Microsoft's affordable new Surface 3 tablet just got an update designed to help large organizations deploy the slates across their business and personnel.
The Surface 3 recently made its debut as the more affordable version of the Surface Pro 3, sporting lower-end specs to accommodate a more budget-friendly price tag. The tablet was mostly seen as a device for students or consumers looking for an entertainment slate, as the Surface Pro 3 already catered to the business world.
With the latest update, however, the new Microsoft Surface 3 is now ready for deployment in large corporations as well. The affordable slate is now on par with the higher-end Surface Pro 3 in terms of enterprise control.
"Surface 3 is now available. As a device running Windows 8.1 Pro, it already offers business-ready features that support easy IT integration, domain join, and enterprise-class security - all in our most portable package. And now, for customers intending to do mass deployments into larger organizations, we're pleased to announce a driver update intended to put you ahead of the game," Microsoft explained in a new company blog post on Monday, May 11.
"The update - which is available now -- improves the mass deployment process, broadens the range of enterprise-level features, and helps bring the Surface 3 deployment experience in line with its more business-oriented sibling, Surface Pro 3. The update includes new and enhanced features including those expected in a larger-scale commercial environment such as enhanced PXE booting and support for asset tagging."
The smaller, cheaper Microsoft Surface 3 is expected to see a gradual growth when it comes to unit sales, especially since it's now ready for enterprise deployment. With this new update on board and a more affordable price tag compared to its higher-end counterpart, the Surface 3 may see roughly the same success as the Surface Pro 3.
It makes sense for Microsoft to push its Surface 3 to broader horizons, as the company likely wants to boost total sales of Surface tablets.
Lastly, it's worth pointing out that the latest update for the Surface 3 is available via the download center, not via Windows Update.
"We're making it available now to help you hit the ground running with deployments of the new Surface 3 device in your organization," Microsoft further touts.
The update is available either as Surface 3_150504.msi or Surface 3_150504.zip, as it comes in both msi and zip files.
