How pairing the hardware with the software creates a bundled offering resellers can take to market as a full solution.
We’ve spent nine articles talking about CloudGate mini PCs and CloudWare remote desktop as separate products. This one brings them together — because the real opportunity for resellers isn’t selling hardware or software in isolation. It’s selling a complete workspace solution.
The mini PC market is being driven by the convergence of remote work, edge computing, and digital workspace transformation — and that convergence demands both a capable endpoint and a flexible application delivery platform. CloudGate is the endpoint. CloudWare is the platform. Together, they give resellers a story that no single product can tell on its own.
Why the Bundle Matters
Let’s be direct about the commercial reality. A hardware-only sale is a transaction. The customer buys a mini PC, you make a margin, and you don’t hear from them until something breaks or they need a replacement in four years.
A hardware + software + services bundle is a relationship. The customer depends on you for the endpoint hardware, the remote access platform, the server recommendation, the deployment, and the ongoing support. That’s a multi-year engagement with multiple revenue streams:
Hardware margin on CloudGate mini PCs and any associated peripherals (monitors, mounts, UPS, keyboards).
Software margin on CloudWare licences and Windows Server licensing.
Professional services revenue from solution design, deployment, configuration, application testing, and user training.
Recurring support revenue from ongoing monitoring, maintenance, troubleshooting, and licence management.
Upgrade revenue when the customer grows, adds users, refreshes endpoints, or expands to new branches.
A reseller selling CloudGate alone might generate R10,000–R15,000 per seat in hardware revenue. A reseller selling the complete CloudGate + CloudWare stack with services might generate R20,000–R40,000 per seat in total engagement value over three years. That’s the difference between being a supplier and being a partner.
How the Two Products Work Together
The CloudGate + CloudWare combination creates a hybrid computing model that gives users the best of both worlds.
Local computing when it makes sense. The CloudGate R7 or R9 is a fully capable PC in its own right. For everyday tasks — web browsing, email, Microsoft 365, Teams calls, document editing — the mini PC handles everything locally on its own AMD Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB RAM. No server dependency, no network requirement, no latency. If the internet drops, the user keeps working on local applications.
Server-hosted applications when they’re needed. When the user needs to access a line-of-business application that runs on a central server — the accounting package, the ERP, the CRM, the practice management tool — they connect through CloudWare. The application appears on their CloudGate’s screen as if it were local, but it’s actually running on the server. The data stays centralised, the processing happens server-side, and the user doesn’t need to know or care about the underlying architecture.
Seamless failover during disruptions. During load shedding, if the office server has UPS protection (or is hosted externally), employees continue accessing server applications through CloudWare from wherever has power. The CloudGate’s low power draw means it can run on a modest UPS for an extended period. If connectivity drops entirely, the user falls back to local applications on the CloudGate until the connection is restored.
This hybrid approach avoids the all-or-nothing problem of thin clients (where everything depends on the server and network) while adding the centralised management and remote access capabilities that a standalone PC alone can’t provide.
Solution Architecture: What a Typical Deployment Looks Like
For a 25-seat SMB — an accounting firm, a law practice, a retail head office — here’s what the complete stack looks like:
At each desk: A CloudGate R7 (for general office users) or R9 (for power users), connected to a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and UPS. VESA-mounted behind the monitor for a clean desk. Running Windows 11 locally for everyday productivity.
In the server room (or hosted data centre): A Windows Server running CloudWare, hosting the business’s line-of-business applications. Configured with appropriate storage, backup, and UPS protection.
For remote/home workers: CloudWare HTML5 access through a web browser on any device — home PC, personal laptop, tablet. No client software installation needed. Alternatively, a CloudGate R7 at the home desk for a more permanent home office setup, connecting to CloudWare for server-side applications.
For branch offices: CloudGate mini PCs on every desk, running local applications independently. CloudWare provides access to head-office server applications over the WAN. If the WAN link drops, branch staff continue working on local applications — email, documents, web — until connectivity is restored.
Management layer: CloudWare’s admin interface provides centralised control over published applications, user access, and session management. IT support (you, the reseller) manages the server remotely and handles CloudGate endpoints through standard Windows management tools.
Four Packaged Solutions Resellers Can Take to Market
Rather than selling components, package the stack into named solutions that customers can understand and buy:
Solution 1: CloudGate Office For: General office environments, 5–50 seats CloudGate R7 endpoints + peripherals + UPS. No CloudWare — suitable for businesses that run everything locally or use SaaS applications exclusively. The entry-level offering that gets your foot in the door.
