Surface now on GSA for U.S. Government customers

In a recent announcement, we reaffirmed our commitment to Surface in businesses by showing ways we’re removing barriers to adoption and ultimately making it easier and more cost-effective for organizations of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of device consolidation. One of the sectors that has expressed particular interest in Surface is U.S. government customers, which includes state and local organizations, as well as federal civilian and defense agencies. Government technology leaders share many of the same priorities as our commercial customers— they are interested in how Surface can offer the power of a laptop and remove the need to carry an iPad, as well as help workers to be more productive on-the-go, thereby making the most of taxpayer dollars.

Surface Pro 3 delivers the power of a desktop, the mobility of an ultra-thin laptop, and the convenience of a tablet touch screen and digital note-taking device to help government employees maximize their time wherever they are working. And to complete the solution, there are many great Government apps and accessories such as Democracy Live, Accela Inspector, and Urban Armor Gear’s new ruggedized case for the Surface Pro 3 which meets military drop-test standards (MIL STD 810G 516.6).

The response we’ve seen from government customers has been exciting to see, and we are pleased to announce two new ways we are enabling U.S. government entities to adopt Surface Pro 3.

Making it easier for government customers to buy Surface

• Surface now on GSA – The United States General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule is a federal procurement vehicle which establishes long-term government-wide contracts with commercial companies. Surface Pro 3 has met all GSA criteria and, beginning today, US government customers may now purchase Surface through GSA. Contact your Microsoft account representative, or your preferred reseller to learn more. Visit  this page for government customers for details.
• Additional public sector resellers in the US, focused on bringing Surface to Government – In an effort to meet government customer’s buying preferences and address some specific federal procurement requirements, Microsoft has approved additional resellers to offer Surface Pro 3 to public sector entities. Today’s blog post from Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Group, highlights this next phase of our managed approach to evolving the commercial channel for Surface.

Mecklenburg County saves $3.2M and City of Miami improves performance by 20%

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina is dedicated to providing the best services to its population of nearly one million people by transforming the way their employees work. The county wanted to help their mobile employees do their jobs more easily while away from their desks, while also ensuring the entire mobile infrastructure remained secure and manageable. They found their solution in Surface Pro devices, for restaurant inspectors, medical examiners, parks and recreation employees, and social workers.

In addition to having more satisfied and productive mobile employees, the county has also experienced huge cost savings from the efficiency. The county estimates that the increased productivity in the Youth and Family Services department alone will save US$3.2 million a year. Says Technical Services Director Cliff DuPuy, “with Surface Pro tablets, we are basically giving our employees a lightweight, full-featured, Internet-enabled computer that they can use from anywhere. Our biggest challenge now is that everyone wants one, so it’s hard to keep up with the demand!”

With more than 400,000 citizens, the City of Miami is focused on ensuring maximum efficiency in its operations. As part of this focus, they wanted to help their building and code inspectors travel with a minimum load and increase their reporting times. Marco Sanchez, City of Miami’s Network Administrator, explained “We conducted a comprehensive analysis of other products on the market, and we found that Surface devices met our needs best in terms of performance, application compatibility, multitasking behavior, and user experience.” Armed with the Surface, inspectors are able to replace their heavy laptops, cameras, charging adapters and portable printers with a single Surface tablet. Paired with ruggedized cases from Incipio, the devices are well protected from the bumps and scrapes of constantly being on the road.

The performance of the Surface Pro tablet compared to their laptops is significantly quicker and allows inspectors, executives and other employees to open and run multiple applications simultaneously. A performance gain in excess of 20% while running multiple applications has been a great factor in user acceptance and improved experience.

Surface devices are just as ready to serve the government as the government is to serve its citizens. And with Surface Pro 3 on GSA and additional resellers, it is easier than ever for government, state and local entities to consolidate their devices and implement a more productive, mobile computing solution. To learn more about the benefits of Surface for Government, visit Surface.com, or talk to your local reseller or Microsoft representative.

Thanks,

Cyril Belikoff – Senior Director,  Microsoft Surface