Ugreen is a well-known global name in consumer electronics and accessories, having built a reputation for delivering high-quality products at affordable prices.
Now, the Schenzen, China-based electronics manufacturer is bringing this same formula to the network-attached storage (NAS) market.
“The NAS offerings are the latest in a broad consumer electronics line-up from Ugreen,” explains Jason Nell, private label product manager at Syntech Distribution. “Ugreen has a wide range of products that include cables, CAT cables, keyboards, mice, and power stations.”
The manufacturer has become a household name around the world thanks to its ubiquitous retail presence.
“They started off in China, but by 2022 had expanded to about 10 000 offline stores in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America,” Nel says. “This is an impressive footprint, seeing more than 400-million people buying the Ugreen brand at retailers and airports around the world.”
The recent move into NAS targets a broader user base and extends the Ugreen reach beyond the consumer market to include home office and SME customers too.
“NAS is not an easy product to do well,” points out Craig Nowitz, CEO of Syntech Distribution. “For NAS to act as a proper file storage device, it’s crucial that the software is up to scratch.”
This is something the Ugreen took very seriously: once it had designed its NAS hardware, the company raised funds via Kick Starter to enable the design of the best possible software.
With a R100-million investment under its belt, Ugreen was able to employ top software engineers to develop and maintain top-quality NAS software.
In fact, Nel points out that Ugreen has a powerhouse team of 400 engineers and R&D personnel – resulting in a top-rated NAS solution.
And it means the expertise is in-house, so software updates and tweaks can be done quickly.
Target market
Nowitz explains that the Ugreen NAS solutions are targeted at the general consumer and home user, as well as small businesses and start-ups.
“So it doesn’t compete with B2B offerings out there,” he says. “But as the software continues to develop, I think this product will become a good fit for the B2B market as well.”
NAS is a centralised storage device that allows multiple users to connect and share data from various locations.
As such, home users, SMEs, and startups would benefit from the solution.
“We also expect to see creative professionals taking to the Ugreen NAS as well,” Nowitz says. “These users have large quantities of data that they need to access quickly. They need fast access to large storage.
“This is where Ugreen NAS shines, offering newer standards and faster access than most of its competitors.”
Use cases
There are multiple use cases for Ugreen NAS solutions, including data backup, file sharing, media streaming, remote access, personal cloud, and hosting of light applications.
It is often used as an alternative or extension to cloud storage for consumers or small businesses.
“Just look at the amount of data that people have on their cell phones,” says Nowitz. “Many users run out of storage very soon, and quickly exceed the free cloud allocations. Buying additional cloud storage can quickly become expensive. And there is still a concern about security and privacy in the cloud.
“Instead, a Ugreen NAS is the ideal device to store all of this data on-site.”
Why UGreen?
A big differentiator for Ugreen is the fact that it doesn’t prescribe specific hard drive devices.
“Some NAS providers insist on the own hard drives which can lead to limited availability and higher prices,” says Nell.
“And Ugreen is disk-agnostic, allowing either 2,5-inch or 3,5-inch drives from any manufacturer, which gives it a big boost.”
The NAS units are all 8-bit as standard, but– unlike most competitive brands – can be upgraded to 16-bit or 32-bit.
The fact that Ugreen has picked up 20% of its competitors’ market share demonstrates that users like what it offers.
Ugreen NAS comes with full solid-state drive (SSD) capability and includes RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) for redundancy, data replication, and backup.
A 10Gb Ethernet port makes it the ideal storage device for creative users as large files can run at high speed.
Importantly, the Ugreen NAS products are easy for users to set up and use. “The software is the big differentiator with these products, making them very user-friendly,” says Nowitz.
The Syntech value-add
Syntech Distribution has been aware of the Ugreen brand and its wide solution offering for some time. In fact, for several years, it was a competitor to some of the other products that used to be in the Syntech stable.
When loadshedding became a major issue in South Africa, Syntech took on the Ugreen power station offering and later added some of the accessories and peripherals. This year, it has also taken on the NAS offerings.
“We have been impressed by the fantastic quality and design of the Ugreen products,” says Nowitz. “They compete favourably with the top international brands.”
Syntech has its own accessories brand, and Ugreen is a great fit that allows the distributor to round out its offerings. As an international brand, users have easy access to product information and reviews, so they feel comfortable that it’s a quality offering.
“Ugreen has a big range of products, so we can carry smaller quantities that cover a much wider range of solutions,” says Nowitz. “We have seen massive growth with Ugreen products, and are looking to expand the SKUs that we carry.”
Nowitz adds that Syntech Distribution adds value through brand analysis, channel analysis, merchandising, marketing, and building the Ugreen brand.
UGreen NAS solutions
The UGreen NASync series of NAS solutions addresses the diverse needs of home users, small businesses, studios, and creative professionals offering data storage, sharing, and backup.
The Ugreen NASync DXP480T Plus is tailored for creative and media professionals, boasting a 12th Gen 10-core Intel Core processor and expandable 8Gb DDR 5 memory, and a 10Gbe network port.
Importantly, the DXP480T is based on the all-inclusive, easy-to-use app
Other features include:
- Professional data security: Reliable data storage and high-strength encryption
- All-Flash massive data storage: Up to 18Tb of fast read-write SSD storage space
- Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports for fast data transmission
- Integrated smart assistant: Smart recognition and classification and the ability to search pictures by text
- Subtle, Aluminium allow design: Expanded durability and portable size
The Ugreen NASync DXP6800 and DXP8800 Series is recommended for power users and small businesses.
With dual 10Gbe network ports, the devices come with a 12th Gen Intel Core processor, the all-inclusive app, Exandale 8Gb DDR5 memory and professional data security.
The DXP6800 includes 6-bay, massive data storage, with up to 140Tb of storage space.
The DXP8800 includes 8-bay, massive data storage with up to 184Tb of storage space. It also boasts dual Thunderbold 4 ports.
The Ugreen NASync DXP2800 and DXP4800 Series are designed for personal and home use, running one, all-inclusive app.
The devices offer a 12th Gen Intel processor, professional data security and smart classification including the ability to search pictures by text. Both include expandable DDR5 memory for efficient and effective multi-tasking.
The DXP2800 is a 2-bay, massive storage device with up to 52Tb of storage space, and boasts a 2.5Gbe network port that enables high-speed file transfers.
The DXP4800 offers 4-bay, massive data storage of up to 96Tb, and a 10Gbe network port for high-speed file transfers.