Though sales don't start for a month, Microsoft seems to have announced this partnership today for good reason. Tomorrow, Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Pro, which will very likely be its answer to the Surface. Likewise, Apple has been partnering with other companies to offer enterprise services and apps for the iPad in an attempt to get its own tablets into more businesses. Microsoft's new venture appears to be accomplishing something similar: bundling hardware with professional services that'll make businesses able to adopt it.

Microsoft's partnership with Dell is just the beginning of a much bigger plan for the Surface Pro. It's calling this program the "Surface Enterprise Initiative," and HP, Accenture, and Avanade will also be joining it. Though Microsoft doesn't offer any detail, it's likely that those companies will also begin offering the Surface alongside enterprise services. Those services don't necessarily have to be anything out of the ordinary, either: Dell says that its services include a hardware warranty, accidental damage coverage, configuration, deployment, and support.

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