40 years later, the UPS is more important than ever for certainty in a connected world

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This year, we celebrate the #40YearsOn anniversary of APC’s first uninterruptible power supply (UPS). As an IT professional, you may not give UPS devices as much thought as you do to servers and desktop PCs, but during a power outage, you will be glad you have them.

The UPS provides temporary power almost instantaneously when a utility power outage occurs, until generators are turned on or until protected devices are properly shut down. UPSs protect valuable IT and telecommunications equipment from electrical current inconsistencies, such as flickers, brownouts, and surges. Those inconsistencies can damage your equipment if it isn’t attached to a UPS.

For the last 40 years, we have made great innovative strides to add capability and sophistication to UPS devices. Today, as everything and everyone becomes connected, it has never been more important to have power protection. A UPS provides power protection for desktop PCs, servers, and data centers.

The UPS is increasingly needed for data-intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), which are growing across various industries. AI already powers an increasing array of mission-critical applications, including telemedicine and patient monitoring in healthcare, video analytics in smart cities and intelligent traffic systems (ITS), and malware detection in cybersecurity.

APC’s history of innovation with the UPS and beyond

Power outages can become life-and-death situations in many use cases, especially in healthcare and traffic management applications, making the UPS a must-have. UPS technology also helps protect critical infrastructure, which is important to keeping us connected and productive.

Schneider Electric works with 150,000 partners globally to deliver UPS solutions and associated technologies to help secure critical infrastructure. Our technology also protects IT environments increasingly consisting of hybrid IT infrastructure spanning cloud, on-premise, and edge computing deployments. Since introducing that first UPS device in 1984, we have brought many innovations to market as the need to protect data assets evolves and grows.

In 1989, APC revolutionized power management with the introduction of the PowerChute^TM power management software. PowerChute enables a graceful shutdown during an outage, and when power returns, an automatic sequenced equipment reboot requires no human intervention. Automatic restart lowers maintenance costs and supports sustainability goals by eliminating truck rolls.

Our innovation strides continued in the 1990s when APC introduced solutions such as the Smart-UPS ^TM, now considered the industry’s premier network power protection solution, with over 20 million units sold. During the 1990s, we also introduced the first user-replaceable batteries and web-manageable UPS. In the 2010s, we released the first UPSs with lithium-ion batteries.

More recently, we introduced our EcoStruxure^TM IT portfolio. Our vendor-neutral data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solutions empower our customers to optimize their IT infrastructure for maximum resilience, security, and sustainability. These capabilities make running unstaffed edge computing sites easier, and these sites have been multiplying as dependence on connected infrastructure devices and systems increases. Edge computing sites are also increasing in density, so the same amount of space needs more computing power. And if customers put in newer, smaller UPSs that have more power protection, they will get more space for servers.

Sustainable future

As we look to the future, Schneider Electric is hyper-focused on helping IT teams boost efficiencies and reduce footprint to achieve sustainability goals and regulatory compliance. We’ve been launching products made with recycled and recyclable materials to support your efforts in decarbonization.

In 2010, we increased the use of lithium-ion batteries in UPS models, from small home office units to industrial-grade power-protection systems. Lithium-ion batteries enable longer lifecycles and reduce footprint and maintenance costs to help decarbonize.

Solutions such as the Smart-UPS Modular Ultra, one of the most sustainable UPS of its kind, align with the growing demand for sustainable solutions and recycling programs. Built to maximize efficiency, both in consumption and footprint, the Smart-UPS Modular Ultra provides much-needed reliability and protection at a time when power outages have become more frequent and longer-lasting. This year, we also introduced the Secure NMC System, which protects UPSs and connected devices from unknown threats, providing resilience throughout hardware lifecycles.

Our commitment to innovation will remain unwavering in the coming decades and beyond. Our focus in the near term will persistently revolve around advancing technologies and digitalization to diminish the carbon footprint. By doing so, we aim to collectively forge a path towards a sustainable future. Explore #40YearsOn to reminisce about our UPS journey and discover how we can help future-proof your operations, enabling sustainability, resiliency, and secure connectivity in a digital era.