Apple's Retail Lesson

Apple's retail operation turns 10 today. It's been a good run. The company recently welcomed its billionth visitor to its 325 retail stores. During the quarter that ended in March, it saw a record 71.1 million visitors in its stores, 51% more than the 47 million who visited in the same quarter a year earlier. Apple plans to open 40 more stores this year, most of them outside the U.S.

Much has been said about the advantage Apple has in its tight control of hardware. But Apple's meticulously calibrated retail experience matters just as much.

Offering a superior customer experience may be a goal for any business--many fall short--but there's also a lesson here for corporate IT.

The consumerization of IT, a trend that has reshaped the corporate computing landscape over the past decade, can be seen as flight from a poor customer experience. Leave employees on underpowered hardware running Windows XP, and they're going to seek better computing elsewhere, perhaps on Apple's iPad or maybe even Google's forthcoming Chromebooks.

Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/229503438