Microsoft has revealed today that the company’s Surface line of products (which is basically the Surface RT and Surface Pro) have been expanded to seventeen new markets worldwide, at least in terms of commercial distribution. Microsoft recently began authorizing select distributors to sell the Surface devices.
“In 10 months since the initial launch of Microsoft Surface, we’ve moved to put Surface in the hands of more business customers around the world. Our plan has been to expand commercial distribution for Surface in a thoughtful way. This expansion continues to be via a select ecosystem of established channel partners with the precise geographical reach, tablet selling experience and commercial value-added services capabilities to deliver the type of business experience our customers need,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
The 17 new markets include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the the UK and will benefit commercial, education and public sector customers. Resellers can not only offer Microsoft’s extended warranty and accidental damage, but also add on services such as asset tagging, custom imaging, kitting, onsite services, device recycling, and data protection.
Microsoft plans to expand this roll-out in the coming weeks to an additional set of partners in these markets. With the upcoming Windows 8.1 update for both Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft is gearing up for a better Surface device. Microsoft continues to tout the Surface RT and Surface Pro as ideal alternatives to many tablets out there, including the Apple iPad, especially since Outlook RT will be includes in the upcoming Windows RT 8.1 update.
