We get to deliver tailored backup power solutions for some very exciting projects and work with some of New Zealand and the Pacific’s largest organisations, but our expertise and world class products also provide power assurance to thousands of smaller companies, for whom the loss of data and productivity can have just as big an impact.

The turbulent weather that hit the North Island in May 2024 caused extended power outages throughout the Auckland region, affecting thousands of businesses and homes. One organisation contacted us after being impacted and was eager to explore the preventative options available.

WebBooster is a boutique media agency based in Auckland. It has a staff of two including a marketing specialist/writer and a web developer/graphic designer. Managing director, Andrew Stevenson says that the company has always been proactive in terms of safeguarding its data and infrastructure, but this power outage presented new challenges that clearly showed more protection was needed.

“We’ve always used surge protection multiplug-boards to defend our workstations, digital devices, modem and on-site server against power spikes and were early adopters of cloud storage and regular automatic saving for our work, but when we had a full outage that lasted a whole afternoon we didn’t discover the extent of the damage and what we’d lost until the following morning,” he says.

Though cloud storage protected a lot of the ongoing work, WebBooster has a 5-terabyte network access server (NAS) so that large video, audio and graphic files can be stored locally and provide faster connectivity for current projects.

“We are responsible for around 150 client websites that are hosted on third party dedicated offsite servers, so when the power came back on our first consideration was making sure our clients were back online. Once we were happy everything was safe from a client perspective, we checked on our current video project and realised that not only had we lost all editing work completed the previous day but that one of our hard drives had become corrupted due to the abrupt shutdown – this equated to about 35 hours of work,” he says.

Stevenson points out that the immediate shut off to the NAS and the two workstations had prevented any chance of saving work or safely shutting down the business infrastructure. With winter setting in and warnings of a tight electrical supply situation for New Zealand he decided that WebBooster and its customers needed more power assurance.

Impacting Factors

Winter brings along an increased chance of power events including surges, brown outs and blackouts. This can be worrying for business continuity and productivity.

Stevenson contacted UPS Power Solutions to seek a solution, and his concerns were echoed by corporate sales manager, Sam Lingman.

“When WebBooster contacted us, it was clear that they had the right mindset and knew where they were vulnerable to power surges and brown outs but had relied on their cloud-based storage as the main redundancy for total power failure. After a short chat where we discussed the equipment they used, the general daily load and the available space in their office, we determined that Eaton’s 850VA 3S UPS would deliver ample protection,” he says.

According to Price Waterhouse research, more than 33% of companies take more than a day to recover from a power outage, with 10% taking more than a week. Lingman says the toughest thing is that so many businesses don’t know where they are exposed or have a recovery plan in place – regardless of whether they have implemented power protection or not.

WebBooster operate out of an office that doesn’t have a great deal of available space so the 3S’s small footprint and multiplug-board design meant that two Eaton 3S UPSs could be easily deployed in place of the existing multiplugs that sat under each desk.

With 8 sockets, two USB outlets and on-board surge protection, each 3S can comfortably power and protect the workstations, modem, laptops, NAS, printer and provide additional USB outlets for charging phones & cameras.

Importantly, the 3Ss will deliver around 20 minutes of operation in the event of a power outage. Each device has on-board surge protection to defend against power spikes or lighting strikes as well as 10-amp circuit breakers.

Andrew Stevenson says that the 20-minute window is all they need to safeguard their ongoing work and WebBooster’s important assets.

“Just knowing that if we have a power event for any reason that there will be time to safely save everything and shut it down properly is something I wish we’d implemented years ago. The devices are not only noiseless and discrete, but they have delivered extra usability to the office with easier access to more power outlets and USB sockets. I’m now looking to get a few for my home so that our internet connectivity and other devices can be protected,” he says.

Sam Lingman says that is a perfect example of how smaller fit-for-purpose devices like Eaton’s 3S and 5E UPSs can provide real business continuity and assurance at an affordable investment.

“The value of knowing the tools of your trade and your work product can be safeguarded, far outstrips the cost of the solution. The biggest shame is that it took a damaging power event to prompt WebBooster to get in touch with us. We can quickly and easily conduct an assessment of any small to medium organisation over the phone and deliver a back-up power solution, tailored to your energy requirements, space and how you like to operate within a couple of days. We encourage all companies to look into it,” he says.

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