UPS Power Backup for Data Centres: Why It’s Non-Negotiable
In today’s hyper-connected world, downtime is more than an inconvenience: it can be a real blow to businesses, affect customer trust, and even makes it harder to meet regulations and ensure security.
For data centres where availability is paramount, UPS power backup isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Let’s explore why UPS power backup is a crucial part of any data centre infrastructure and how Source UPS can help.
The Role of UPS Power Backup in Data Centres
A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is the first line of defence against a power failure. Although backup generators can help you stay resilient in the long-term, they don’t kick in instantly.
UPS power backup can bridge that gap, providing the crucial seconds, minutes or hours needed to keep systems online, protect your sensitive data, and allow for safe shutdowns or a switchover of generators.
For data centres, this second layer of protection is essential. Without it, even a momentary loss of power can result in:
- Server reboots
- Data corruption
- Hardware damage
- Disrupted client services
- Lost revenue
Whether it’s a matter of milliseconds or minutes, downtime has consequences.
What Happens When There’s No UPS Backup?
- British Airways IT Meltdown (2017)
In one of the most catastrophic IT failures in recent memory, British Airways suffered a massive system outage due to a power supply issue. The airline blamed a contractor for accidentally switching off the power and then causing a surge when restoring it. The result? Over 75,000 passengers were left stranded, flights were cancelled for days, and a £58 million financial impact, not to mention damage to the brand.
- OVH Data Centre Fire (2021)
This event was technically caused by a fire, not power failure. However, it highlights a related issue: many clients did not have UPS or backup systems in place for their hosted environments. The result was catastrophic data loss. Websites and services were offline for days, some permanently!
The lesson is clear: data centres without reliable UPS power backup leave clients vulnerable.
UPS Systems: Beyond Just Backup
UPS solutions have evolved beyond simple battery units. They now play a role in:
- Power conditioning – Filtering out voltage spikes, noise, and harmonic distortion
- Load balancing – Ensuring critical systems receive uninterrupted supply even during switchovers
- Monitoring and alerts – Providing real-time health stats to data centre teams
- Green energy integration – Working alongside solar/battery hybrid systems
A modern UPS solution is there to prevent problems from arising in the first place.
Risk vs Reward: Why UPS Investment Pays Off
We appreciate that data centre professionals are constantly weighing up budgets, especially in smaller facilities or edge environments. It’s tempting to delay UPS upgrades or assume redundancy is “someone else’s problem.”
But compare the costs: a high quality UPS system can cost from £1,000 to £100,000, while 1 hour of data centre downtime can cost £100,000+ (depending on SLA and client volume). Meanwhile, long-term damage to a brand is immeasurable.
Choosing the Right UPS for Your Data Centre
Not all UPS solutions are created equal. Choosing the wrong system can be just as damaging as not having one at all. Here’s what to consider:
- Topology
- Offline/Standby UPS – Suitable only for non-critical systems
- Line-Interactive UPS – A good mid-level choice for offices or less sensitive IT environments
- Online/Double Conversion UPS – The gold standard for data centres
- Long-term Growth
Can the UPS grow alongside your infrastructure? Modular UPS systems mean you can adapt when you need to expand, which is key for co-location and cloud providers.
- Type of Battery
- VRLA (Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid) – Cost-effective but heavy and maintenance-intensive
- Lithium-ion – More compact, longer lifespan, and better for temperature-sensitive environments
- Nickel-cadmium – Ideal for extreme conditions, but more expensive and less eco-friendly
- Runtime Requirements
How long do you need to maintain power before it affects the generator? Typical runtimes range from 5 to 30 minutes, but this depends on your backup generator reliability and startup time.
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Compliance
A UPS system is only as good as its maintenance. All too often, systems fail not due to capacity but due to lack of testing, battery degradation, or misconfiguration.
Best practices include:
- Quarterly inspections and load testing
- Battery replacements every 3–5 years
- Remote monitoring software integration
- Annual audit and compliance review
Keep detailed logs, not just to provide assurance for your company, but to prove resilience to clients and regulators.
If your data centre lacks proper UPS power backup, or if your current setup hasn’t been tested recently, you’re gambling with uptime. Whether you’re running enterprise-grade infrastructure or managing a smaller edge deployment, the consequences of failure are real, and so are the costs.
A UPS system doesn’t just protect servers: it protects your reputation and your clients’ data integrity.
Need Help Choosing a UPS Solution?
Source UPS offers tailored power backup strategies and support for data centres of all sizes. Whether you’re looking to upgrade an older system or design a new data centre from scratch, we’re here to help.
Contact our team today and make sure your data centre never goes dark.
Source UPS recently carried out replacement of the UPS and down flow cooling in our data centre. The entire project was delivered with out any downtime at all and the installation team were very professional and considerate to the fact that our business was still operating whilst all works we being carried out. The team at Source have been a pleasure to work with.
