As equipment becomes increasingly intelligent, the accompanying information security issues cannot be ignored. Traditional users often believe that viruses and hackers are unfortunate events unique to the internet, and that “purely hardware-based” power supply and distribution systems are not a major concern. However, with the widespread adoption of mobile internet and intelligent technologies, infrastructure will inevitably be incorporated into network management systems, thus facing various cybersecurity risks. For example, the recently exposed OpenSSL “Heartbleed” vulnerability indicates that some UPS network management systems may be at risk of leaking user account passwords. Even if hackers cannot shut down the UPS through the network management system (some small-capacity UPS systems do have the function of remotely shutting down servers), simply changing some key parameters could still have a serious impact on the entire power supply system.
This demonstrates that high-efficiency, intelligent modular UPS systems are clearly more in line with the future requirements of data center development. It is understood that the current annual market growth rate for modular UPS systems exceeds 6%, and is expected to exceed 10% in the future. In the recently concluded China Mobile centralized procurement, modular UPS systems, as an independent bid, have already accounted for over 14% of the procurement share for capacities of 120kVA and above. In the telecommunications industry, high-frequency and modular designs have become the mainstream trends in UPS procurement.
Opportunities and Challenges in the UPS Industry
Traditional data centers are facing transformation. Many enterprises currently build data centers according to 1990s standards, which fail to meet the needs of business development in terms of system reliability, energy management, and cooling systems, leading to high energy consumption and operating costs. Many data center operators and owners are now planning or implementing upgrades and renovations. With the expansion and migration of numerous data centers, the demand for UPS systems will increase. This is undoubtedly good news for the UPS industry.
But traditional UPS manufacturers shouldn’t be too happy yet. Meanwhile, an even more disruptive challenge comes from internet giants. Compared to traditional enterprise data centers, the internet industry is developing rapidly, and its demand for data centers is more urgent. Internet companies often deploy data centers on a large scale through self-construction, leasing, or joint construction. Because they are not burdened by outdated equipment, they are more willing to adopt the most advanced technologies. In China, Tencent achieves batch deployment and rapid construction through micro-module data centers, while its power supply system adopts a modular design of HVDC to eliminate reliance on traditional UPS systems. At Baidu, IT engineers even use a combination of direct mains power supply and UPS backup—a method traditional data centers dare not attempt—to power servers. Overseas, Google’s approach is even more radical; they have abandoned traditional power supply systems and instead use new custom servers with built-in batteries to reduce reliance on traditional UPS systems. In pursuit of efficiency, flexibility, on-demand deployment, and rapid expansion, engineers at internet companies are going to great lengths.
The arrival of the big data era will inevitably change the entire world, and the UPS industry is no exception. Only manufacturers that bravely face the challenges, strengthen technological innovation, and integrate the latest ICT technologies will remain invincible in the future. In this storm of big data and cloud computing, UPS partners, are you ready?