3 Reasons You Should Only Sell Channel-Brand UPS Systems

A retail store suddenly cannot accept payments. A restaurant can’t cook. All the lights go out during a football game in a stadium. Surveillance cameras stop working in a courtroom. These are just a few of the many examples of negative outcomes that could stem from a power outage.

Most organizations have electrical and electronic systems that are critical to their daily operations. If the power goes out and these systems stop working, the consequences can be extremely serious, disrupting business, exposing you to liability or compromising security and safety.

 The short-duration solution for essential electronic systems is of course an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that uses energy stored in a battery to provide power during electrical supply outages. Since the great majority of power service interruptions are short, having a UPS with sufficient capacity will bridge most of these and allow for continuous uninterrupted operation. In the case of longer outages, operators or technicians will have time to perform an orderly system shutdown to prevent loss of data and/or critical system settings.

UPS products are widely available through big-box retailers for consumer use, and very large systems are available for specialty needs such as powering communication infrastructure. However, professional system integrators have a choice about where to purchase the UPS models they offer as part of their system installations.

Here are three reasons to select a channel-brand UPS for your next installation project:

Reason 1: Channel Support
As a professional integrator/installer, you have many constant challenges – planning installations, scheduling workers, getting materials to the site, maintaining communications with your customers, and of course, finding new business. You need equipment and material suppliers that understand your business and are willing to help you be successful.

Manufacturers that understand your business, like DITEK, are ready and willing to help you - from product selection and training to warranty and service. We have a product lineup designed to serve the kinds of projects you install, and we understand how you purchase equipment. We only sell our products through channel-friendly brick-and-mortar wholesalers to installation professionals, with pricing that makes sense. No direct sales, no sales through consumer retailers. You can pick up your UPS needs right along with other distribution equipment – no waiting for separate shipments.

Reason 2: The Right Mix of Features for Your Customers
Channel-friendly UPS systems will have the right mix of features to match the needs of professional installers. Consumer UPS models, for example, are sometimes designed with very short backup runtimes to save cost, and are rarely able to be monitored over a network or set up to trigger automated system shutdowns. Consumer pricing also must be high enough to cover consumer-level advertising and retail slotting fees – which can be significant.

In contrast, properly sized professional UPS systems provide about a 20 minute bridge to cover short outages and provide for a proper system shutdown during longer outages to prevent data loss, revenue loss, or loss of critical status or settings. Professional UPS systems also have provisions for monitoring over networks and for system connectivity so that extended power outages can automatically trigger system backups and shutdowns when staff is not present, such as nighttime and holiday closures.

Professional UPS models are also more likely to have form factors that match the needs of installers, including rack-mountable and compact space-saving models, for example. For systems that might require extended runtimes, professional models are available that allow for connection of supplemental batteries to add additional time. All of these features can be important to professional installers and their customers, and are usually not available in low-priced consumer models.

 Reason 3: It’s a Win-Win
In many situations, solving one challenge may require a compromise on another. In this case, however, implementing a channel-friendly UPS as part of a professional installation package is really a win-win for all involved parties.

For installers, they can choose a professional UPS model that matches the needs of a particular project better than a typical consumer-grade UPS. They can order it at the same time as they order other necessary equipment, and pick it up at the same full-service wholesaler at a very aggressive price point that doesn’t have to support consumer advertising. They can provide professional-level operation with network connectivity, if that is part of the system design. Finally, they get professional-level support from the manufacturer before, during, and after the sale.

From the customers point of view, they get a high-quality solution that integrates with and supports their essential electronic systems to help ensure they will operate as designed and when needed. This combination of features fits the needs of their systems. They don’t have to spend time researching the available models and comparing specifications. When the system requires repair, maintenance, or upgrades, there is no question about who is responsible for what.

Closing
For professional installations, it makes sense to choose a channel-brand and channel-friendly UPS. This approach better matches the needs of integrators and installers, providing models with the correct mix of features for system integrations and mission-critical performance. At the same time, the customer also benefits from cost efficiencies and the improved performance that professional UPS models provide. We know these “win-win” benefits are real because we are already getting very positive feedback from integrators about our UPS offerings.

At DITEK we are dedicated to delivering rugged, dependable power solutions. Contact us to learn more about our full range of surge protection and power assurance offerings.