Don’t dismiss power management solutions as an unnecessary addition to a project or an unneeded expense: they can save schools & orgs time & money.
September 23, 2020 Adam Forziati
Reprinted from My TECH DECISIONS
Power management solutions can help mobile workforces during peak work from home hours, which is pretty impactful right now as many people are still working from home and schools have transitioned towards remote learning. But how critical are they for your own company or institution?
Let’s start with corporate: if you’re a Technology or IT manager, how would you start to pitch power management for remote employee clusters?
Power management solutions can boost efficiency
Remote employee clusters have become the new norm since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, says Kevin Main at Torus Power. This complicates the job of IT managers as they try to apply common technology solutions in different settings.
“There is no doubt that it is far more difficult to control the of consistency of systems that are spread out over multiple locations than a system operating in a controlled environment,” he says.
“This is complicated by the fact that every location will experience a different platform for network and power systems, and troubleshooting has to be performed through remote access…not on site. Power problems can cause interruptions or even failures in network equipment and other equipment that relies on microprocessors and low cost power supplies.”
But by using a quality power solution, IT and tech pros can essentially eliminate another variable in operations consistency.
These solutions isolate power from the grid, converting it to DC, and storing it in an isolated way. If power glitches occur, the device/output never sees it. The power is consistent.
“If you can control the environment, it makes it less likely that there will be a problem to start with, and that is a good thing for the IT manager who is dealing with so many new variables,” Main says.
To put it another way: “People in IT are putting out fires instead of looking to the future and figuring out how to manage more data clusters, which are inevitable,” says Joe Piccirilli, CEO, Rosewater Energy.
“IT managers can’t spend so much time putting out fires.”
Helping schools in similar ways
Let’s face it: schools aren’t corporations; no matter how well-funded they are, they’d never be able to provide all of their staff with power management devices.
So the new challenge for schools is not how to provide every student with a power management system, but rather how to deliver a remote learning experience to every student.
Some schools, like Cornell University in upstate New York, have perfected the delivery of the distance learning through business programs that have been offered for many years, Main says.
“These platforms are now being rolled out on a broader scale for elementary, high schools, colleges, and universities as a new way of delivering the learning experience. As these platforms are implemented, it is critical that they are stable and reliable for the teachers and students.
“One of the best ways to ensure overall reliability is through power management. When you have stable, isolated power at the source you will have a reliable platform for delivering these programs for teachers and students in this new learning environment.”
The takeaway
Main puts it rather bluntly: high quality power management solutions help IT and other pros take at least one variable out of a confusing, stressful situation brought on by the pandemic:
Our world has changed. IT systems now require that platforms that can operate reliably in different settings and yet be connected together to produce a consistent platform that operates as if nothing changed. This is a tall order for IT managers and the more they can minimize the inconsistencies of operating in different environments, the better.
As IT managers are upgrading and implementing more robust network solutions we would recommend dealing with power variables at the same time. When you get the network and power foundation right there are fewer system problems and failures. This means happier employees and happier IT managers.
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