Surface Hub Has Become Sleeper Billion Dollar Sales Hit For Microsoft’s Windows 10 Hardware Push

Back in July, Microsoft issued the following statement regarding early success with Surface Hub:

Demand for Surface Hubs is very strong and exceeded initial forecasts. To date, we’ve shipped to over 500 customers worldwide and that number continues to grow. We are ramping up production to meet this strong demand via our partner reseller channel as soon as possible. Customers are encouraged to speak with their sales representative if interested in ordering Surface Hubs.

Microsoft has now given us another update on the Surface Hub, and the business is definitely booming. According to the Redmond, Washington-based company, demand “far exceeds our expectations”. And that initial round of 500 customers will have ballooned to over 2,000 customers by the end of 2016.

“The average deal size we see in the pipeline is approximately 50 units, but we’ve seen orders as large as 1,500 units to a large car manufacturer,” writes Brian Hall, CVP Microsoft Devices Marketing. “This makes our team so, so proud.”

It’s astounding that just one automaker ordered 1,500 Surface Hubs. Perhaps the automaker is sending out one each to franchised dealerships and keeping some in-house for design, development, and collaborative efforts. Whatever the case, it’s big win for Microsoft’s Surface hardware division.

Microsoft also indicated that its resellers around the world now have Surface Hubs in stock for customers, and that it is adding even more value-added partners to resell the product. If that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is launching a Surface Hub “Try-and-Buy” program that will allow businesses to try a Surface Hub in-house for up to 30 days. After that trial period has been completed, customers have the option to purchase as many Surface Hubs as they need. This program will first launch in the United States and Europe, and will later extend to the Asia Pacific region. 

“We’re learning a ton from Surface and Surface Hub customers and have an amazing team of hardware and software engineers dedicated to continually improving our products,” adds Hall. “You should expect the best and we expect to give you the best, today and tomorrow.”

The 55-inch Surface Hub ships with a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. An Intel HD 4600 GPU powers the 1080p display, which support 100-point multi-touch and pen input. The Surface Hub also includes front-facing stereo speakers and dual 1080p wide-angle HD cameras.

The 84-inch ups the stakes with a Core i7 processor, but still clings on to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. Graphics duties in this Surface Hub are handled by a NVIDIA Quadro K2200, which is more than enough to power the 4K (3840x2160) display. Both machines run the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Microsoft’s Surface Hubs should get even more appealing once the forthcoming Windows 10 Creators Update arrives next Spring with productivity and security features specially tailored for business and enterprise customers.