As a tech manager, you’re always looking to stay the most up-to-date on all the latest trends, while still being the most efficient and cost-effective you can be. In order to help navigate the latest and greatest in power conditioning, we’ve gathered responses from our in-house expert and Director of Sales, Christos Desalernos in order to help you make the most informed decisions on all things power. Not only does Christos shine light on the latest in the industry, but also takes a deep dive into how Furman®, Panamax® and ELAN® products can all work together to create the most streamlined system possible. See his three key insights below.

1. What are some of the latest trends in power conditioning and how are tech managers benefiting from these? 

The latest trends are IP monitor, control and network pings. With the IoT, tech managers want to be able to manage their install locations from anywhere in the world. Being able to reboot locked up devices that are on the network is an opportunity to better serve their clients, show their clients the value that they bring, as well as a possible opportunity for re-occurring revenue. The ability to monitor the integrity of the power can help tech managers be proactive if they see a voltage abnormity. For example, low voltages can cause power supplies to heat up and go into what is called “thermal shutdown.” This is to protect the device’s power supply. This can cause a service call and eventually the power supply will be damaged if the unit keeps going into thermal shutdown. With cloud-based monitoring systems such as BlueBOLT, you have power history that you can take to your client, and in turn possibly take it to the utility company so they can rectify the situation.

The ability to ping devices on a network and tie that into a conditional reboot is invaluable for tech managers. This is an auto-healing feature for items on the network. The tech manager simply gets a notification that a network device went down and the outlet was cycled to reboot the device(s) automatically. This could be another touch point for the tech manager to their customers. They can contact their client letting them know that there was a network issue and that it has been resolved (in most cases the client was not aware there was an issue). This is a proof of performance and now the tech manager has the client on the phone, which they can then see if there are any other services that are needed at the time, thus a soft sales pitch.

2. What sets Panamax® and Furman® products apart from the competition?

Panamax and Furman products are the leaders in mission critical surge suppression and design comprehensive filters. We filter out all AC line noise that comes from utility companies and noise from devices within the system. We not only protect the connected equipment, but also protect the installation firm’s reputation. If a client has damage from the power, are they going to call the utility company or the installation company? Simply put, they are going to call the installation company and now their reputation is on the line.

Panamax® was the pioneer of cloud-based power management. Now we have plenty of competitors in the market, but what sets us apart is that our devices are also compatible with LAN (Local Area Network) control. This allows our products to be specified in high security applications where cloud-based systems are unacceptable. We have plenty of very high-profile end users that do not want any way of access to their network from the outside. This allows our products to be used in commercial applications that do not accept cloud-based systems.

3. Explain how these products integrate with smart automation technology in order to help tech managers run their facilities more efficiently.

Our products are designed to help tech managers to be more efficient, cost effective and proactive, which increases their value to their customers while increasing profitability for the firm.

The real magic happens with our ELAN Management Cloud coupled with Panamax and Furman power products. With the ELAN Management cloud, you have all devices on the network aggregated into one portal. This eliminates what I call “application bankruptcy.” You might be thinking, ‘what does application bankruptcy mean?’ The last thing we need in our lives is another app. I don’t want to have to use my NETGEAR app to check my internet speed, only to then open my BlueBOLT app to control my power devices, in order to open my app for ELAN Management Cloud to monitor my control system. I want one app that gives me access to the network and all the items that reside on said network. This is possible with the ELAN Management Cloud coupled with Panamax and Furman power devices.

More to Learn

While we hope these key insights give you a better look at our products and your added benefits, if you’re interested in learning more, please make sure to visit our new webinar trainings: https://www.elanhomesystems.com/online-training. There’s still time to register, we hope you can make it!