We’ve spoken with quite a few small businesses over the years, and going on what we’ve heard, buying an Uninterruptible Power Supply is often a grudge purchase.
But we also learned that it’s quickly justified when the worst happens – the power supply being what it is in South Africa – and UPSes do their jobs, keeping vital servers from turning off, data from being lost, and valuable electronics from being damaged by power surges.
The fact that the top three UPS brands as chosen by our readers aren’t separated by much of a margin likely reflects the fact that, well, UPSes all basically do the same thing and are hard to distinguish from each other, but we’re glad that a home-grown brand hit the top spot – most likely because of Pinnacle’s awareness of just how price-sensitive South African buyers are.
- Proline (18.2%)
Proline is local IT distributor Pinnacle’s own IT brand that covers a wide range of products. To date, they’ve produced Proline-branded tablets, notebooks, smartphones, monitors, mini PCs, desktops, and of course, UPSes. Those UPSes are clearly popular with our readers, earning Proline the winning total of 18.2% of all votes tallied. Local really is lekker when it comes to UPS options!
Proline’s UPS range offers everything from 650KVA units designed to support desktops to 3KVA online UPSes with automatic volt regulation specifically designed to be rack-mounted in datacentres. They offer battery backups as well as surge protection, and the ability to shut electronics down the right way following a loss of power.
- AEC (14.5%)
AEC’s range of UPSes covers pretty much any use-case scenario where surge protection and battery backup is important, and can protect everything from personal computers to industrial electronics whose electrical loads require three-phase, high-power protection.
This Italian brand has been making and distributing UPSes since 1998, servicing the global market since then, including South Africa. Our readers clearly like them, earning them 14.5% of our total votes.
- Schneider Electric (12.7%)
Schneider came in third, only trailing AEC by a paltry 1.8%. Differentiating UPSes from one another is actually quite difficult as they largely do the same thing, so reader choices likely came down to the individual value proposition of each, covering such things as features, service and support, and price. Coming in third, then, is a good reflection on any brand in our notoriously price-sensitive market.
[Image – Proline]
