Microsoft seeks to expand number of Surface Hub partners, delays initial shipping

Businesses and customers purchasing the new Surface Hub will have to wait longer than initially expected. The original shipping date was September 1, 2015 but that has been pushed back. No new date was specific but more details are on the way. The Surface Hub is a highly anticipated device within business circles and according to a blog post by Microsoft its popularity has required Microsoft to adjust their manufacturing process.

“Based on the early interest we see, we’re tuning our manufacturing process to prepare for production at broader scale. To do this, we are adjusting our product roll-out schedule to ensure we deliver a great customer experience and set our partners up for success. We will not start shipping on September 1 now.”

Surface GM Brian Hall added that they will “continue to take pre-orders” while they alter the manufacturing process.

The aim of the device is to help users collaborate. It has multi pen support, 55” and 84” models, works well with other devices, and is designed to facilitate collaboration in meetings. Some features of the Surface Hub were shown off at today’s Worldwide Partner Conference.

In addition to the announcement of the shipping delay, the blog post also states that Microsoft is increasing the number of partners that sell and service Surface devices from “a few hundred” to “a few thousand” around the world. It directs potential partners to the Microsoft Partner Network Device Partner Portal.

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft talks about the Surface line as a single brand in this post. They mention the Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, and the Surface Hub. This makes sense based on the naming convention that Microsoft chose to go with regarding the Surface Hub but also indicates that Microsoft is committed to selling the brand across multiple device lines.