Telkom Directory Services is ensuring availability of information and business systems through the implementation of three Meissner Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units at its head office in Johannesburg. Better known for hosting the 10-11-8, Talking Yellow Pages, this business demands 100 percent uptime, according to Graham Fortuin, National IT manager at Telkom Directory Services.
A 60kVA unit carries the heaviest electrical load and ensures clean power to 60 percent of the company`s desktops as well as the server room and networking components. "We identified key people at user level in terms of up time and then linked those systems to the UPS," Fortuin says. "Due to the critical support this unit provides, we have a standby generator functioning as additional back up."
Any caller dialling the 10-11-8 number in search of information regarding restaurants, movies, plumbers or any general information will be transferred to a Telkom Directory Services consultant. "Our services are available from seven in the morning till ten thirty in the evening, meaning that during this time we cannot afford down time for even five minutes," continues Fortuin.
Should downtime be encountered consultants will be left with no database from which to draw critical information such as an address or phone number. Fortuin says to them it is not merely about data loss but the ability to provide a public service, which is impossible without electricity supply.
In addition, the company has installed two 15kVA UPSs supporting emergency lighting as well as providing up time for the information department.
"Modems, fax machines, laser printers, monitors, cable modems and other peripherals are all sensitive to power sags and surges and all of it requires protection from common power fluctuations that can damage electrical equipment," says Paul Ashworth, product manager at Meissner. "As many of the services Telkom Directory Services offers rely greatly on these appliances, it is wise to ensure continuous power supply."
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