technology
reseller.co.uk
UPS/PHONE SYSTEMS
35
The case for upgrades
Nimans bucks the trend
Why resellers should look at energy efficiency when advising customers
Phone system sales still rising at Nimans, despite falling demand overall
customers should look at the energy-
efficiency of devices.
“As energy prices reach record highs
following Brexit, efficiency should be at
the top of the list when Resellers and
Distributors discuss UPS requirements with
end-users,” he said.
He added: “New APC by Schneider
Electric Smart-UPS Online units build a
strong case for replacement. This is not
only due to their highly efficient Green
Mode, which can achieve an efficiency
level greater than 97%, but also for the
potential cost savings on energy.”
A recent comparison performed by
APC indicates that trading-up to the latest
UPS technology can save customers on
both utility and cooling costs
without compromising
performance or reliability.
Another benefit of
upgrading, according
to Connor, is improved
security. “In terms
of security, our next
generation SRT models
are compatible with APC’s
Network Management Card and are fully
integrated with the latest version of the
company’s PowerChute Network Shutdown
Paul argues that in today’s converging
market resellers shouldn’t obsess about
whether on- or off-premise is the best
deployment model, as this is rarely the
most important factor.
“The market has moved on but it’s
kind of endemic to how some people
are currently thinking,” he said. “As an
industry we shouldn’t get too obsessed
by the cloud verses on-premise. The
mindset around deployment rather than
functionality and solution sales needs
rebalancing. CPE or cloud doesn’t need
to dominate the whole conversation. What
the customer wants, what they are trying
to achieve and how their staff work are
much more fundamental questions.”
He added: “We have a luxury we’ve
never had before. For the first time, we
can confidently ask what the customer is
trying to achieve, because it’s very unlikely
software, which provides
the customer with secure
remote monitoring and
control of an individual
UPS from anywhere, at
any time,” he said.
The APC Trade-UPS
programme gives partners and customers
even more incentive to upgrade to the
latest in power protection technology, by
enabling new and existing customers to
trade in older UPS units for the most up-
to-date models. Benefits include:
n
A discount on the purchase price of a
brand new UPS, with the option to upgrade
to up to four times the capacity of your
current UPS;
n
A 3-year APC factory warranty on
brand-new units;
n
Free return shipping of retired
units; and
n
Free disposal of returned UPS
and batteries.
Summing up, Connor said:
“With more secure remote
monitoring, an enhanced intelligent
battery management system and a
97% operational green mode, it’s safe
to say that the world’s most popular UPS
marque is now more sustainable than ever.”
there won’t be a solution
available. Resellers can
ask in-depth questions
and then apply the right
products to the answers.
It’s not about what is the
best deployment; the
answers customers give
will dictate which route
to go down.
“Here at Nimans we are in the enviable
position of covering all bases. We have
a strong PBX portfolio, our own hosted
offering and hybrid solutions like Unify. If
you want to sell standard phone systems,
we are here for you; if you want to sell
full-on hosted, we’re here; and if you want
to sell hybrid, we are here for you as well.
The market is shifting, but we give resellers
the comfort of moving only when the time
is right for them.”
Gocompare.com Energy has calculated
that UK businesses collectively
experience 129.6 million hours of power
cuts every year, costing each one more
than £5,000 in lost business.
The comparison website surveyed
1,000 SMEs and found that on average
businesses were without power for a total
of 24 hours or three 7.5-hour working days.
Just 5% had experienced no interruptions
to their power supply over the preceding
12 months.
The high price businesses are paying for
unreliable power supplies – one SME put its
losses at more than £1 million – underlines
the value of uninterruptible power supplies
(UPS) that, as well as providing back-up
power in the case of an outage, protect
equipment from power spikes and surges.
Installing a UPS is vital for any business
that relies on IT and communications
technology and doesn’t already have one
in place. For those that do, upgrading to a
new device can be worthwhile, especially
when there is a clear performance benefit.
Andy Connor, Channel Director for APC
by Schneider Electric, told
Technology
Reseller
that when deciding whether to
prolong the life of an older UPS or trade-
up for a newer model, resellers and their
The communications distributor reports
that orders for Samsung, Panasonic,
NEC, Unify and iQ communications
systems are in ‘good shape’, despite
competition from off-premise cloud-
based technologies.
Nimans Head of Category Sales Paul
Burn says demand for CCU shipments and
associated applications in the sub-100
extension segment is down 3% across the
industry as a whole, but up 10% year-on-
year at Nimans.
“Everyone is aware that the impact
of the cloud and an uncertain economic
outlook is biting into the traditional
comms space – but not at Nimans. We
are not only placing significant investment
in helping resellers protect their existing
revenue streams, but are also developing
new areas of activity such as applications
and WLAN,” he said.
Paul Burn,
Head of
Category Sales,
Nimans
Andy Connor,
Channel Director,
APC by Schneider
Electric
