Emerson Survey Reveals That Majority Of Small U.S. Companies Do Not Have Back-up Power Systems
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 13, 2008 – If the power goes out, will America’s small businesses be prepared? Not really, according to the results of a recent survey commissioned by Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR) and the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™.
The survey results indicate that the issue is not really “if” the power will go out but “when.” Consider these statistics:
· 79 percent of the small-business decision-makers surveyed experienced at least one power outage in 2007.
· 67 percent of respondents anticipate experiencing outages again in the next 12 months.
· Even more alarming is that of the small businesses that experienced outages in 2007, 42 percent had to close their businesses during the longest outages.
And while small-business decision-makers ranked outages above fire, government regulation, weather damage, theft, and employee turnover as threats to their businesses, only 39 percent of them have back-up power systems, leaving 61 percent vulnerable to the negative business impacts of outages.
“Keeping the lights on, the computers running, and employees working during a power outage is important for any business, but particularly for small businesses,” said Ed Feeney, an Emerson executive vice president who heads up Emerson Network Power’s Systems business, which provides back-up power technologies. “Their margin for error is thinner and the competition’s tighter, so even a brief outage can do significant harm. This makes back-up power systems a fundamental part of business continuity.”
In a tight economy, a plunge into darkness could put a small business in the red. On average, power outages cost about $80 billion each year, with most losses – 98 percent – borne by businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Emerson’s survey findings are alarming considering that more than 99 percent of all American businesses are small businesses, with these companies generating 45 percent of the total U.S. payroll,” said Steve Strauss, nationally syndicated business columnist and author of “The Small Business Bible.” “It is critical that small enterprises have a business-continuity plan that includes back-up power systems to keep the business running when the main power source goes down.”
John Zagara, owner of Zagara’s Marketplace, a Cleveland-area supermarket, needs no convincing. “During the massive blackout of August 2003, the power went out mid-afternoon. Our back-up power system automatically switched my electrical source to a natural gas-powered generator which ran all registers and certain refrigerated equipment,” Zagara said. “Our front-end staff continued to check out customers until closing at 9 p.m. Our customers were in awe of our service delivery.” Zagara’s back-up power equipment enabled him to not only continue serving customers, but to save meat and frozen foods, valuable perishable inventory.
Zagara utilizes a back-up generator and an ASCO power transfer switch from Emerson Network Power. A power transfer switch automatically detects a loss of power from the main power source and turns on a back-up generator within seconds. When the main source of power returns, the switch safely shuts down the generator and reconnects to the main power source.
To help small businesses understand the impacts of power outages, Emerson Network Power has launched a back-up power information resource at www.emerson.com/smallbusiness. It includes an online tool small companies can use to measure their vulnerability to the impacts of outages.
Emerson Network Power released the findings of the survey in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the Great Blackout of 2003, which began on Aug. 14, 2003, when an overgrown tree tangled with sagging power lines in Ohio and triggered a series of human and technology gaffes that resulted in the largest power outage in North American history. The blackout left 50 million people in the Northeastern United States and Canada in the dark – some for days – and cost the economy an estimated $6 billion in productivity.
About Emerson Network Power
Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™ from grid to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, monitoring, and connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services at www.EmersonNetworkPower.com.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE:EMR), based in St. Louis, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.
About the Survey
Between June 17 and 30, 2008, Decision Analyst Inc., a leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm, conducted an online survey of 451 small-business decision-makers on the topic of power outages. Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson, commissioned the survey.
The survey was conducted using a proprietary online panel of more than 110,000 executives in businesses of all sizes. (More than 27,000 of these executives are in small companies, defined as having 99 or fewer employees.)
Panelists are recruited through direct mail, telephone calls, email and distribution lists, and banner ads on select Web sites. All participants must “opt-in” to participate in surveys. Decision Analyst continuously refreshes its panel with new recruits to offset attrition.
An online study is appropriate with this target audience because small-business executives have access to and use the Internet.