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Just In Time For Spring Showers, APC Announces New UPS for Teleworkers, Small Businesses

By Brendan B. Read
Senior Contributing Editor

Teleworking by home-based contact center agents provides business continuity for organizations by diversifying the enterprises and minimizing the risks they will experience downtime due to power outages.

Yet how are teleworkers, and small businesses, to be effectively and economically protected for short-duration outages, including from computer-killing spikes, and to permit orderly shutdown in longer ones? Especially since many live in residential and small commercial areas served by cheap-to-install-and-repair but disaster-vulnerable pole-supported overhead power lines? The mission-critical nature of their work requires backup systems that are robust and feature-rich.

In response, APC by Schneider Electric (News - Alert) has come out with the Back-UPS Pro models, an uninterruptible power supply system designed to protect home offices and businesses, just in time for the spring and summer storm season. They also save workers, and companies, money by reducing energy consumption that bolsters the units' ROI.

The Back-UPS Pro models are available in variety of models, offering from six to ten outlets and runtime from 92 to 164 minutes. Power-saving outlets are offered on all to decrease energy usage of connected devices. This feature saves energy and money by cutting power to unused components and can save as much as $50 per year per UPS. Non data-sensitive peripherals, such as monitors, printers, and speakers, are connected to the controlled outlets, which automatically shut off whenever the computers, connected to master outlets are turned off or goes into hibernation or sleep mode.

All Back-UPS Pro models come equipped with automatic voltage regulation (AVR). AVR instantly adjusts low and high voltages to safe levels, so users can work during brownouts and over-voltage situations, saving the battery for power outages. These models also have power-saving AVR bypass capability. This is an ultra efficient electrical design that consumes less power during normal operations by automatically bypassing the transformer until needed, saving even more electricity during normal operating conditions.

All Back-UPS Pro models come equipped with LCD panels, allowing users to easily scroll through information about load, estimated runtime, input voltage and other critical diagnostic and system information. Users no longer have to decipher the noises coming from UPS units. A touch of a button will silence the alarm and they can simply scroll through the display to find information without having to consult manuals.

The Back-UPS Pro comes with easy-to-use PowerChute Personal Edition software, which provides enhanced management of the UPS units by supplying information about their history, notification options and power status. When installed, this file-saving, auto-shutdown software saves files and gracefully shutdowns a PC even when users are not around. All models come with a standard three-year warranty and Equipment Protection Policy, which covers properly connected equipment up to $150,000 (see policy for details).

"Uptime is absolutely critical for home offices and businesses, which are often not protected from surges, spikes and power loss," said Dave Johnson (News - Alert), senior vice president, Home & Business Networks, APC. "Poor power environments and outages could mean losing important data, crucial sales and even an entire PC network. The APC (News - Alert) Back-UPS Pro guarantees the necessary availability for users to remain up and running to save their work or complete a transaction -- eliminating the consequences and high costs caused by downtime. Typically, even if just one instance of downtime occurs, the unit will pay for itself."