14 DAY TRIAL // HP CEO Meg Whitman recently said that Microsoft’s new strategy of focusing more on devices and services and bringing more tablets to the market turned Redmond into a fierce rival fighting for the same user category.
Microsoft, on the other hand, doesn’t see these efforts as a move supposed to make it a rival for its existing partners and pledges to continue hard work with a number of them on several new projects.
“Meg Whitman called us a competitor, but we will work closely with HP, Dell and Lenovo in bringing products to market,” Microsoft channel chief Phil Sorgen was quoted as saying by ChannelNomics.
Whitman believes that Microsoft’s first-generation Surface, the existing models, and the ones to be released in the coming years are living proof that the software giant is serious about the hardware market currently dominated by some of its partners.
“The disruptive forces are very tough and very real, and they are accelerating. We are seeing profound changes in the competitive landscape. Our competitors are expanding across the IT stack. Current partners like Intel and Microsoft are turning from partners to outright competitors,” she said.
As far as Microsoft is concerned, it tries to put the focus on tablets in an attempt to expand its product lineup and support its devices and services migration started by Steve Ballmer a few months ago.
The company is aware that the first-generation Surface has failed to impress, but is committed to continue investments in this particular industry sector and promises to do better in the coming years.
“Now with Surface 2, we have a distribution strategy; its phase 1 and not as broad as it could be. We got into this new product one year ago. We’re going to be very careful as we look forward. We are evaluating the plans for forward as we extend further. When we do, we’re able to execute and be a world-class partner for those that make the investment to sell and support that product,” Sorgen said.