IDC analysts, Charles Reed Anderson, Associate Vice President, Head of Telecoms and Mobility, IDC Asia/Pacific and Ian Song, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC Asia Pacific - both based in Singapore - recently undertook an independent three month product review of Microsoft’s Surface Pro as a potential laptop replacement. As some of the most on-the-go professionals in the world, the analysts assessed Surface Pro across five critical areas to ensure there was no risk to delivering on their work requirements.

1. Filing Information: October 2013, IDC #AP3054025V, Volume: 1
Asia/Pacific Enterprise Mobility: Buyer Case Study
DRAFT
B U Y E R C A S E S T U D Y
I D C S i n g a p o r e E v a l u a t e s M i c r o s o f t S u r f a c e P r o
Ian Song Charles Reed Anderson
I D C O P I N I O N
No one doubts that PCs have changed nearly every aspect of our daily lives,
including the ways we work, communicate, and entertain ourselves. This evolution
has been driven by the ever-advancing capabilities and designs of the computers we
use. Today, there is a computerized device, including smarthpones, tablets, laptops
and desktops, in nearly every size and shape imaginable. No matter how unique the
user requirements are, there is likely a device perfectly suited for that need.
Some of us are old enough to remember the days when computers first entered the
workplace. It is amazing to think about how using something as basic as MS-DOS on
a CRT monitor with a black background and green text could drive so much
productivity. Equally amazing was the resistance of users at that time to move to PCs
from their paper-based functions. We witnessed a similar resistance of transition from
desktop PCs to laptop, and history is currently repeating itself, in the form of transition
to a new form factor, namely the tablet.
Resistance to change is part of human nature, but, luckily, it loses out once people
lose their inhibitions, try a new way of doing things, and realize the benefits it will
have on their lives. IDC believes that the new wave of tablet computers will face the
same skepticism from some members of the IT community and end users; however,
like those technology advancements before it, resistance is futile and assimilation is
inevitable.
IDC forecasts that tablet computers will outsell laptops in Asia/Pacific (excluding
Japan), or APEJ, by 2016. Tablets have already risen from 17.5 million devices
shipped in 2011 to 42.3 million shipped in the first three quarters of 2013. The wave
of change is also entering the enterprise. IDC surveyed 1603 companies across 11
APEJ countries as part of our April 2013 Future Workspace survey, and 36.1% of
those companies surveyed stated they intend to increase their spend on tablet
deployments within the next 12–18 months.
IDC believes APEJ enterprises are at a major inflection point in terms of the
technology they will use to support their end users. For many user groups, particularly
those who are mobile, tablets will soon take over as the preferred device of the end
user.
Asia/PacificHeadquarters:80AnsonRoad,#38-00Singapore079907P.65.6226.0330www.idc.com

2. 2 #AP3054025V ©2013 IDC
DRAFT
I N T H I S B U Y E R C A S E S T U D Y
This IDC Case Study is based on a three-month concept review completed by the
authors of this case study. While the technology we evaluated was important, we
were more interested in assessing whether the perceived limitations of replacing our
laptops with a tablet would inhibit adoption of the device, and hence pose a risk to
enterprises across Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), or APEJ, as they seek to introduce
tablets as a laptop replacement.
S I T U A T I O N O V E R V I E W
O r g a n i z a t i o n O v e r v i e w
IDC is a global analyst firm with over 1,000 analysts across 53 countries. The life of
the typical analyst revolves around the PC. As such, most analysts leverage multiple
computing devices, including smarthpones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, to
complete the requirements of their jobs, which could include report writing,
presentations, financial analysis, research, and collaboration.
C h a l l e n g e s a n d S o l u t i o n
Challenges
When the decision was made to evaluate a tablet as a laptop replacement, we first
had to understand the challenges we would encounter and ensure there was no risk
of us not being able to complete the requirements of our roles. The initial
considerations were:
 Mobility. IDC analysts spend a considerable amount of time working out of the
office at customer sites, industry events, hotels, trains, airports, and their homes.
While laptops do provide analysts with mobility, the overall form factor and weight
of the current laptop devices is no longer optimal.
 Applications. IDC analysts rely heavily on Microsoft Office to create the reports,
forecasts, and presentations we deliver. A key consideration of the tablet
replacement is that it must be able to run Office, and doing it at a satisfactory
experience. Other applications are considered optional, or as nice to have.
 Functionality. In addition to work completed on the device, we regularly have to
present to internal and external meetings, customer roundtables, and customer
and analyst events. As such, the ability to connect to external devices and
peripherals is critical.

