Microsoft talks up Surface-as-a-service momentum
German distributor ALSO has recruited 300 partners alone since July launch of leasing scheme
Microsoft has talked up the momentum of its Surface-as-a-service programme, claiming Swiss-German distributor ALSO has already recruited 300 partners to the scheme alone.
ALSO was the launch partner for the programme when it was unveiled at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in July, with Ingram also announcing its UK flavour of the scheme in August.
The scheme allows partners to supply customers with a managed offering of Surface hardware and associated cloud software on a leased basis.
In a blog post, Hayete Gallot, general manager of Microsoft Devices, said Microsoft is "extremely pleased" by the scheme's momentum in the last two months.
"Some of the largest distribution and reseller partners have joined us, including: ALSO, Tech Data, Ingram Micro, Acrodex and others, with market coverage across the US, Canada, the UK and western Europe," she said.
"Based on the customer demand and partner interest, we anticipate additional markets coming online in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia soon.
"ALSO has been extremely successful in recruiting partners; already 300 resellers since July, by creating compelling customer offerings and delivering powerful tools for resellers such as pricing and offer configurators, and easy and simple billing, hence accelerating the buying process."
Surface-as-a-service is designed to provide flexibility of solutions, enable faster device refresh and ensure customers can have the latest Surface devices that evolve with the best of Windows and Office, according to Gallot.
Following the launch, Microsoft UK's Windows and Surface lead Ryan Asdourian stressed to CRN that partners will be free to add their own personalised value on the scheme, which won't take a one-size-fits-all approach.
"With all our partners, we're always looking for ways they can differentiate their service and add value and added services to customers," he said.