the Ethernet line and the modem / router itself - on the network you can find quite a few stories about the burned-out LAN port on the motherboard.

For UPS models for small business servers, work PCs, online cash registers and PBXs, contact Eaton partners in Russia and in computer stores in your city.

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