The notion that the Surface will do well because of the power of corporate IT shops is a compelling one. In a nutshell, the idea is that for the last two decades IT shops have become thoroughly addicted to Windows. Because of this addiction, they will snap up Surfaces (Surfaci?) like hotcakes, arguing that they are suitable stand-ins for iPads, and that they provide necessary Windows/Office compatibility.
The counter-argument is that the iPad has been with us for two and a half years. In that time, Apple has sold over 100 million of them. On top of the huge sales of iPads, over 250 million iPhones have shipped worldwide. This is not Windows v. Macintosh. In the '90s and early '00s, most corporate employees had never used an Apple product. In 2012, most of them likely have used and like at least one Apple product.
I suspect that the success or failure of the Surface will depend on whether IT shops are able to maintain control of purchasing in the face of increased employee demand for access to Apple products. In a larger context this could be a big indicator of whether IT can hold consumerization at bay for much longer.
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