What is your most important business tool? There’s probably a multitude of answers, but a computer is a powerful contender. Loaded with vital information, it keeps your law firm in motion.
Everyone knows you need backups (link), but what about a backup battery? From electrical surges, outages and storm-caused brownouts, a lot can happen to cause a major headache.
By implementing a battery backup system, you are making sure that your business is secure and your information is safe. You are also able to avoid losing unsaved data or harming the electronics in many ways. Here are a few things that can happen:
Sudden loss of power can actually corrupt operating systems installation, which unfortunately can result in very costly repairs.
Unexpected power loss can damage your computer, sometimes subtly. Computer replacement isn’t cheap, but recurring issues drain your productivity and cost a lot more in the long run.
If your computer loses power while you’re using it, you will lose unsaved work. That agreement or response letter you spent hours on? Gone.
So, what can you do? Get a battery backup.
What is a Battery Backup?
A battery backup is a device that protects you and your computer. They are simple to use – just plug your computer into it and you’re protected. The battery backup quietly mitigates all the bad stuff mentioned above. Once a surge or an outage occurs, the backup will go into effect immediately to power the computers and sustain them for a period of time. This allows users the opportunity to save their current work and shut down the computer properly until the electricity comes back.
What kind of batter backup should you consider?
There are three things to look for in a battery backup. The first is its size and shape, called the form factor. Towers are the most popular, because of their small footprint (as you know, real estate is expensive). But they don’t sit well under every desk.
The second is the number of outlets. Not every outlet on a batter backup offers battery power. The more devices you want to protect with backup power, the more protected outlets you’ll need. Some batter backups come equipped with USB/USB-C backup options, offering you a few more outlets for smaller devices like your iPhone or iPad (in case of emergency).
The third is battery capacity. While bigger is usually better, you can’t really get a bigger battery size than 1500VA in a tower without spending loads of money. But you’ll find that 1500VA is actually quite sufficient. A backup battery like this one: (click here: https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/ups/battery-backup/ ) will give you 40+ mins plus of run time for a 27″ iMac.
You might be tempted to get the biggest and the best – but biggest isn’t best. Two smaller batteries can offer a lot of flexibility all round: in terms of where they fit comfortable in your office space, more protected outlets, and paying less for more usable capacity. Your needs are a little different from everyone else’s, so take a few minutes to prioritize them – just don’t take too long (better to be protected than not).
Give us a call if you run into any problems along the way. We’re here to help you!
