Михаил Ва́зисов: «Мы успешно реализовали модель сервиса, которая была свойственна брендам категории А»

Mikhail Vazisov, General Manager of Ippon in Russia, answers questions from the IXBT.PRO editorial team.

Mikhail, how many years have you been working in the uninterruptible power supply market, and how do you assess the Russian UPS market?

I have been working in the UPS market for more than 14 years. Currently, more than 25 brands are represented on the domestic market, and despite the current state of affairs in the economy, their number has not decreased significantly this year. The Russian market is attractive from the point of view of development potential, even though end consumers often abandon UPSs, and this is due to changes in consumer experience and preference for smartphones, laptops, and improved power grid quality. At the same time, corporate users are increasingly aware that they need a UPS for work, and in some areas, such as data centers, it is simply a must-have purchase. Everyone prefers to reserve the security of their business operations in every possible way. Despite the fact that this year the market is showing negative dynamics, it can be said that this is more characteristic of the entire economy. Nevertheless, interest in projects remains among both our partners and end customers. Moreover, our market share is increasing.

Do you have the feeling that your company has been feeling more confident in the Russian market over the past three years?

Yes, of course, since 2022 was a kind of Rubicon for us. We had to completely rebuild both logistics chains, product business models, and the product strategy line as part of risk diversification. For example, during this time, we significantly expanded the number of production sites. Now there are seven of them, and there were only two. This enabled us to respond more flexibly and quickly to changes in market conditions, including sanctions risks. Our end users and partners are accustomed to the level of service provided by brands that have officially left our country, and we have built a similar level of service. Having started the process of completely revising the product model range last year, we successfully completed it at the beginning of this year, and yes, we managed to successfully implement a service model that was typical of category "A" brands. As a result, we can say that we have significantly increased our market share, and have also successfully integrated all processes into the current realities.

Are your significant competitors behaving correctly in the Russian market?

This is business, and in business, as in war, there are no rules. Nevertheless, I can say that we have no significant conflicts with competitors. Just ordinary working moments. Of course, we are better at some things, and they are better at others, but this is a living market. Competition is designed to make companies work better.

In the spring, you brought the first batch of UPSs with sodium batteries to Russia. How did the Russian market react to the new technology?

The UPS market is quite conservative. Therefore, we understood that we would need serious efforts and a significant amount of time to test the new technology. In addition, the market is now focused on B2B solutions. These are project solutions that require long implementation times. That is, we brought the equipment, showed it to the client, held a press conference, and provided demo samples. After that, our partners began to offer this product in projects. And since the project horizon is now, on average, from three months to two years, I think that the first serious results can only be summed up at the end of 2025.

What I can say at the moment: there is interest in the technology - we receive a very large number of requests and questions about this technology. Naturally, most customers, since the basis of their business protection is energy security, are cautious about the technology and say that there are proven technologies, such as lead and lithium, which have been on the market for quite a long time and have proven themselves well in some respects, and not very well in others. So far, they don’t know what to expect from sodium, so they naturally need experience and installations at the facilities of other partners in order to make an informed decision. In general, we are confident in the technology and continue to refine the models to fully meet the current market requirements.

If in other technological solutions the main limiting factor for increasing the warranty period is battery wear, then UPSs with sodium do not have this problem. Why?

Sodium-ion batteries support more than 2000 recharge cycles, so there is simply no need to replace the batteries during the entire service life of the UPS. To date, the warranty for all IPPON UPSs with sodium-ion batteries is 3 years.

In February 2025, you presented new models with "Na+" in your single-phase solutions in Murmansk to show that they work well at sub-zero temperatures?

Yes, you are right. This beautiful northern city was indeed chosen for a reason. Murmansk in winter is an abundance of snow, proximity to the North Pole and low temperatures, that is, everything that symbolically echoes our Na+ UPSs in white cases. Moreover, sodium really works well in the cold - this is one of its key positive qualities.

What characteristics of sodium-ion batteries exceed the characteristics of batteries made of lithium or lead-acid types that are familiar to the market?

Among the technological advantages of the new UPSs with sodium-ion batteries: a wide range of operating temperatures, including during storage and transportation. UPSs with lead-acid batteries need to be recharged every 3-6 months during storage, while sodium batteries can be stored for up to 12 months. Sodium solutions charge 3 times faster, and when fully discharged, unlike lead, they retain their capacity and functionality. Also, unlike traditional lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries, sodium is resistant to low temperatures, fire safety and the possibility of localization. In terms of service life, sodium-ion batteries significantly outperform lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, and they are much cheaper to operate than lithium-ion batteries.

How is the service maintenance of sodium-ion batteries provided? Is it necessary to organize additional training?

No special training is required. A sodium battery can be repeatedly and for a long time subjected to deep discharge without compromising its performance, capacity and internal resistance. Special maintenance is also not required. To charge sodium-ion batteries in a UPS, you need to connect the UPS to the network and leave it turned on for 1 hour.

Can you tell us a little more about the service?

