Intel APAC reseller channel operation channel chief director, Kamil Hasan, rounded out the sessions by admitting that 2011 was the "year of challenges" due to natural disasters in Japan and Thailand, as well as the Euro crisis.

"But the channel delivered: one in two desktops sold by the channel was with the Sandy Bridge Intel Core processor," he said.

According to Hasan, 98 per cent of all K-SKU processor based desktops were sold by channel, and there was 80 per cent year-on-year growth in channel SSD volumes in APAC.

AIOs were the fastest growing desktops in APAC last year, with a further 31 per cent growth expected going forward.

"In contrast, the traditional tower is expected to shrink by four per cent," he said.