Looking to rejuvenate its overall business, Nokia on Friday unveiled a slew of strategic initiatives including partnership with Microsoft and an organisational rejig.
The changes at the world’s largest mobilephone maker under its chief Stephen Elpo would also see revamp in executive leadership at various operations.
“Nokia is at a critical juncture where significant change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward. Today, we are accelerating that change through a new path, aimed at regaining our smartphone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and realising our investments in the future,” Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop said in a statement.
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With these moves, Nokia hopes to strengthen its business position amid rising competition from major rivals such as Apple and Google.
Windows Phone as main platform
Nokia would forge a “strategic partnership” with Microsoft, whereby the Finnish entity would make Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform.
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With this step, Nokia’s own Symbian operating system would become a franchise platform.
The Finnish firm noted that it expects to sell about 150 million more Symbian devices in the years to come. Further, the company’s MeeGo would become an “open-source, mobile operating system project".
Meanwhile, from April 1, Nokia would have a new company structure with two distinct business units — Smart Devices and Mobile Phones.
These units would focus on high-end smartphones and mass-market mobile phones.
“Each unit will have profit-and-loss responsibility and end-to-end accountability for the full consumer experience, including product development, product management and product marketing,” the statement noted.
Smart Devices unit, responsible for smartphones, would be led by Jo Harlow. Further, Symbian Smartphones, MeeGo Computers and Strategic Business Operations would come under the new division.
Markets unit would be responsible for selling products, sourcing, customer care, manufacturing, IT and logistics among others. This division would be helmed by Niklas Savander.