3. ©2013 IDC #AP3054025V 3
DRAFT
 Collaboration. Email, messaging, voice/video, and online meetings must not be
impacted. IDC utilizes Lotus Notes and WebEx as our primary collaboration tools
and Skype as the remote voice/video tool. A tablet that inhibits these
collaboration capabilities in any way was not an option.
 Reliability. Due to the amount of offsite visits and business travel, the tablet
device we test has to be reliable. A challenge for traditional laptops is the amount
of vibration from the constant moving around would eventually corrupt the laptop
hard drive.
Solution
For this evaluation, we selected Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet. The Surface Pro is
essentially a full laptop PC in a tablet form factor. Unlike Android or iOS-based
tablets, we did not have to compromise on applications or the overall device usability
with the Surface Pro. The Surface Pro uses Intel's Core i5 processor with Windows 8
Professional to ensure that all standard business applications are fully compatible
with the device. Additionally, the Surface Pro extends its usability by integrating a
kickstand into the tablet itself, as well as building a full keyboard into the device cover.
 Mobility. Compared with a traditional laptop PC, the Surface Pro is absolutely
tiny. The weight of the device is just a little over 900 grams. For analysts that
travel often, the Surface Pro's lightweight and performance makes it an extremely
attractive option
 Applications. As previously stated, the Surface Pro is able to run all existing
desktop applications required by IDC analysts. As a part of the evaluation,
Office 365 was also utilized due to the integrated support for the touchscreen,
which made sharing data and presentations easier
 Functionality. The Surface Pro offers one USB 3 port and one Displayport to
extend its functionalities. This means we are able to leverage both HDMI and
VGA ports through adapters, as well as utilize third-party USB-based docks for
office use. Out of office use is a breeze with the attached Type Cover keyboard.
 Collaboration. Because the Surface Pro is essentially a PC, there were no
issues migrating the desktop-based Lotus Notes email client to the device, with
all of the collaboration tools also being supported. Because the Surface supports
full Flash and Java-enabled Web browsers, almost all types of virtual conference
are supported. In addition, With Windows 8's deep integration with SkyDrive, we
were able to share files securely without having to email multiple copies through
our email servers.
 Reliability. Thus far, the Surface Pro has been extremely reliable. It addressed
one of our big challenges with laptop PCs: having a spinning hard drive.
The Surface Pro's 128GB solid state disk (SSD) is both fast and reliable; we are
able to simple pick it up and take it to a meeting without putting it to sleep.

4. 4 #AP3054025V ©2013 IDC
DRAFT
R e s u l t s
The performance and usability of the Surface Pro tablet and applications far
exceeded our expectations. During the initial phase, we carried our laptops as backup
when we would go to events or customer meetings — just in case any issues arose
with connecting to external monitors and projectors. However, it was soon obvious
that this was not required. There were two occasions where connecting to an external
projector did not work, and on both occasions, we found similar issues when
attempting to use laptops, as well.
 Usability. While the screen size is smaller, it was still large enough to support
our key activities, including creating and editing Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
documents, as well as for accessing our email and collaboration tools.
For extensive work in Microsoft Office, we leveraged external monitors or
accessed the files on SkyDrive from our home computers.
 Functionality. Because the Surface Pro runs on the Windows 8 operating
system, it is really no different than a PC when using it while connected to a
docking station or when using it with its external keyboard. However, the battery
life of the Surface Pro was its weakest point. We averaged four hours of battery
use and, while this is ok compared with laptops, it falls short of what tablets
should produce. With Microsoft announcing Surface 2 Pro and the new battery
cover, we expect to see a jump in battery life.
 Flexibility. Our use of this device was primarily as a laptop replacement, hence
the keyboard remained attached at most times. However, the ability to remove
the keyboard and use the device as a pure tablet is extremely convenient, while
traveling in taxis and airplanes. Moreover, editing a PowerPoint presentation will
always be easier with the use of an external mouse; for example, a situation did
arise where we edited a presentation using our fingers in the tablet mode while in
a taxi on a way to the meeting. This is not recommended for normal use, but it is
a pleasant feature for those occasional emergency situations.

