Local information technology (IT) equipment and service provider Starr Computers has inked an agreement with the US firm American Power Conversion (APC) for direct distributorship of APC products in Guyana.
The agreement, which was concluded in Georgetown last week following a visit here by APC’s Caribbean District Manager Franklin Guerrero, is likely to offer domestic, commercial and industrial consumers relief from some of the consequences of the unreliable power supply that has affected them for several years.
Under the agreement, Starr Computers becomes the first local enterprise to access APC’s wide range of power protection and power distribution equipment directly, which Guerrero says will allow for cheaper and easier access by Guyanese to APC products. Starr Computers President Mike Mohan says that the new agreement now means that other local businesses offering APC equipment for sale can now benefit from better prices. “The idea,” Mohan said, “is that the customer must benefit.”
Owned by Schneider Electrics, a global leader in integrated critical power and cooling systems,
APC has secured an international reputation for offering power protection and management solutions for homes, data centres and industrial environments. In 2007, Schneider Electric acquired APC and combined it with MGE UPS Systems to form Schneider Electric‘s Critical Power & Cooling Services Business Unit, which employs more than 12,000 people worldwide.
APC’s product range includes power distribution and transfer switch solutions, security and environmental monitoring as well cooling solutions for IT equipment. Additionally, the company offers surge protection, harmonic filtering and voltage regulation equipment.
Mohan explained that the agreement is “a positive for Guyana” since it focuses on trying to provide solutions to the unreliable power problem that has faced Guyana for years. According to Mohan, the growth expansion of the Guyana economy, evidenced in the accelerated construction of both homes and business premises coupled with the growth of the IT sector, meant that “there is bound to be a greater need for an improved power supply.”
He said too that Starr Computers was living up to its promise to try to apply IT-related solutions to difficulties facing Guyana. “We now have a direct distributorship with an internationally recognised power solutions outfit… [and] the new direct distributorship agreement will benefit Guyana. This is an internationally recognized company with an outstanding reputation in the power supply and power protection industry,” Mohan said.
The recent visit here by the APC District Manager was at Mohan’s invitation and he disclosed that ICT equipment and service providers in the United States were now paying much closer attention to Guyana, in the wake of the announcement of the One Laptop Per Family project. “Obviously, with so many computers around, there will clearly be a need for reliable power supply, spares, supplies and servicing capacity. It would not surprise me very much if other companies very quickly begin to position themselves to enter the Guyana market,” Mohan said.
Local IT equipment users are known to suffer considerable levels of data loss and hardware damage as a result of power supply problems, ranging from surges and spikes to brownouts and complete blackouts, which can cause hardware damage and data loss. Local IT experts believe that power problems account for as much as 45 per cent of data loss situations, including keyboard lockup, hardware degradation, and damaged motherboards. “Quite apart from those considerations, there is also the question of downtime,” Mohan added.
Power problems have also impacted on warranty arrangements. Local distributors of imported electronic and electrical equipment insert caveats into warranty agreements that absolve them of any liability in the event of equipment damage.
