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How small form-factor PC components are delivering channel organisations a new wave of opportunity

The Intel®️ NUC Elements Family is a simple, elegant concept that offers some real value to the channel. It is a collection of small, modular components that allow people to create bespoke solutions for their specific needs. With Rugged and Pro options, the NUC Element Family can be used for everything, from home office use, through to powering the giant displays in retail locations, and right through to difficult environments like factories.

Intel pitches this as a solution with several key benefits for operation, management, as well as both content creation and consumption. These benefits include:

  • Power: the small form factor, as well as the integration of Intel’s latest technology, means that the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family product line is efficient and minimise the carbon impact of the devices.

  • Portable: The size of any Intel®️ NUC Elements Family device, regardless of configuration, means that it is lightweight and easy transport. This makes it particularly effective as a portable solution for events, retail environments, and so on, whether the technology needs to be mobile.

  • Easy maintenance and management: the modular nature of Intel NUC Element means that it is easy for users to replace parts, remove parts for service, and do so in minutes. This technology has been built to be robust, and the ability to quickly swap parts and modify NUC Element solutions means that users face a minimum of downtime.

  • An extensive third-party ecosystem: from notebooks to chassis and cooling equipment (AIOs), the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family is compatible with and supported by a broad range of third-party technology that further deepens the customisation available and the breadth of applications that the technology can be applied to.

Owing to this flexibility and the wide range of different available configurations, one of the principal benefits of the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family is that it can be leveraged by the channel for three ends:

  • Meet customer needs: There is no need for partners to attempt to push the square peg through the circular hole. The customisability and flexibility with which to build custom solutions allows Intel partners to deliver a value-add in delivering something that specifically addresses the customer challenges.

  • Minimise development expense: Thanks to the breadth of modular solutions and the ability to ruggedise the solution, partners can minimise costs in developing a system capable of operating within the most challenging environments, which is usually something that adds substantially to the costs. Furthermore, custom solutions can be pieced together without the need for additional R&D.

  • Speed to market: The modular, customisable nature of the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family eliminates several steps in the product design process, and streamlines it from concept, to integration, to production.  

The partner experience with Intel NUC Elements

Computer Alliance's team of experts can tailor and rapidly deploy an Intel®️ NUC Elements Family solution that accommodates a wide array of environments such as POS, visual displays, warehouse automation and manufacturing. After the initial deployment, the team can confidently provide rapid upgrades to existing NUC Elements solutions with minimal down-time that ensures the client’s technology continues to facilitate their success

In addition to being versatile in terms of the vertical customers that can benefit from the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family solutions, it is also a solution that has equal traction in small businesses through to enterprise. The small form factor means that it can provide powerful computing to SMEs with limited space, while it can also be tailored towards highly specialised, value-creating roles within enterprise.

For example, the live events space has been highly disrupted over the past year, with social distancing and lockdowns forcing them to adjust their models to focus on streaming capabilities. Computer Alliance has been able to develop the kind of high-performance, rich multimedia experience that events organisations need to deliver a quality live-streaming experience.

The technology is equally at home in office environments, particularly those that have a lot of remote workers now. An Intel®️ NUC Elements Family Solution excels in this area and provides enough computing power to drive a plethora of apps such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Blizz with off the shelf USB peripherals like the Logitech Meetup or Rally. With the development of these IO standards that can greatly benefit clients, there is a need to implement these upgrades in a rapid and simple manner that minimizes the client’s downtime.

As a channel play, Computer Alliance benefits from not only being able to structure a solution around the Intel®️ NUC Elements Family but attach peripherals and other attachments – the “all-in-one” opportunity sits squarely with the channel partner.

The most innovative aspect of an Intel®️ NUC Elements Family solution is their ability to morph with the customer’s needs, rather than remain static. The Intel NUC paradigm gave customers a unique platform that addressed their concerns – while still being able to adapt with RAM or Storage upgrades – but still needed to be upgraded for major advances.

Ultimately, businesses look to channel partners to develop solutions that are specifically tailored to their needs. To do that, the channel partner needs flexibility, scalability, and reliable technology. The Intel®️ NUC Elements Family delivers all three of those qualities, allowing the channel partner to become a genuine value-adding resource to their customers.

For more information on the Intel NUC Element family, and the benefits it brings to the channel, click here.