Microsoft Surface Tablets On Sale (for WPC Partners)

Microsoft Surface Pro and RT tablets are on sale. The deep Surface discounts are available to Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC 2013) attendees. The tablet sale sets the stage for a long-rumored Surface channel partner program, industry sources say.

In a blog post, Microsoft (MSFT) Channel Chief Jon Roskill wrote on June 20, 2013: “From July 7th through July 11th, 2013, WPC attendees will be able to purchase Surface RT and Surface Pro for:

The special offer promoted a new round of emails to The VAR Guy from multiple sources close to Microsoft. Each of them re-confirmed that they expect a Surface channel partner program to emerge soon — perhaps at WPC 2013, in fact.

Either way, Microsoft’s priorities seem clear:

Microsoft faces an uphill battle. Surface had less than 2 percent market share in the worldwide tablet industry for Q1 2013, according to IDC. In Microsoft’s defense, the company has only gradually introduced Surface to more and more markets worldwide — meaning that initial sales may have been artificially constrained.

Plus, Microsoft has yet to introduce a formalized Surface partner program. Still, discounted tablets at WPC seem to set the stage for that official partner program… (Please, Jon?)