‘We want to give choice… target all types of users’: Microsoft India Surface head

“What we’ve been able to do is create this new group of users who want to be differentiated by the different form factors that Surface is bringing to the table,” Amrita Sapre, Country Head for Surface units at Microsoft India, provides a candid reply when requested her about rising competitors from Apple within the premium PC market.
While Sapre does see Apple as a competitor to Microsoft’s Surface lineup, she additionally believes the bigger purpose is to not compete with “Apple” however to present its clients totally different experiences and totally different units. “Are we going after the same users? The answer would be yes or no,” she tells Indianexpress.com in a video interview. “There will be some Mac users who will move on to Surface because they are finding security better, or they’re finding application development better on Windows devices,” she counters.
Microsoft positions its Surface vary as upmarket computing units with a transparent give attention to industrial design and premium pricing. The full management Microsoft has over its Surface merchandise reminds of how Apple controls the design, {hardware} and software program of its units. That method is working for Microsoft, though income from its Surface {hardware} portfolio continues to be small in comparison with the corporate’s different enterprise verticals.
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But the Redmond, Washington tech large has been diversifying its product portfolio with an purpose to cater to a broad set of customers — each on the industrial and shopper aspect. The launch of the Surface Pro 7+ and Surface Hub 2s in India this week is seen as Microsoft’s new method to supply options which might be primed in the direction of enterprise customers. The 2-in-1 Surface Pro 7+ contains the power to take away an SSD drive, which means enterprise clients can simply swap out the drive for repairability or upgrades. Meanwhile, the Surface Hub 2S is a huge 85-inch touchscreen interactive whiteboard that enables staff to work together with out being bodily current in the identical room.
Sapre thinks it’s simpler to decide on a Surface product, as a result of there’s a clear distinction between shopper and industrial SKUs. “We cater and target all kinds of target audiences, right from a student to a CXO who might be using a Surface Hub 2s at home office or a conference room,” she explains. “We don’t want to limit the portfolio, we want to give the choice.”
Microsoft’s Surface Hub 2S 85-inch prices Rs. 21,44,999 and will likely be obtainable from March 3 in India. (Image credit score: Microsoft)
Microsoft’s Surface vary could have gained traction within the US and different standard markets, however India stays comparatively a brand new demography the place the Surface model isn’t robust. This raises a basic query. What is Microsoft doing to extend the demand for its premium Surface units in India? Sapre says the expansion for Surface units has “more than doubled” and the demand is coming from throughout verticals. The enterprise section appears to be the largest driver for the expansion, nonetheless. Sapra reveals that the corporate not too long ago closed a “large” cope with a number one financial institution that bought Surface Pro units for his or her frontline staff. She additionally counts AirAsia India as an enormous shopper that makes use of Surface units for crew and pilots.
Sapre says she doesn’t see the market share as an necessary parameter to gauge the success of the model in a selected market. “It’s really about a new kind of device experience for the customer and expanding the ecosystem, then looking very narrowly in terms of just market share,” she says, including that “there is enough and more for everybody.”
As Microsoft turns into extra aggressive with its Surface merchandise, Sapre says shoppers will begin seeing change. The very first thing Sapre is doing is to scale back the launch time between the merchandise obtainable within the US and India.Previously, it took Microsoft six to eight months to launch a brand new Surface product in India and that hole has decreased to 2 weeks within the case of the Surface Pro 7+. Microsoft is but to introduce the dual-screen Surface Duo and Surface Headphone in India and Sapre says no resolution has been taken on bringing these units right here.
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One scepticism that Microsoft significantly faces in India is the hefty value tags of its Surface merchandise. Although Surface units have by no means been low-cost, they’re priced even larger when it reaches India. “There is no India cost added to the device,” Sapre clarifies. “The base price across the country where Surface products are available would be very similar. The challenge happens because of tax structures, in case there is an import duty, and the freight and those kinds of things,” she provides.
Microsoft has diversified its portfolio in current months, a transfer that may assist the corporate to succeed in out to extra shoppers who’re able to pay a premium for its units. (Image credit score: Microsoft)
On the rising competitors for the Surface units from Microsoft’s personal OEMs like Dell and Lenovo, Sapre says: “It’s unfair to put the OEM partners at war with each other…we understand everyone brings to the table a unique differentiation, a unique value proposition, and it is the customer’s choice, what they want to choose at that particular time.”
Instead of competing with the OEM companions, Sapre says the purpose is to develop the market to create a brand new ecosystem of units. “If you’re looking at a very price-sensitive market, then you have all kinds of devices from our OEMs, right from Acer to HP, Dell, Lenovo,” she says. “But if a customer is looking for a differentiated experience, right from a manageability, security, or the way they are experiencing the device, then they might look at a Surface ecosystem. It’s not about competing, it’s about giving them benchmark devices.”
Microsoft is taking a sure path with the Surface vary — the way it designs and markets its units. And the corporate has been profitable at advertising the Surface model amongst aspirational shoppers. But on the finish of the day, Microsoft is part of the Windows ecosystem and any shift within the trade will affect the corporate and its OEM companions. For instance, Apple’s current leap to its personal M1 silicon for the Macs and dumping Intel is seen as the start of a brand new period within the PC trade.
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Sapre says she will be able to’t touch upon behalf of Intel, however stresses that whosoever comes up with a brand new concept that may be executed is sweet for the trade. “Whether it’s Apple coming with the M1, or we working with Qualcomm and bringing out a new device, the idea is it keeps the ecosystem energised.” She provides: “Intel has been a strong partner of ours and end customers have faith and confidence in the security that we provide with the windows. It’s pretty much safe to say that the combination is going to stay, but we will keep on experimenting.”
There are indicators that Microsoft too might be transferring away from Intel’s processors utilized in its high-end Surface merchandise, although Sapre says the corporate continues to be dedicated to Intel. In 2019, the AMD-based Surface Laptop 3 was introduced with the brand new, co-engineered Ryzen Surface Edition processor. And then got here the ARM-powered Surface Pro X, a customized variant of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx chip. There have been experiences of Microsoft growing its personal ARM-based processors, although the corporate is but to acknowledge these rumours.