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Quick Thoughts On Microsoft Surface

By on June 19, 2012

Yesterday, Microsoft announced their tablet strategy with Microsoft Surface, a well designed tablet going head to head with iPad and Android Tablets. I thought I will add my quick thoughts on this announcement.

  • In spite of all the positives about Surface, what stands out is that Microsoft is clueless about the availability and pricing. If I were Steve Ballmer, I wouldn’t be running an event where I can’t even announce the availability and pricing. Even better, I would have the tablets ready to go on sale exactly at the end of the event and “Wow-ed” the customers. It is important to not give any thinking time if they really wanted to take advantage of impulse buying. To be frank, I would have bought the tablet on an impulse buy if it was available immediately after the event.
  • Microsoft Surface will be a killer tablet if they include MS Office with deeper integration to Office 365. I would expect a seamless experience with MS Office and Cloud.
  • If I were Microsoft, I would position the device as an enterprise tablet device than a consumer device.
  • Ecosystem is the key to success of Surface. I am really not convinced that they have a strong strategy on that front. If they had one, they would have touted it during yesterday’s event. Unless they have a good set of tablet apps, it is going to be tough to convince end users.
  • If the stylus showcased Microsoft offers a smooth writing experience (unlike in the case of iPad or Android tablets), it will be a big winner. There is still a decent market for a tablet that could offer a seamless writing experience similar to paper.
  • Microsoft Surface should be tightly integrated with Microsoft cloud properties. If Microsoft fail to do it, they don’t deserve to be in the cloud business.
  • The impact on iPad will be minimal but if Microsoft executes well, it could impact Android tablets as Android on tablets is still a painful experience. Any impact on Android tablets will eventually give Microsoft some leverage on smartphone space.

These are some of the quick thoughts I had after following the event. I will reserve my opinion till I get to play with the device (whenever it is available in the market).

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Director, OpenShift Strategy at Red Hat. Founder of Rishidot Research, a research community focused on services world. His focus is on Platform Services, Infrastructure and the role of Open Source in the services era. Krish has been writing @ CloudAve from its inception and had also been part of GigaOm Pro Analyst Group. The opinions expressed here are his own and are neither representative of his employer, Red Hat, nor CloudAve, nor its sponsors.

4 responses to “Quick Thoughts On Microsoft Surface”

  1. Zoli Erdos
    Zoli Erdos June 19, 2012 at 6:20 am |

    I am already playing wih my Surface:-) http://twitpic.com/9y1ka3

  2. hemanth panyam
    hemanth panyam June 24, 2012 at 2:17 am |

    Couldnt agree more with Krishnan! If MS has to beat Apple or Google, it better take a serious look at its enterprise clients.

  3. Sriram Subramanian
    Sriram Subramanian June 24, 2012 at 7:58 pm |

    I expect the same regarding Office365, and I think that’s where it is heading to (RT comes with MS Office). They seem to target enterprise, which has been MS’ core. Though they haven’t touted on partner strategy, I would surprised if they don’t have a partner strategy around this/ touch devices – we should wait until GA. Also, MS customers are rarely impulse buyers – so I would think MS did correct by not announcing the exact availability.

    I agree on your take on impact on iPad and Android.