Microsoft unveiled two 10.6-inch Surface tablets last month. And while Microsoft’s hardware partners were caught off guard by the announcement, the Redmond-based tech giant is determined to sell millions of Surface tablets by next year. According to ZDNet, who interviewed a dozen of CIOs from different companies in Asia, the Surface tablet could be a viable alternative to Apple’s highly popular iPad tablet. Out of the 12 CIOs interviewed, 7 reportedly favored the Surface tablet while 5 had doubts about its competence when compared to the iPad.
Steve Lee, CIO of Changi Airport Group said, “Technically, from what I’ve read, it does plug a gap in the corporate space. With a full ‘suite’ of device OS, hardware alternatives, office productivity, games and with their recent social media acquisition [of Yammer], I think Microsoft does stand a fair chance.”
On the other hand, MISC CIO Hood Abu Bakar believes that Microsoft’s tablet could be a good replacement to notebooks, but added that the lack of support from Microsoft’s hardware partners will be a contributing factor. Also, Ramesh Kumar, CIO of Eduquity Career Technologies, said that Microsoft has the edge since it can assess where the iPad had succeeded, and understand what it needs to finally beat Apple. “All Microsoft has to do is price it better in terms of the tablet as well as the software and apps,” Ramesh added.