Yes, of course, we have launched a system for commissioning equipment and an extended SLA service system. This allows the client not to think about the need for technical inspection of the UPS, any routine maintenance, or how to ensure its operability. When concluding a contract with Ippon or with our service partners, you get a guarantee of equipment operability, performance of routine maintenance and replacement of consumables, so you can safely concentrate on other tasks. Accordingly, all service problems fall on the manufacturer, and the client saves time resources and is not distracted by insignificant details. In my opinion, this is the main task of our service.

Please tell us about the largest project in which new models with sodium were used.

Unfortunately, due to commercial secrets, we cannot name the partner company. I can only say that it was a large supply of three-phase online UPSs on sodium batteries with additional batteries. Why was this equipment chosen? Since the UPS installation area is without heating and it was very important for the client that the UPS withstands sub-zero temperatures without strong degradation. According to the technical specifications, the UPS had to withstand up to -15 degrees, our sodium holds up to -20, so there were no problems with this. The customer wanted to replace lead-acid batteries with sodium-ion batteries, since they, in such conditions, despite the declared service life of 10 years, actually "lived" for a year and a half.

What does the use of Na+ in UPSs give in terms of charging speed?

The high charging speed allows you to charge a sodium-ion battery to 90% capacity in less than 1 hour. The charging speed of sodium-ion batteries is up to ten times faster than lead-acid batteries and up to three times faster than lithium-ion batteries.

Do you plan to use artificial intelligence in the production of UPSs?

Since UPSs are produced at partner factories, this is, after all, more of a question for the vendor, but, nevertheless, some elements of AI are used in production. The first sign of digitalization was the introduction of the "Internet of Things" in some of our models. It started three years ago with the Unity IoT and the new RT II IoT models. This technology has actually simplified life - we receive positive feedback from a number of our clients. As for AI directly in UPSs, not in production, but in the operation of UPSs - this topic is also being worked out. Probably, it will become the leitmotif of 2026-2027 and the product models of these years.

Some time ago, heavy three-phase solutions for data centers appeared in the Ippon line. Has your company already begun to be perceived as a company producing three-phase solutions for data centers?

We had to work quite hard in this direction to break the "ice" of the existing perception, but, most importantly, we succeeded. Returning to what I said earlier, it is important to remember that the market is conservative and customers of equipment for data centers are as conservative as possible, since the price of an error is enormous - it is simply incommensurable with the price of a UPS. Therefore, all customers at the data center level prefer to focus on those brands that have a long history, a large service staff and confidence in the product. However, since the market and the representation of brands have completely changed, they were forced to switch their attention to other manufacturers. We also did a lot of work in this direction. Now, answering your question, I can confidently say that we are indeed perceived as a player in the market of three-phase solutions for data centers. And, of course, there is already a lot of evidence for this, including our first megawatt project implemented last year. Previously, this was an unattainable value for us, but now it has become not so rare in our projects.

In March, you released a new series of uninterruptible power supplies TA/TAE...

Yes, there are six models in this series now. The Na+ TA series includes Tower type models with C13 output sockets, 3 models from 1000 VA/1000 W to 3000 VA/3000 W. The Na+ TAE series includes Tower type models with Schuko (EURO) output sockets, 3 models from 1000 VA/1000 W to 3000 VA/3000 W.

Who are the main buyers of these models?

We recommend this equipment for data processing centers, server rooms, medical institutions and industrial enterprises. For those who need high power in combination with increased autonomy time, who want to minimize maintenance costs or those who need to operate the UPS in a wide temperature range.

Do TA/TAE models have remote control capabilities?

Yes, they do. If the client needs this function, he can separately purchase an SNMP card, which allows remote monitoring and control, and also allows you to maintain the continuous operation of critical systems, which minimizes the risks of data loss and downtime.

In June, Ippon released even newer UPSs - the TA and RTA series were replenished with 6 and 10 K models. This is a powerful single-phase Na+. How quickly can Ippon fulfill an order for these new models in Russia?

That's right. First, we try to maintain a wide range of products in stock in Moscow. Secondly, in the case when a delivery is needed for a very large project, Ippon can fulfill almost any order within 2.5-3 months.

How many factories, sites have mastered the production of batteries with sodium?

At the moment, this is one site. Since this is a new technology and we have an exclusive agreement to supply such solutions to the CIS market, in the current realities, scaling production or using different sites is simply ineffective. First of all, because other manufacturers are just starting to implement this technology, and secondly, because the market volume for sodium is not very large yet.

In the first half of 2025, you held several presentations of your sodium-ion batteries in Novosibirsk and other regions. How did the regional market react to your technology?

If we talk specifically about the regional market, then, as a rule, it follows the market of the Central Federal District, so there is also interest. However, as I said, we will be able to assess the actual interest no earlier than the end of this year, but, nevertheless, we can already talk about very great interest. For example, after several months of our information and market activity, at the end of April, the President of Russia came up with an initiative to work out the issue of producing sodium batteries in Russia as one of the promising technological options for reserving electricity. I consider this an important milestone in a long journey.

Tell us, have there been any significant changes in the Ippon product line this year?

The most important thing is that this year we completed a major transformation of the line. As part of our new product strategy, we released optimum and premium class products, as well as heavy Ippon batteries - for building solutions on our components. And in August, we significantly updated the three-phase line, presenting models that were developed exclusively for our requirements. I am sure that the most interesting things are yet to come!