Partner Content: Guide your customers into the new AI computing era

Lenovo and Intel position Aura Edition AI PCs as channel growth engine amid adoption and ROI challenges

Lenovo and Intel are positioning their Aura Edition Series as a key vehicle for channel partners to capitalise on the growing AI PC market, as vendors seek to address partner uncertainty around ROI, messaging and customer adoption.

Speaking during a webinar hosted by CRN UK, Lenovo EMEA Channel Lead Ilenia Lupi and Intel EMEA Partner Sales Director for System Integrators Norberto Carrascal outlined how the jointly developed devices are designed to move AI from experimentation to everyday business use.

The push comes as partners continue to grapple with uneven adoption.

While interest in AI PCs is growing, many organisations are still in early deployment stages, creating an opening for partners to guide customers through device refresh cycles and AI strategy.

“The AI PC adoption today is still developing at different speeds across markets, but what we clearly see is growing momentum,” said Lupi.

“Customers are increasingly recognising the value that AI can bring to their work.”

Aura Edition positioned beyond hardware refresh

Lenovo and Intel stressed that Aura Edition devices are not being pitched as a traditional hardware upgrade, but as a long-term platform aligned to evolving AI workloads and workplace transformation.

Lupi said the vendor is encouraging partners to shift conversations away from specifications and upfront cost, and towards user experience, productivity and total cost of ownership.

“Windows 11 migration represents an important trigger for device refresh cycles, but the opportunity goes far beyond a simple operating system upgrade,” she said.

“It’s a critical moment for organisations to reassess the platform they will depend on for the next phase of digital transformation and AI adoption.”

Built on Intel’s latest Core Ultra Series 3 processors, the devices are designed to support on-device AI workloads, reducing reliance on cloud processing while improving performance, battery life and data control.

Carrascal added that AI PCs are reaching a market inflection point, with hardware adoption now driving software ecosystem change.

“We have now launched the third generation of Core Ultra processors with an NPU engine.

“We estimate that about 50 per cent of the PCs that we will sell this year will be AI PCs.”

User-led approach aims to differentiate Aura

Both speakers emphasised that Aura Edition’s positioning differs from broader AI PC messaging by focusing on user experience rather than technology alone.

“The way to think about Aura is that it flips the usual approach,” Lupi noted.

“The goal was to build something that feels natural and immediately useful, not something that users have to learn.”

She pointed to features such as Smart Modes, Smart Share and Smart Care, designed to embed AI into everyday workflows without requiring behavioural change.

Carrascal explained that the joint development approach, including input from thousands of users, aimed to deliver tangible outcomes around performance, battery life and security.

“Security remains the cornerstone of this partnership.

“We can offer users a robust multi-layer security approach, while also delivering significant performance improvements.”

ROI remains key barrier for partners

Despite growing momentum, both vendors acknowledged that demonstrating ROI remains a major challenge for partners selling AI PCs.

Lenovo’s approach centres on helping partners build business cases tied to specific user personas and use cases, rather than broad AI positioning, explained the vendor’s EMEA Channel Lead.

“The challenge with AI PCs is that if you keep the conversation too broad, it’s hard to build the business case.

“The first step is to narrow it down: who benefits most, and what tasks can be improved?”

Carrascal echoed this, highlighting the need for tailored messaging depending on customer segment and user type.

“The business case is totally different for a corporate company, for an SMB or for education.

“You need to differentiate the customers you are addressing.”

Use cases range from productivity gains for office workers to performance improvements for technical users, with vendors pointing to measurable benefits such as time savings, battery efficiency and faster AI execution.

Channel enablement under scrutiny

The discussion also highlighted a broader enablement gap in the channel, with many partners still lacking confidence in leading AI PC conversations.

Lupi highlighted that Lenovo is attempting to address this through its Lenovo 360 framework, which provides sales tools, training and marketing resources across the full sales cycle.

“When partners don’t feel supported, it’s often because they cannot find the tools or resources they need.

“Within Lenovo 360, partners have a single framework that supports everything from identifying use cases to deployment.”

Intel pointed to its own developer tools, including AI model-building platforms, designed to help partners create and demonstrate AI use cases more easily.

Shift towards ‘agentic’ AI devices

Looking ahead, both execs signalled that AI PCs will evolve beyond current capabilities, with a shift towards so-called “agentic” systems.

Lupi said future devices will feature embedded AI agents capable of working continuously on behalf of users across devices.

“AI is moving from something you use occasionally to something that works on your behalf all the time,” she said.

For partners, this evolution presents both an opportunity and a risk, with vendors warning that those who fail to build AI expertise now could fall behind.

“The critical mass is reached,” said Intel’s EMEA Partner Sales Director for System Integrators.

“The software industry is moving, and the market will move very quickly.”

Both speakers urged partners to invest in skills, identify high-value use cases and leverage existing vendor tools to accelerate adoption.

“Make sure you adopt and lead by example,” Carrascal added.

Hear more from our panellists on how Lenovo and Intel are positioning Aura Edition AI PCs as a channel growth engine by watching the full webinar here.

This article is sponsored by Lenovo and Intel.