Solution 2: CloudGate + CloudWare Hybrid For: SMBs with server-hosted line-of-business applications, 10–50 seats CloudGate R7/R9 endpoints + CloudWare licences + server recommendation + deployment services. The sweet spot — local computing power on the endpoint combined with centralised application delivery. This is the solution most SA SMBs need but don’t know exists.
Solution 3: CloudGate Branch For: Multi-site businesses, head office + branches CloudGate endpoints at each branch + CloudWare connecting branches to head-office server applications. Centralised IT management, distributed autonomous endpoints. Ideal for retail chains, professional services firms with regional offices, and franchised businesses.
Solution 4: CloudGate Remote Workforce For: Businesses with significant remote/hybrid workforces CloudGate R7 units for permanent home office setups + CloudWare HTML5 access for occasional remote workers + server-side application hosting. Load-shedding resilient, BYOD-compatible, POPIA-compliant (data stays on the server, not on home devices).
Each of these solutions includes a natural professional services component (assessment, deployment, configuration, training) and an ongoing support opportunity. Price them as complete packages, not as itemised component lists.
The Reseller Business Model
Let’s talk about what this means for your business as a reseller.
Higher deal values. A CloudGate-only sale for 25 seats is a hardware deal. A CloudGate + CloudWare + server + deployment deal for 25 seats is a solutions deal worth 2–4x the hardware-only value.
Stickier customers. A customer who bought mini PCs from you might buy their next batch from whoever quotes lowest. A customer whose business runs on a CloudGate + CloudWare environment that you deployed, configured, and support is far harder for a competitor to displace. You’re embedded in their infrastructure.
Recurring revenue. Support contracts, licence renewals, monitoring services, and ad-hoc break-fix work generate monthly or annual revenue that smooths out the peaks and valleys of project-based hardware sales.
Referral generation. A well-deployed CloudGate + CloudWare solution becomes a reference site. When the customer’s accountant asks how they access Sage from home, or when a business associate visits the clean, modern office and asks about the setup behind the monitor — that’s organic lead generation you can’t buy.
Differentiation from online retailers. No online store can sell, deploy, and support a CloudGate + CloudWare solution. They can sell a box. You can solve a business problem. That distinction is your competitive moat.
Getting Started
If you’re a reseller reading this and thinking “this sounds right, but I’ve never sold remote desktop before” — that’s fine. Here’s the practical path:
Start with one customer. Identify a customer you already serve who has a pain point that CloudWare solves — remote access needs, an ageing RDS environment, load shedding productivity losses, or BYOD security concerns. Propose a pilot.
Lean on CloudGate’s support. Contact the CloudGate team for technical guidance, demo environments, and deployment assistance for your first few projects. You don’t have to know everything on day one — you just need to know enough to have the conversation and get the project started.
Build from reference sites. Every successful deployment becomes the proof point for the next sale. Document the outcome, get a testimonial if you can, and reference it in your next proposal.
Train your sales team. Share these articles with your team. Give them the language to have the conversation: “You need a device on the desk, and you need a way to access your server applications from anywhere. We sell both, and we can deploy and support the whole thing.”
Think in solutions, not products. The customer doesn’t care about mini PCs and remote desktop software as separate categories. They care about “my team needs to work from anywhere, securely, without it costing a fortune.” CloudGate + CloudWare is the answer. Package it, price it, sell it.
The Bottom Line
The IT reseller market is bifurcating. On one side, online retailers and marketplaces are commoditising hardware sales — competing on price in a race to the bottom. On the other, solutions-oriented resellers are building bundled offerings that combine hardware, software, services, and support into packages that online sellers can’t replicate.
CloudGate + CloudWare gives you the products to be on the right side of that split. A capable, affordable mini PC on every desk. A modern, accessible remote desktop platform connecting those endpoints to server-side applications. Professional services wrapping the deployment. Ongoing support locking in the relationship.
That’s not a product sale. That’s a business.
CloudGate mini PCs and CloudWare remote desktop solutions are available through authorised reseller channels. Contact CloudGate at info@cloudgate.co.za or call 010 140 4400 to discuss partnership opportunities, solution packaging, and demo environments. Visit www.cloudgate.co.za to learn more.