Ignorance Is Not Bliss

A senior officer in a very prominent ministry once informed me that they have more than 35 brands of UPS with them in the IT department. These have been purchased in the last few years from eight to 10 PC sellers, who were asked to supply any ‘good’ UPS along with the PCs. 

Now, when this department wants to get the UPSs repaired, there is nobody to look after them. The dealers washed their hands off and the UPS manufacturers were not listed suppliers in the department. 

I have come across similar incidences at many other customer locations throughout the country. UPS systems are still being bought and sold by many PC dealers as a commodity item. Very little attention is paid to basic issues as quality of product, adherence to technical specs as per the tender, service capabilities and the reach of the UPS manufacturer, among others.

Majority of the PC vendors I spoke to, were unanimous on one issue: margins on UPS systems, even in tender situations, is in the range of just 8 to 10%. Resellers and systems integrators across the country voice this discontent too. 

MAKING BUYERS CARE

What makes the hardware supplier so ‘ignorant’ and ‘uncaring’ about the UPS that is being supplied along with their hardware? Why are all the UPS manufacturers branded into one category, irrespective of their standing?

One of the major reasons for this sorry state of affairs is the total lack of interest from the user on the systems being supplied. Most IT users I spoke to, have ‘confessed’ to having spent less than 5% of their buying decision time into deciding about the brand of the UPS. This invariably results in supply of such equipment which may not be of the desired quality. 

Also, UPS offers no tangible benefits to users. If the user buys, say a Pentium 4 PC along with the latest software and printer, he has something to show about in terms of speed, graphics, techniques and so on. On the other hand, a new UPS purchase does not entail any perceived benefits to the user. 

There is one instance that I remember very clearly. When one marketing executives approached a manager at an MNC for renewal of the UPS maintenance at his workstation, the manager was surprised to know that there was a UPS installed at his workstation! The gentlemen in question had been using the product for more than a year without knowing about its very existence. 

The other issue that crops up during discussions with large number of users is the total lack of commitment from UPS manufacturers on providing support on brands other than their own. Since there is no standardization on product design and development, servicing some other brand’s product becomes impossible for the manufacturer. 

A CRITICAL ASSET

One of the steps, UPS manufacturers have to take immediately is to make the product more user-interactive. It can be done by giving more useful software features along with the UPS such as battery status, input/output voltages and so on. 

Contrary to beliefs, UPS systems are one of the most important components of the entire IT infrastructure. According to many studies, there is an abnormally large number of power problems (spikes, surges etc.) in India. This makes a UPS system a necessity for the IT infrastructure. Therefore, it needs to be looked at as an independent entity and not just one of the computer accessories/peripherals.

Buyers have to show more concern about the utilities of the system. Only then can a consumer, who has to choose from 35 known brands of UPS place the right bet on it.

Sameer Mathur is the Director, Guard Electronics Systems