Riello UPS Ltd will be at the Data Centre World Conference and Expo on February 23-24^th. The largest free exhibition and conference for data centre professionals in the UK, this year’s event examines the issues surrounding the selection, outsourcing, building and running of a data centre. Sales and Technical representatives will be available on Stand 52 to demonstrate and discuss the range of Power Protection systems ideal for the data centre environment; offering cost-effective, first-class power protection whilst safeguarding reputation, business continuity and sources of revenue.  For more information about Riello UPS at Data Centre World and our other appearances in 2010, please see our Events page on www.riello-ups.co.uk.

Our new dedicated datacentre leaflet is now available to download directly from the homepage of the Riello website. ‘Balancing Power Continuity Resilience with Energy Efficiency and TCO’ briefly explores the key issues that affect Datacentre and IT managers, whilst offering power protection solutions from Riello UPS.

The publication marks the start of an ongoing datacentre campaign from Riello, continuing with an appearance at the DatacenterDynamics exhibition on Nov 10-11^th, and running into the New Year.

We didn’t break any champagne over the bow, but we did launch 3 new Riello vehicles onto the road last week! RUV 8, 9 & 10 are the latest additions to the fleet and will be put through their paces by Riello approved engineers across the country. To meet these demands, Riello opted to use the award winning Volkswagen Caddy.

Alongside routine service and maintenance calls, Riello’s acclaimed Platinum-level Maintenance Plan offers a 4 hour guaranteed emergency response time; so all of our vehicles need to be reliable, responsive and well-maintained in case of call-out. The new vehicles will allow us to be on-site, on time, when we’re needed with a minimum of disruption.

During such sensitive times as the 2012 Olympics there will be no second chances for business continuity planners who will have to design systems that can cope with a range of scenarios, not least of which is a massive load increase on the electricity supply chain.

To help organisations prepare for the 2012 Olympics and the anticipated drain on supply, Riello has expanded our Master Switch range of Static Transfer Switches (STS) to include models up to 400A. Used in isolation or with a combination of uninterruptible power supplies and generating systems, the extended Master Switch range is ideal for use in projects that require the highest possible levels of resilience and protection of critical loads including data centres, security, surveillance and transportation systems.

For more information on our Master Switch range, click here.

Riello UPS will be attending the Channel Expo 09 Exhibition on 20-21^st May at the Birmingham NEC. Channel Expo showcases the latest products, services and technologies within the UK ICT reseller community, and provides resellers with the opportunity to explore and compare a vast array of products and partners, while offering vendors and distributors the opportunity to meet the whole industry in one convenient location. Riello representatives will be available on Stand 630 throughout the exhibition, and for further information click here to visit the official website.

Ofgem has proposed a new code of practice to clarify energy tariffs and to address ‘unjustified price differences’ for those customers who pre-pay or cannot take advantage of dual-fuel discounts. The proposals aim to make tariffs more transparent, give both private and business customers greater control over how they pay for their energy and offer all customers a greater understanding of what they’re paying for.

While the proposals will mostly benefit private consumers, businesses will also see some positive effects (if they’re taken on board). Clearer contracts and the end of automatic-rollovers when the contract ends could mean that businesses will have greater flexibility over their supply. Good news then for the 74% of small businesses who, according to The Forum of Small Businesses, have issues with their energy suppliers.

Riello UPS are pleased to be a sponsor of the 3rd Annual Data Centre Dynamics Efficiency Summit, to be held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, on 1^st April.

Through a series of keynote presentations, case studies and panel discussions, this years’ summit will look at ways to drive energy efficiency, maintain performance and reduce the carbon footprint of modern data centres.

For more information, click here to visit the Data Centre Dynamics Efficiency Summit website.

See you there!

The Carbon Trust is a Government initiative whose goal is to create a low carbon economy by helping organisations to reduce their carbon emissions. As part of this strategy, the Carbon Trust is also working to get suitable hardware systems onto the Energy Technology List (ETL). This will allow organisations to benefit from Enhanced Capital Allowances and improved corporation tax relief. This is possibly something that will happen in 2009 with the right momentum (subject to parliamentary approval) and is another reason to consider the eco-friendly Riello Multi Plus UPS.

The Portugeuse Moto GP proved an all round winner for Riello UPS last weekend. We had over 70 people from across the world attend the weekend in Lisbon and Estoril. It wasn’t all bikes though. The weekend was split between presentations on Saturday about Riello and the new Multi Plus UPS, a special banquet on Saturday night attended by Ducati personnel and followed by a full day at the race track on Sunday. Whether you were a motorbike fan or not, the whole weekend was an absolute winner for all concerned.

I was disappointed to learn that the UK’s first Energy Saving day ended with no noticeable reduction in the country’s electricity use. Disappointed but not wholly surprised.

E-day, which started at 1800hrs on Wednesday 27th February 2008 and finished at the same time on 28th was supposed to encourage people to switch off electrical devices they did not need but instead National Grid recorded a 0.01% increase in electricity consumption despite the event being backed by campaign groups such as Greenpeace, Christian Aid and the RSPB, plus major energy companies EDF, e.on and Scottish Power.

I’m not surprised it was a flop for several reasons; firstly, it received little publicity. Secondly, why schedule it in the middle of winter and in the middle of the working week!? Other than not leaving the TV, or other electrical equipment on standby, what devices, machinery or equipment can people do without during their normal working life? It is a symptom of modern society that everything is powered by electricity and most professionals and businesses are unable (and unwilling) to go back to manual operation.

Thirdly (and this is contentious one), I believe that saving the planet from global warming is too big an issue for people to swallow and is therefore not the right one to ‘incentivise’ them to save energy. Of course, I care about the environment (many of my blog entries lay testament to that) but I believe people’s apathy towards this event is very telling. Do they really believe it’s possible to save the planet? Or, do most people feel it is too late anyway, the damage has already been done? The pleasures of living in an ‘always on/always connected’ world are too strong to worry about tomorrow. Some people think saving the planet is not up to us but in the hands of ’the Gods’, a religious icon or ethereal power?

I believe the best and only way to ‘incentivise’ people, particularly business people, into saving energy is through the wallet. Make the core issue saving money and the secondary issue about the planet and you will more likely motivate the masses. Environmental issues are far more of a pr story than money saving ones but the people behind such initiatives as this need to ask themselves why they are doing it – is it really to save the planet or to get publicity? and there lies the rub I fear.

At Riello UPS we take energy saving seriously from an environmental perspective and economic one. Many of our customers, particularly large data centres, are demanding that energy saving innovation be incorporated into UPS technology and we’ve responded by designing units with low input current distortion, maximum input power factor, progressive rectifier start-up and battery care systems to optimize performance that will all combine towards savings in running costs and total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the product. We feel this is a practical step towards saving the planet.

For more information about energy saving UPS visit: Riello UPS