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New Microsoft Surface Tablet could be a good fit for Irish Business

By Paul Caffrey, Office 365 Specialist for O2 Telefonica, MJ Flood Technology

Looking for a powerful alternative to the iPad that can run Windows software?

Microsoft have the answer, thanks to their venture into the tablet computing market due for release later this year.

Meet ‘Microsoft Surface’

So far, there has been no reliable business alternative to the Apple iPad. But now there’s a new ‘kid on the block’ in the form of the highly anticipated tablet called the ‘Microsoft Surface’.

So will this be a realistic competitor to the iPad in the business space in Ireland?

Early indications suggest that it will, for a number of reasons.

The Microsoft Surface tablet will run with Microsoft’s new operating system called Windows 8, which will succeed Windows 7 later this year.

The reality is that a large proportion of Irish businesses use Microsoft servers, their operating systems and their various Office suite packages. With the increasing adoption of cloud services from Microsoft’s portfolio, such as the increasingly popular Microsoft Office 365 which provides Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync and Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Irish businesses can access arguably the industry’s most comprehensive productivity suite from virtually anywhere, boasting powerful collaboration tools that were previously cost-prohibitive for SMEs. It’s the ultimate large enterprise feature-set for a small business price.

And the addition of a powerful Microsoft tablet will ensure Irish businesses will be able to work smarter, more efficiently and most importantly, more cost-effectively.

The question on everyone’s lips is how does it compare to the iPad and other tablets?

At this early stage, more details on the tablet itself are yet to be released into the public domain but some standout features from the keynote speech at its recent launch include:

• Your existing software should run on the Microsoft Tablet because it runs on Windows 8.
• There is a USB Port and Micro SD Slot which means you can connect devices without costly accessories.
• The Tablet runs Special Pen Input Handwriting Technology called “Palm Block” that disables finger touch when a pen is writing on the screen which makes the handwriting function very powerful.

It looks likely that the ‘Microsoft Surface’ will be released in November of 2012 and early indications are that it will be at a price point similar to the iPad.