Eskom to boost laptop sales

By Leon Engelbrecht for The Notebook Company
Johannesburg, 23 Jan 2008

Eskom's inability to supply the economy with power is fast becoming a compelling argument in preferring laptops to desktops, says The Notebook Company.

CEO Christopher Riley says retailers are looking at a potential increase in the sale of laptops and wireless 3G connections - in addition to inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generators.

If Eskom's capacity problems continue for the next few years - as it is predicted they will - one of the knock-on affects will be an increase in the sale of laptops with 3G connections, as business professionals try to circumvent the communications impasse caused by rolling blackouts.

"Load-shedding is having a disastrous impact on business," Riley says. "Besides a 200% climb in the sale of generators, we are predicting an explosive growth of people opting for 3G connectivity. We are getting an increasing number of inquiries."

While this is good news for notebook suppliers, going wireless is not a 100% solution. "The use of laptops and 3G wireless connections will circumvent much of the communication problems caused by Eskom's rolling power blackouts. But it must be remembered that if, for instance, Vodacom towers are off due to power problems, wireless users will also be left in the dark, so to speak."

Riley says Vodacom has stated it does not expect any major disruptions, as its core infrastructure is equipped with battery backup, standby generators - or both. "Vodacom said that when it comes to base stations, the battery backups can last up to eight hours, depending on the frequency of outages in an area. What is important is the time available to re-charge," he says.

Citrix SA country manager Nick Keene adds that remote work still requires the company to keep its servers running, otherwise the laptop brigade cannot access e-mail, or the business applications they need - hence the importance of UPS and generators.

Keene says a European study has found a business that cannot trade for as little as eight days, in any given period, is bankrupt within as little as a year.

Riley agrees and emphasises that rolling power cuts can knock out communications between companies on different electrical grids for most of the business day. "If a connected laptop user sends a business file to a client in an area being affected by a power blackout, that information might only be received hours later when power is resumed.

"In fact, communication can almost end up existing in a loop: when a company in Brooklyn, Pretoria, wants to communicate with a company in Sandton, it cannot - because the Sandton-based company is facing load-shedding," Riley says.

"Conversely, when the Sandton company's power is restored - and it wants to communicate with the Brooklyn-based company, it cannot - because the Brooklyn company's power is now down. And this loop could repeat itself several times."