Microsoft Surface Brings Style To Office Computing
Is the Microsoft Surface here to change the BYOD game? With the explosion of mobile technology and the ubiquity of wifi access in homes around the country, business technology has increasingly become seen as an aging older relation.
Slim and stylish iPhones and Android smartphones have already ousted the heavy-handed executive Blackberry from the market, while anyone used to a sleek tablet or sexy brushed-metal laptop at home can’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment when faced with something clunky in black or grey at work. No wonder Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in the office became so popular.
But BYOD was not without its problems, particularly when it came to security and work/life balance. What businesses really needed was the technology that would do the job, but that was fun and gorgeous enough that employees wanted to use it – and wouldn’t be trying to sneak their tablets into the office under their coats.
What Is Microsoft Surface?
At Firstline IT we think that the Microsoft Surface might be the answer to your computing problems. Thin and light, with a detachable keyboard that means it functions as both a laptop and tablet, it is groovy enough that even your teenage children wouldn’t mind being seen with it. However, it’s also powerful enough for office use, running the business standard Office 365 software suite.
Both Managing Director Barrie Giles and Operations Director John Crozier at Firstline are Microsoft Surface computing devotees. Not only does it look good, but it’s easily portable to client meetings, and connects seamlessly with the Microsoft products used in the office, as well as with other systems.
Barrie says that he had initially wanted to replace his aging laptop with another laptop: he had experienced an earlier generation Windows tablet with a detachable keyboard and found the keyboard unreliable. John persuaded him to try the Surface Pro, and he agreed, ‘because I thought I could always go back to a conventional laptop if I didn’t like the Surface.’
He is still using the Microsoft Surface Pro, which ‘does everything that a laptop can do, but is even more portable.’ At home, he connects it to a docking station on his desk via a USB lead, and it works just like a desktop. But he can unhook it and carry it out of the house with ease. He admits, however, that he still prefers an iPad for answering emails and following news and social media accounts.
‘It’s a matter of matching the tool to the task,’ says Barrie. ‘The iPad is unbeatable as a tablet, but it’s not a computer: The Surface Pro is simply the best and most up to date replacement for a laptop that there is.’
We can advise you on the best hardware that will suit your business, the type of work you do, and the way that you do it. We can also source and configure laptops, desktops, and mobiles on any network.