How One of the Largest U.S. School Districts Streamlined UPS Management with Critical Labs
When one of the nation’s largest school districts launched a network refresh for more than 1,800 schools, they faced a significant challenge: ensuring reliable, right-sized power capacity for every location without overextending budgets or resources. With thousands of UPS units to manage, site-by-site assessments and upgrades would have been prohibitively expensive and time-consuming.
The Challenge
Powering a Network Refresh Across 1,800 Schools
Modernizing the district’s network meant ensuring that every site had the reliable power capacity to meet current and future demands.
A clear, data-backed roadmap was needed to ensure the network refresh would succeed without unnecessary overspending or disruption.
Key Obstacles:
- No visibility into the health and remaining life of existing UPS systems
- Unaware of capacity requirements for upgraded networking equipment
- Unclear which UPS units required immediate replacement versus those safe to keep in service.
- Unsure how to coordinate replacements and upgrades across 1,800 locations without excessive travel and labor costs.
The Solution
Data-Driven UPS Lifecycle Planning with Critical Labs
The district partnered with Critical Labs to gain the visibility and insight needed to make informed decisions about its power infrastructure.
With data at their fingertips, the district could confidently plan for its network refresh while staying within budget.
Using our platform, they were able to:
- Generate detailed reports on battery health, UPS lifecycle status, and site-by-site capacity requirements
- Develop a prioritized, three-year migration plan for UPS replacement
- Use Critical Labs’ web card configuration tools to remotely configure new UPS units, eliminating the need for on-site visits
- Standardize the UPS fleet across two models, simplifying future maintenance and support
The Results
Standardization, Savings, and a Clear Upgrade Path
By leveraging Critical Labs’ lifecycle management and capacity reporting tools, the district transformed what could have been a costly, complex upgrade into a manageable, cost-efficient project. With clear insight into battery health, capacity requirements, and future needs, the district is better positioned to maintain uptime and support its growing network infrastructure.
A strategic, data-driven approach delivered significant operational and financial benefits for the school district..
- Three-year UPS migration plan created, with clear priorities for replacement
- Hundreds of thousands saved annually in travel costs, resource time, and per diem over the three-year program
- Remote configuration tools eliminated the need to visit 1,800 sites for new UPS installations
- Properly sized and standardized the UPS fleet, reducing complexity and long-term support costs
Real results from real customers.
Take control of what's critical.
Request a personalized demo today and experience the difference of data-driven lifecycle planning.