NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – Panos Panay had just finished his presentation of the tablet Surface 2 against 1,800 members of the elated Microsoft sales team and the head of Surface was celebrating a record high.
Not for long.
The CFO of Microsoft, Amy Hood, Panay met backstage that summer day in 2013. He said that Microsoft was about to announce a repayment of $ 900 million due to a full charge of Surfaces unsold.
After years of hard work, Panay and his team had cost the company about 1,000 million.
“When you look at the amortization and that moment was, of course, humiliating,” Panay said almost with a laugh, in an exclusive interview with CNNMoney. “But Microsoft has been so amazing and never once wavered in his commitment to making great products. Not once. ”
Surface has been left for dead more times than the rock & amp; roll, and Microsoft just keeps releasing new versions. The latter, Area 3, in fact is the sixth tablet Microsoft Surface that has occurred since 2012.
In today’s unforgiving landscape of gadgets , It is a rarity that an epic failure as the Surface get a second chance of success; let alone a third, fourth or fifth.
This is possible because Panay is a type quite dedicated; and Microsoft really supports it.
Last year, the chief executive of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, ordered Microsoft Building 87 was transformed into a high-tech laboratory for hardware design, where the team can create prototype Panay after prototype new gadgets and gizmos; including the new Surface 3. It’s a wildly impressive -and expensive- physical example of the commitment of Microsoft.
That dedication has paid off. Surface history has begun to turn around.
The Surface Pro 3, launched last year, proved a great success as Microsoft sold more than 1,000 million in the last quarter. A huge sponsorship of the NFL has put the Surface in the bands of all teams in professional football and has spread the Giant brand ‘Microsoft Surface’ at each stage. It has not yet reached the brand recognition of the iPad or Windows, but is on its way to becoming a household name.
“What a great trip for all of us!” Panay said. “There were many times: ‘Do we believe?’ And the answer has always been, ‘Yes.’ ”
Panay blames many early setbacks of the Surface of the secrecy of the project. Microsoft did not want to alert their competitors, so he threw the team to a secret laboratory, and even gave him a codename nonsense, ‘WDS’. Customers were never asked their opinion; and it showed.
The Original Surface ran a reduced version of Windows that did not allow users to download Chrome or iTunes. Your keyboard cover was difficult to use, and tablet was falling when you used on your lap or on a couch.
The Surface Pro running a full version of Windows, but had all the same problems Keyboard and stability. And it was huge, which basically eliminated any advantage of being a tablet .
The press criticized, and consumers stayed away.
Panay said that the negative reviews were hard to swallow. But he and his team heard the comments and learned a lot.
“We are going at full speed, and sometimes might be going in the wrong direction; and that’s fine, “Panay said. “If you fail, this company is amazing. They’re going to support. You just have to learn about it. If you take some opportunities out there, you may come back with some beautiful things. ”
The Surface Pro 3-and now the Surface 3- are indeed beautiful. They are culminations of lessons learned from past mistakes of the Surface. Both run full versions of Windows and all software you want to install them. They have a magnetic strip that stabilizes the keyboard on your lap, which works as well as any laptop keyboard. And both Surfaces are super thin and ultra light.
“You know, this amortization 1,000 million never go away,” Panay said. “Those lessons learned from it will always be incredibly valuable. But the lessons learned when you get some success with a product; these do not disappear either. That balance learning has made us feel very well when the next product. ”
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