How successful is the Microsoft Surface range? It’s easy to talk about brand awareness, software showcases, and stylish design touches. But the recent quarterly results make for an easy answer. Success is having a one billion dollar business.
Although the initial Surface device (launched in 2012 by Steve Ballmer) made some fundamental misjudgments, the line has iterated and improved to become a flagship vehicle for Microsoft’s software and services. It has also become a solid business venture for the Redmond-based company. Tom Warren reports:
Surface revenue has jumped 25 percent year over year this quarter to $1.1 billion, “driven by strong performance of the latest editions of Surface” says Microsoft. The billion dollar target was important this quarter, as it means Surface has now ended the financial year as a billion dollar business. Microsoft recently unveiled the new Surface Go, but the smaller 10-inch tablet doesn’t go on sale until next month. Microsoft has relied on existing Surface devices to fuel growth this quarter, as the company has not yet launched refreshed models this year.
Is the Surface range perfect? Obviously not, nothing ever is. Although the user base is expanding with the Surface Go, the target market remains resolutely at the high-end, and that places expectations on the hardware that is difficult to match. Just as every flaw in the MacBook Pro is reported, so the Surface Pro and Surface Books will suffer the same fate.
But the Surface range is more than sales. It is the distillation of Microsoft’s view of the future of computing hardware and modern working in the 21st century. And the exclusion of any mobile hardware has to be seen through that lens. Microsoft has stopped its efforts to capture the mobile operating system market – that has been convincingly won by Google with Android (and a ‘mention in despatches’ to Apple’s closed iOS system for its own hardware).
Instead Microsoft has moved its mobile focus from hardware to software, with Android and iOS both able to integrate comfortably with the cloud-based offerings of Office, Outlook365, OneDrive, and the Azure enterprise services. And with the Surface hardware also integrating nicely (well, Windows 10 does all the lifting) that gives Microsoft a cloud, a computer, and a cellular service.
You might think that means the Surface Phone should be running Android… you might think that, I wouldn’t possibly comment.
The Surface brand is not a core business of Microsoft, but it is a core demonstration of Microsoft;s business. By reaching the “billion dollar business” mark, Surface has passed a psychological ticker tape moment. The Surface team to stand proud, that allows the team to be seen as more than ‘playing around with hardware’, and is a lightning rod to draw attention to Microsoft’s success.
