Meet the Surface Pro 7+ and Surface Hub 2S 85”

Empower people, teams and classrooms in the new digital age

Microsoft have recently announced the Surface Pro 7+ which offers the versatility, connectivity and security that business and educational institutions need to adapt to the changing landscape that we all find ourselves in. Additionally, Surface Hub 2S 85” will begin shipping broadly to business and education customers in select markets later in January 2021.

I think that we can all agree while 2020 was challenging in many ways, it has also brought one of the biggest accelerations of digital transformation in our lifetime.

Across industries, the shift to remote and hybrid productivity was a tipping point to redefine the future of how we work, collaborate and learn outside physical office spaces or classrooms. We have seen a significant increase in the reliance on technology to keep organisations connected. In the past year, Surface usage within enterprise organisations nearly doubled driven by strong growth in the use of collaboration and productivity apps to maintain business continuity.

What did we learn in 2020?

Microsoft are committed to designing technology that fosters productivity, creativity and connection to empower people to be successful wherever they work and learn. They have spoken at length with many of their customers in the last year, listening to their journeys into remote everything. These discussions, combined with extensive commissioned research and the work done by their research team, have helped them to understand their rapidly evolving needs. This is a critical part of the development process that Microsoft go through – ensuring business and education customer voices are not only heard but brought directly into their product development. During these conversations and research, they found four key learning:

The future of working and learning is hybrid and requires more flexibility
Views on remote work have changed massively with 82% of managers saying they will have more flexible work from home policies post pandemic and 71% of employees want to continue working from home at least part-time. While more people are working and learning from home, they are facing new physical space constraints as well as distractions that can interfere with productivity. People are sharing spaces throughout their home and are moving locations more throughout their days to stay productive and accommodate others.

Connectivity is critical to uninterrupted business operations
Poor internet performance at home is a new challenge many of us are facing. With multiple people in a household now connecting from home, it is putting a strain on bandwidth – where people are using their devices more often as hot spots for online meetings due to poor internet connectivity.

Camera to camera is the new face to face
Connection to one another is an area that arguably has felt the most challenging – people are missing the energy and connection that was attained when we could be together in a room physically. People are now relying on their device’s cameras, screens, speakers and microphones to be seen and heard. Microsoft have learned through their research that people are feeling more empathetic to one another now, that through the lens of a video call they have a better view of life at home and even feel more valued and included as a remote contributor in meetings with everyone being in the same virtual room.

End to end security from chip to cloud is more critical than ever before
Rapid digitisation has meant that almost everything has gone online. Organisations need their data and workflows to be secure to enable remote and hybrid work. Devices need end-to-end security features to enable the productivity needed to maintain business continuity.

With this key learning in mind, Microsoft have continued to listen and evolve their product roadmap and priorities for Surface to support business and education customers. That is why they’ve introduced Surface Pro 7+ for Business.

From small and medium size businesses to the largest organisations, Surface Pro 7+ is purpose-built with the needs of business and education customers in mind. This next generation of Surface Pro stays true to its ethos – delivering on top customer requested updates while maintaining the same iconic design so customers can continue to leverage their existing investments.

Continuing with Surface Pro’s iconic form factor, Microsoft are introducing optional LTE Advanced with Surface Pro 7+, a top requested customer feature that helps keep people connected at home if Wi-Fi bandwidth is limited or if they are in a remote location. They have added the latest 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, with 2.1 times faster performance and longer battery life of up to 15 hours. Surface Pro 7+ offers the versatility people need to work wherever, whenever they want. And with both USB-A and USB-C ports, Surface Pro 7+ offers the adaptability to dock into external displays and leverage the needed peripherals for a full workstation setup. For the human connection that everyone is craving, hey have also integrated front and rear facing cameras into Surface Pro 7+ with 1080p full HD video along with Dolby Atmos speakers and dual far-field Studio Microphones so people can be seen and heard.

In response to customer feedback for a more streamlined workflow to easily get devices to their employees no matter where they are and for more environmentally friendly packaging, Microsoft are pleased to announce that Surface Pro 7+ sets a new level for lightweight, sustainable commercial packaging. It is 23% lighter than the previous generation and is made from 99% natural fibre-based material, of which 64% is post-consumer recycled content. These updates are also reflective of Microsoft’s continued commitment to sustainability.

Surface Hub S2 85”

As organisations plan for a hybrid return to work, many are recognising the importance of large screen, collaborative devices like Surface Hub. In response, the Surface Hub 2S 85” will begin shipping to business and education customers broadly in select markets later this month.

Customers have shared how much they love the Windows 10 Team Operating system on their Surface Hubs for simple walk up use and group collaboration. As the workplace continues to change, Microsoft fully understand that some customers want more flexibility to meet the needs of their rapidly evolving workplace. With this in mind, customers can now take advantage of the Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise configurations on Surface Hub 2S 85”, enabling them to run all of their business critical applications utilising the massive 4K PixelSense touch and ink enabled screen, Microsoft Teams certified audio and video and an array of onboard sensors.

As different parts of the world plan for their returns to the office or classroom or rethink what hybrid and satellite environments mean for their organisations, Surface Hub will be there to ease that transition, helping to bridge the digital and physical divide.

Simple Surface funding solutions

At Phoenix we have a range of options to make your Surface purchase the right one for you and your organisation’s needs.

Upfront

• Own the devices outright and manage disposal at end of life.
• Upfront payment

Leasing

• Lease the devices over a defined length of time making regular payments throughout the term (single upfront payment also available)
• Return and refresh devices at the end of term.

Sale and Leaseback

• Recently purchased equipment is bought back from you and re-set up in a single leasing agreement.
• Return and refresh devices at the end of term.

Build Phase (for all leasing models)

• Order equipment over a three-month period to create one single agreement.

Buyback (for all funding solutions)

• Your existing equipment will be remarketed, and proceeds can be offset against your first payment.