Businesses looking to get the Surface Pro 4 into their employees' hands won't have to look very hard. Microsoft has announced new reseller partnerships, a business warranty and trade-in program designed to make it easy-as-pie to upgrade to Windows 10 on a Surface device.
As part of the announcement, Microsoft and more than 5,000 resellers will make the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book available to organizations. The partnerships are designed to enable small businesses, schools and government agencies to more easily and affordably purchase Surface products.
Previously, Microsoft said it worked with only "hundreds" of resellers. However, with the launch of Windows 10, the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Book, Microsoft wants to get the new operating system and devices into as many hands as possible. More resellers means more pricing, warranty and replacement options for end-users.
Surface Enterprise
In 2016, Microsoft will launch a new warranty and service offering available to Surface customers through its reseller partners. The program, Microsoft Complete for Enterprise, gives purchasers the option to pool claims by company, rather than by individual devices.
So if you run into problems with multiple Surface Pros, you can return the whole fleet, or multiple units from the fleet, rather than returning each item one by one.
The program also gives businesses the option to file warranty claims against non-bootable devices, receive new units in one business day and receive Microsoft onboarding assistance.
More trade-ins
Companies can now also take advantage of the Business Device Trade-in Program, which lets users upgrade to Windows 10 and Surface Pro 4s or Surface Books by handing in used laptops, tablets and phones. Unlike Microsoft's consumer trade-in program, which is a limited promotion, the business trade-in is ongoing.
Microsoft has 13 business customers already lined up to use the Surface Pro 4 when the product is ready for distribution, the company said in a statement.
