What prompted the power conditioning industry to develop, and finally, come out with modular UPS systems in the world market? Has the world of blade servers inspired the emergence of modular UPS systems primarily to be deployed in datacentres?
As the businesses move towards digitization and adoption of new technologies is changing the way the businesses are run, it is becoming more data critical. Also, the infrastructure required is becoming more complex, needing very high reliability, availability, flexibility, shorter MTTR and lower TCO. The conventional monolithic UPS systems do not meet these requirements and hence the industry moved towards newer modular UPS systems. Yes, the blade servers inspired the effective utilization of the critical power architecture. However, customers should be aware of the marketing gimmick played by few OEM’s, claiming to offer Modular Construction UPS instead of True Modular Hot-swappable UPS Architecture. The terminology of Modular can be deceptive and clients may end up paying premium for a marketing gimmick and result in no significant benefits. Hence, always seek for modular hot-swappable architecture to gain true benefits of high reliability, availability, flexibility, shorter MTTR and lower
TCO.
Do you think the new-age datacentres, which are highly virtualized and cloud-capable, hate the downtime like never before? Do you think modular UPS systems redefine the very idea of power redundancy in modern datacentres?
The cost of downtime in data centers was always very high, but nowadays it is a matter of business continuity loss. Data center operations managers are having sleepless nights to manage their end user expectations of availability. No matter the power design is Tier III or Tier IV, having minimum 2N UPS architecture, downtime or even a planned shutdown of single N feed is a risky and complex task. Hence, a true modular hot-swappable UPS is the best option for meeting these challenges. A modular hot-swappable UPS will help avoid any shutdown in most conditions and also failure of few critical components does not mean downtime of any feed. A downtime or shutdown in a live data center is highly risky and also involves lot of approvals, which can be avoided. Also, unutilized power capacity can be re-deployed with true modular hot-swappable architecture.
What are the industry & business verticals which demand more of modular UPS systems? Do you think service providers including cloud service providers seek more of modular UPS systems as for them down-time means death?
Most mission critical industry segments like Banking, Software, IT/ITeS, e-commerce, Data Centers, Media, Telecom, healthcare, pharma etc., are demanding more modular UPS systems. However, the adoption of modular hot-swappable UPS in cloud service providers is fast catching-up due to the challenges explained earlier. In near future it will become a standard, as operational benefits will overweigh the investment done.
What types of workloads do modular UPS systems are deployed for in datacenters? Do you think modular UPS systems are workload-aware—where required number of power modules awake and go into sleep mode as and when required? Are modular UPS systems truly green in attitudes?
Modular Hot-swappable UPS have many advantages besides what are explained earlier. One of this feature is unique Green Mode or Sleep Mode function. In this number of critical power modules can be scheduled to operate as per load requirements, desired redundancy and balance power
modules can be placed in green/sleep mode. The sleep mode power modules come to active mode within 2ms as and when needed, hence improving overall efficiency and also help in reduced ageing effects on components. These power modules can be put on rotational sequential sleep mode also. Hence, modular hot-swappable UPSs are a true green initiative.
What are the latest modular UPS systems you’ve introduced in India? What are the salient features of them? Are all the modular UPS systems you offer hot-swappable?
Delta Electronics is a leading UPS manufacturer of True Modular Hot-swappable UPSs, which are industry best in redundancy, ease of operations, flexibility, highest density and highest MTBF. Delta Electronics invest 6-7% of our sales revenue globally on Research & Development, which reflects
in our products innovations. Our latest Hot-swappable UPSs introduced are the DPH Gen 2.0 series of UPSs. These UPSs are true Hot-swappable architecture with almost all critical components redundant and hot-swappable. We have power modules starting from 20kW, 25kW, 50kW and 60kW ratings. The frame size vary from 40kW to 600kW and can be configured with our unique Flexipod architecture to meet industry requirements of 1MW, 1.2MW or any configuration. Delta Electronics DPH Hot-swappable UPS have complete hot-swappable components like, power modules, static switch, controllers etc and have the smallest footprint. They are also Lithium Ion battery compatible to meet the industry requirements.
Is it really challenging to manage modular UPS systems—that too in the hyer-converged datacentre environment? Do they synergize well with your power management software? Can they (modular UPS systems) also talk to virtual servers, storage and networking resources?
Managing modular hot-swappable UPS systems are easier as explained earlier. These UPS can be easily managed through EMS/DCIM software for power management. Delta Electronics also provide these EMS and DCIM software of our own. It helps our customer to manage their critical physical infrastructure including UPSs.
How have been the responses of CIOs and CTOs of enterprises and organizations around modular UPS systems you offer in the country? What are the challenges which, stymie the wider adoption of modular UPS systems in India? Is it the sheer price or the lack of awareness about modular UPS systems?
CIOs and CTOs of mission critical applications have already started adoption of modular hot-swappable UPSs and know the true advantage/ business value. However, the industry is also a target of modular construction UPS marketing gimmick and few clients have learned it hard way what difference a hot-swappable architecture makes. Also, earlier the Modular Hot-swappable UPSs were sold as premium high cost, but nowadays players like Delta Electronics have helped reduce this gap. Customers can now deploy the best modular hot-swappable UPS with a slight hike in investment and achieve the best business value with added peace of mind.
What is your channel strategy around modular UPS systems in the Indian market? Have you got sufficient number of partners, who understand datacentre workloads, and accordingly deeply modular UPS solutions?
Delta Electronics have a very strong partner network to meet all segments. However for mission critical large enterprises or data centers, Delta Electronics have a very strong service network of their own. Most of our engineers are factory trained and we have critical spare stocks in each region
available 24x7x365. We have are India factory at Rudrapur with state of art facility and test repair center.
What are the training and certification programs for channel partners with regard to modular UPS systems & solutions?
Delta Electronics provides regular trainings to our Authorized Service Partners and ASPs for all are UPS products. Our partners are also having expertise to manage customer solution expectations and we keep them trained with our new offers regularly.