5. ©2013 IDC #AP3054025V 5
DRAFT
Lessons Learned
Based on our testing, we believe that the perceived limitations of tablets will not inhibit
user adoption. Our key findings include:
 Not all tablets are the same. Our testing was successful with the Surface Pro,
but that does not mean any tablet will do. Providing a consistent experience on
business-critical applications is essential for success, which means laptop
replacement primarily will be driven by tablets running Windows 8 operating
systems, at least for those industries that have similar requirements to our users.
 Accessories are essential. The accessories that support the tablet are vital,
particularly so since there are limited input and output ports on most tablets to
minimize the overall size. Based on your user profiles, the following are
recommended:
 Multiple power sources
 Docking station for Ethernet connectivity, additional USB hubs, and
connecting to external monitors
 External monitor, keyboard, and mouse
 HDMI and VGA connectors for projectors and external monitors
 Seeing is believing. One reviewer was quite skeptical about how successful this
trial would be and built up contingency plans for nearly every perceived
weakness or potential problem. Within the first week of testing, it was obvious
these concerns were unfounded and both reviewers continue to use these
devices today.

6. 6 #AP3054025V ©2013 IDC
DRAFT
E S S E N T I A L G U I D A N C E
A c t i o n s t o C o n s i d e r
IDC believes that companies should start evaluating the option of replacing selected
user's laptops with tablets. However, due to the potential risks and challenges, IDC
recommends that the following be considered during the planning process:
 Management. While this case study is conducted from an end-user point of view,
it is important to point out that moving from PCs to tablets does represent
security and management challenges if not properly planned. With this case
study, IT could fully support the Surface Pro devices since management of
Surface Pro is just like managing another PC. However, additional investment in
management solutions and training would be required for other platforms.
 User profiling. As with any mobile solution deployment, it is critical to
understand your user profiles, including how, when, and where they work, the
access and applications they require and the functional requirements (e.g., input
capabilities) of their devices.
 Device strategy. Tablets as a laptop replacement will work best in a
corporate-issued or choose-you-own-device (CYOD) environment as IT must
provide secure access to business-critical applications and collaboration tools,
and supporting a limited number of devices and operating systems simplifies this.
 File access and sharing. As users continue to leverage multiple devices for
work, the need for cloud access to files will grow. If enterprise IT does not
provide a secure method for users to accomplish this, users will undoubtedly find
their own solution that will likely increase IT's security risks. IT should be
developing a secure file access and sharing strategy to minimize these risks.
L E A R N M O R E
R e l a t e d R e s e a r c h
 Worldwide and U.S. Tablet 2013–2017 Forecast Update: September 2013 (IDC
#243086, September, 2013)
 Microsoft's Nokia Devices and Services Acquisition: Impact on Asia/Pacific (IDC
#lcSG24308513, September, 2013)
 Tablet Plus: Addressing the 2-in-1 Needs of Today's Enterprise Users (IDC
#242499, August, 2013)

7. ©2013 IDC #AP3054025V 7
DRAFT
C o p y r i g h t N o t i c e
This IDC research document was published as part of an IDC continuous intelligence
service, providing written research, analyst interactions, telebriefings, and
conferences. Visit www.idc.com to learn more about IDC subscription and consulting
services. To view a list of IDC offices worldwide, visit www.idc.com/offices. Please
contact the IDC Hotline at 800.343.4952, ext. 7988 (or +1.508.988.7988) or
sales@idc.com for information on applying the price of this document toward the
purchase of an IDC service or for information on additional copies or Web rights.
Copyright 2013 IDC. Reproduction is forbidden unless authorized. All rights reserved.