APC announces new services division

As part of its ongoing strategy to ensure global, end-to-end, non-stop networking, American Power Conversion (APC) has redefined its power protection service offering, launching a dedicated services division, APC Global Services (AGS). This move will enable the company to advance beyond standard response times to a customised approach to uninterrupted business process availability.

The new division merges APC`s service experience in network power protection with that of Silcon, a company acquired by APC in 1998. APC and Silcon`s combined pool of 30 years of knowledge allows the company to provide patented highly efficient uninterruptible power supply (UPS) technology and a comprehensive service programme to address the power protection needs of the largest information systems and industrial applications.

Says Kobus van Zyl, country manager of AGS Services for Africa at APC: "APC`s comprehensive suite of professional services enables all customers - from the small to mid-sized enterprise (SME) environment to the largest corporations - to focus on the core business issue of growth, not concerns of power-related systems availability."

"The need for high availability is no longer a luxury limited to the data centre," explains Van Zyl. "In today`s global computing environment every device, from the mainframe and the server to the router and the desktop, must be up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week".

"Immediate response to a customer`s problem is only a part of the availability equation. Whether our customers are trying to reach 99.9 or 99.999 percent of systems availability, APC`s total product and service solutions can help them realise the level of uninterrupted access required for their most essential business operations," he says.

The company`s approach to service quality is holistic. "Our products are reliably designed, as well as easy to service and monitor. APC also advises on the correct type of implementation, including infrastructure availability assessment and properly installed products and software, as well as providing timely, effective responses to service and support issues. Without such comprehensive support, internal and external power disruptions can bring a network down, resulting in lost revenue and productivity".

"We believe that any company which excels in service quality actively partners with their customers throughout the entire business relationship," says Van Zyl. "This ensures that the total solution effectively addresses the customer`s availability needs. This is particularly important with the massive growth of the Internet, which has increased a corporation`s financial dependence on business continuity. Our aim is to simplify the entire process, providing our customers with 24 x 7 peace of mind to free them to run their business."

The company`s expanded service offering for the SME market encompasses a Start-Up Service, an extended warranty, on-site support, providing an extended warranty and next business day on-site repair service. All three services are combined in the Quick-Start Plan package, which also provides with 24 x 7 telephone technical support.

The upgraded offerings for large power protection systems include a Start-Up Service, an Essential Power Reliability package, with Start-Up Service, a preventative maintenance visit, one year coverage for next business day on-site repair service and 24 x 7 telephone technical support. It also covers battery services.