• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
TechFortune 500

Microsoft wants its new Surface to invade offices everywhere

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 20, 2015, 9:00 AM ET
Microsoft Unveils New Devices Powered By Windows 10
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: Microsoft Corporate Vice President Panos Panay introduces a new tablet titled the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 at a media event for new Microsoft products on October 6, 2015 in New York City. Microsoft also unveiled a virtual reality head set titled the HoloLens, a phone titled the Lumia 950, a laptop titled the Surface Book and a biometrics wristband titled the Band 2. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)Photograph by Andrew Burton — Getty Images

Microsoft’s soon-to-ship Surface Pro 4 tablets and Surface Book “ultimate laptop,” have garnered good early buzz—drawing favorable comparisons to Apple’s iPad/MacBook Pro tandem.

Now, Microsoft (MSFT) is adding service and support perks to make them an easier sell for big businesses. It now expects the latest Surface devices to be the fastest-adopted ever by enterprise customers. But then again, what else would it say?

As part of a new enterprise sales program, Microsoft will let companies aggregate or pool warranty claims across devices rather than locking a limited number warranty calls to a particular unit. “You get 2,000 claims on 1,000 machines and can divvy them out as needed,” Cyril Belikoff, director of Surface, told Fortune.

And since these are factory-sealed devices that cannot be stripped of their hard drives, it is also letting companies destroy problematic units and get a full replacement, via next-day air shipment. Typically, misbehaving devices must be sent back to the manufacturer.

BNY Mellon, The Carlyle Group, AstraZeneca, Land O’ Lakes, and the Global Fund are just some of the clients Microsoft says have purchased Surface hardware.

One of the devices’ big selling points is that they come from Microsoft, and thus will run the cash-cow Office applications well and fit into the Microsoft-centric infrastructure of many companies. And, given Microsoft’s promise that the new Windows 10 will run across these devices, larger PCs and phones may resonate in these accounts.

David Austin, chief technology officer of Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, is sold on Surface — no disrespect to Apple.

“Apple makes great stuff but it’s hard to integrate that into my Microsoft environment,” Austin told Fortune. Sales and service people at the company’s 80 auto dealerships will use Surface devices to show customers options, pull up visualizations, run calculations on the showroom floor.

“The other component that’s profoundly cool to us is that with Surface, I really get a desktop and a tablet out of it while we could not run an iPad as a desktop,” he noted. “Keeping everything in one ecosystem is a plus.”

But Microsoft has big challenges in hardware. It’s now competing with its largest hardware partners, for example, virtually all of which have their own tablets and laptops to sell.

Last month, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell said they would offer previously-announced Surface devices to their business customers, but why they would sell them over their own units is unclear. Not all PC makers are so open minded regarding Surface devices — Lenovo reportedly passed on the opportunity to sell the device.

“You can expect HP and Dell to continue to evaluate new devices as part of the partnerships announced last month,” a Microsoft spokesperson said via email.

It may be difficult to stem the flow of Apple (AAPL) iPads and iPhones into corporate accounts, even Microsoft shops. Those Apple machines led the bring-your-own-device charge starting a few years ago. They have now seen the ultimate corporate sanction, when Apple and IBM inked a formal joint enterprise push last year; Cisco (CSCO) followed suit this year. Last week, an IBM (IBM) exec told a gathering of IT support professionals that IBM is deploying 1,900 Apple devices per week internally and has found that just 5% of Apple users require help desk support compared to 40% of PC users.

For more on Microsoft’s Windows 10 strategy, check out Fortune‘s interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

And for more on Microsoft see the video below.

For more from Barb, follow her on Twitter at @gigabarb, read her coverage at fortune.com/barb-darrow, or subscribe via her RSS feed.

And please subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

chicks
InnovationScience
Jurassic Park isn’t just a movie anymore as de-extinction startup hatches live chicks
By Adithi Ramakrishnan and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
16 minutes ago
whales
AISan Francisco
San Francisco thinks AI can save the whales. Here’s how
By Annika Hammerschlag and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
37 minutes ago
schmidt
AIColleges and Universities
The sound of graduating from college in the AI summer of 2026: boo!
By Heather Hollingsworth, Jocelyn Gecker and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
55 minutes ago
gen z
AIGen Z
3 reasons kids hate AI—especially the ones who refuse to even try it
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
59 minutes ago
Accenture exec says the consulting giant is hiring more entry-level workers out of college compared to last year
Future of WorkWorkplace Innovation Summit
Accenture exec says the consulting giant is hiring more entry-level workers out of college compared to last year
By Emma BurleighMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago
cohen
Startups & VentureAI agents
Meet the brothers who turned a homegrown AI agent into a $12 million bet on the future of work — in six weeks
By Nick LichtenbergMay 20, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
19 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
Personal Finance
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
By Courtney Vinopal and HR BrewMay 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.