Microsoft’s Surface tablet is coming to the UK channel.
The announcement that Surface would be made available for commercial distribution was made at yesterday’s Microsoft’s World Partner Conference 2013 in Houston.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced recently that Surface would be sold via the channel in the US, and now the software giant says it will be opening up its Devices Programme to 28 more countries – including the UK – by the end of September.
“There’s a lot of pent-up demand for it,” admits partner strategy and programme director, Janet Gibbons, who says Microsoft UK will be working on appointing authorised resellers by its September deadline.
In his keynote, corporate VP of the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft, Jon Roskill, described the move as “a thoughtful, phased approach of bringing business customers to MS Surface.”
Microsoft partners have reportedly been frustrated at Microsoft’s decision this far to sell both the Surface RT and the Surface Pro via retail channels only. However, the firm was yesterday pitching the tablet as a better choice for businesses than the rival Apple iPad.
Tami Reller, Microsoft's chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows, described Surface as “hands down more productive than an iPad” for business.
Elsewhere the vendor announced a new incentives programme for authorised resellers and OEM distributors, which will see them receive incentives for selling featured touch-enabled devices running Windows 8.
The TouchWins programme will provide per-device incentives – up to $10 per Pro tablet – to partners who sell featured PCs and tablets with Pro and Touch, including Surface Pro.
