14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has evolved from the world’s leading software company to the world’s leading software company also building hardware, and it’s no secret that many partners have been really upset about this new direction.
And it’s not a surprise: Microsoft has pretty much turned from friend to foe, fighting with its partners for the same buyers. Devices such as the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book are very appealing to those looking for a premium tablet or laptop, and partners believe that Microsoft is becoming a significant threat to their business.
Despite the fact that some have already expressed their worries that Microsoft’s tablets and laptops could impact their market performance, Panos Panay, the man in charge of devices at the Redmond-based firm, says that partners actually think otherwise.
“It's not like my head's in the sand or anything. I will tell you, we've gotten a lot of compliments,” Panay told GeekWire when talking about the market’s reaction to the Surface Book.
“We’ll have a serious talk about this”
Acer was one of the first to badmouth Microsoft for its hardware efforts, and the company’s CEO said back in 2012, when Redmond rolled out the first Surface model, that such an increased effort on hardware can have a significant impact on their business.
This year in October, when Microsoft launched the Surface Book, all those feelings reignited, and ASUS chairman Jonney Shih, who had never expected the software giant to produce a laptop, was shocked to see Panos Panay taking the wraps off a laptop on the stage of the New York hardware event.
“I think we are going to have a serious talk about this,” he was heard saying to Microsoft Windows boss Terry Myerson, during the Surface Book keynote.
And yet, the hardware business is developing nicely for Microsoft, with Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 said to experience encouraging sales success. Panay now claims that partners are not at all upset about this hardware push, so we’re looking forward to the Surface Book 2 and the Surface Pro 5.