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How UPS Battery Failures Caused a Financial Institution's Biggest Crisis | ||||||||||||||||||||
Reliable backup power is the lifeline of modern financial institutions, ensuring uninterrupted operations and safeguarding the trust that customers place in them. Even a momentary disruption can compromise sensitive data and disrupt critical services. Hence, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems serve as the silent guardians of banking infrastructure. Yet, amidst the intricate networks of technology, the heart of these systems—the UPS batteries—often receives the least attention. A recent study revealed that 45% of data centers experience issues with their UPS systems, with the majority of failures attributed to incorrect charging practices, aging batteries, or poor maintenance. This oversight not only jeopardizes business continuity but also results in significant downtime, data loss, and financial risks. This blog explores the critical importance of maintaining UPS batteries to fortify the backbone of banking operations through Jake's story, who is the facility manager in an Arizona-based financial center, and how he ensured that the infrastructure remains resilient in the face of unexpected power challenges with proactive battery monitoring and management. This blog explores the critical importance of maintaining UPS batteries to fortify the backbone of banking operations through Jake's story, who is the facility manager in an Arizona-based financial center, and how he ensured that the infrastructure remains resilient in the face of unexpected power challenges with proactive battery monitoring and management. When a Citywide Power Outage Exposed a Critical Vulnerability Jake, a facility manager, oversaw one of the premier bank's data centers, a cornerstone of seamless 24/7 banking operations. His responsibility was monumental, as the bank served millions of customers across Arizona, powering real-time transactions, online banking, and critical financial services. For Jake, ensuring uninterrupted operations was a commitment to the trust that customers placed in the bank. It was when one day, during peak business hours, when a citywide power grid failure plunged the bank into darkness, leaving operations to rely entirely on the UPS system. The pressure was immense, but Jake remained calm. His team had meticulously maintained the UPS, and their record of reliability gave him confidence that the system could weather this storm. It was when one day, during peak business hours, when a citywide power grid failure plunged the bank into darkness, leaving operations to rely entirely on the UPS system. The pressure was immense, but Jake remained calm. That confidence, however, was soon tested. With a history of dependable performance, Jake was certain the UPS would sustain operations as it had so many times before—until, inexplicably, it didn't. What has gone wrong? An Error in the Charging System Led to Battery Failure By the time Jake realized the problem, critical servers shut down, ATMs went offline, and transactions froze, halting the bank's operations. The UPS batteries failed despite regular maintenance and timely replacements. By the time Jake realized the problem, critical servers shut down, ATMs went offline, and transactions froze, halting the bank's operations. The UPS batteries failed despite regular maintenance and timely replacements. Jake was at a clear loss. Why did the system fail despite following all the recommended procedures? Upon closer inspection, they discovered a more insidious problem: incorrect charging of the UPS batteries, which had gone unnoticed for months. As a result, the system had been overcharging the batteries, supplying voltage levels beyond safe thresholds. This overvoltage caused accelerated battery degradation, overheating, and ultimately thermal runaway—rendering the batteries non-functional when they were needed most. Jake's team missed this issue as their routine checks focused on operational readiness, not the details of charging behavior. This overvoltage caused accelerated battery degradation, overheating, and ultimately thermal runaway— rendering the batteries non-functional when they were needed most. Customer complaints started flooding helplines, deadlines were missed. The incident became the talk of the town with news spread all over social media. As the facility manager, Jake felt a deep sense of failure, and was answerable to the growing pressure from his managers. The incident became the talk of the town with news spread all over social media. As the facility manager, Jake felt a deep sense of failure, and was answerable to the growing pressure from his managers. Jake Proposes Keyitec's Real-Time Solution After Learning from an Industry Peer The outage's severe impact highlighted the need for change in UPS management. Jake set out on a path to change this situation and learned about Keyitec's active battery management and monitoring solution. The next day, during a crucial team meeting, Jake introduced Keyitec's real-time battery management solution, designed to address the bank's challenges comprehensively: The next day, during a crucial team meeting, Jake introduced Keyitec's real-time battery management solution, designed to address the bank's challenges comprehensively. Extended Battery Life, Reduced Costs Real-time monitoring optimizes battery performance, minimizes overcharging and extends battery life, thus saving the bank millions in unnecessary replacements. Seamless, Reliable Operations Keyitec provides 24/7 monitoring, proactive maintenance, and instant alerts to prevent unexpected failures, ensuring uninterrupted service and satisfied customers. Reduced Overhead and Emergency Risks By automating battery checks, Keyitec eliminates the need for quarterly manual inspections, reducing labor costs and preventing costly emergency situations. Enhanced Safety Measures Advanced detection systems identify hazards like overheating, overvoltage, and leaks, taking corrective action to prevent fire risks and ensure operational safety. The bank took a critical step to prevent future disruptions by implementing Keyitec immediately, protecting its reputation, customers, and operational efficiency. Why Regular Replacements Were Not Enough This was indeed a hard lesson for Jake and his team that even with regular battery replacements, incorrect charging systems can cause catastrophic failures. For them, this incident was a wake-up call—a reminder that in the world of 24/7 operations, being reactive is no longer enough. Preventing disasters before they happen is the only way forward. This incident was a wake-up call—a reminder that in the world of 24/7 operations, being reactive is no longer enough. Preventing disasters before they happen is the only way forward. With Keyitec, Jake and the team now has a full-proof strategy to prevent disasters:
If you are running a financial institution, keep in mind that its not enough to replace batteries on time—continuous monitoring, system calibration, and predictive tools are essential to ensuring batteries are charged within safe limits, so that you can escape emergencies like this. Secure your bank's operations with Keyitec's comprehensive battery management solutions. Powered by MarketEngine from StartupWind
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