Frost & Sullivan sees competitive UPS Market. (News).(uninterruptible power supplies)(Brief Article)

SAN JOSE, CA -- A New Frost and Sullivan study, World UPS Markets forecasts recovery of industry revenues by 2003 and steady rise through 2007, after falling off in 2000 and 2001. Frost and Sullivan attributed the UPS industry revenue decline to a sharp downturn in telecom spending and a sluggish U.S. economy, which led to a downturn in network equipment sales as well as upgrades and replacements for UPSs

Frost and Sullivan notes that industry competition is fairly intense, with almost 50% of the market controlled by a handful of companies, including American Power Conversion, Invensys Powerware, Liebert Corporation, and MGE UPS Systems. These comapanies are fairly well established and have strong global presence through wide distribution channels and competitive prices. Their presence has been further enforced by strong brand recognition, which has developed over long periods of time.

Furthermore, these vendors have expanded their product portfolios to include complementary services and products including air conditioners, replacement batteries, DC power systems, surge suppressors, and monitoring equipment, software, and services.

On the downside, the Frost and Sullivan reports that market participants will have to overcome price declines and poor product differentiation to maintain profits. The core technology for UPS systems has existed for more than 40 years. Though suppliers have introduced more manageable, compact, and. reliable systems over the years, there are now very few features to distinguish one ...