Nokia and Microsoft to form global alliance on software and services to Nokia smartphones

Challenge thrown down to RIM's Blackberry

Kai Öistamö

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Nokia, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, and Microsoft, the worldwide leader in software, have entered into a global alliance in order to secure a dominant position in the worldwide business mobility market.
     
The two companies announced on Wednesday that they will collaborate to bring Microsoft Office Mobile and related communications and device management software and services to Nokia Symbian smartphones.
      The aim is that in the future Nokia’s smartphones could be used to view, edit, create, and share Office documents as well as to allow mobile access to intranet and extranet portals of a given enterprise.
      Other future services will include enterprise device management as part of the company’s information system.
      Microsoft and Nokia's collaboration solutions will be available in 2010 and 2011 for a broad range of Nokia smartphones, starting with the company’s business-optimised range, the Nokia E-series.
     
The new partnership is seen as an effort by Nokia to boost its business mobile sales.
      According to a study published on Wednesday by Gartner, a US information technology research firm, Nokia is still the number one smartphone manufacturer, accounting for 45 per cent of total sales worldwide.
      However, particularly in the USA, Nokia’s success in the business mobile phone market has been only modest (see linked article).
      At the same time, the popularity of the Blackberry, developed by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM), has been surging ahead even in Europe.
      ”The Blackberry is primarily known for its ability to send and receive e-mail, while our device will provide a new way to fully integrate the smartphone into a company’s systems. This will set a huge challenge to RIM”, declared Kai Öistämö, Nokia’s Executive Vice President for Devices, speaking to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.
     
Almost all major mobile phone manufacturers except for Nokia already have Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system in their handheld devices. In their phones, many features such as those Nokia and Microsoft are planning now are already available.
      However, Microsoft and Nokia together will be able to outdo all previous devices, claims Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop.
      "The popularity of Nokia's Symbian devices in the smartphone market combined with Nokia’s expertise will be used to jointly design a range of new user experiences. In cooperation with Nokia we will be able to provide professional solutions to a much broader audience than before", Elop noted.
     
On the other hand, cooperation with Nokia could also be seen as a declaration of defeat by Microsoft, as the Windows Mobile operating system has not been as successful as expected.
      Phones with Nokia’s Symbian applications and the Blackberry devices are considerably more popular.
      However, Elop does not admit any defeat, saying that the Windows Mobile operating system will be developed further and it will be available for mobile phone manufacturers under licence.
     
At the same time, Öistämö vehemently denies that Nokia would plan to make Windows Mobile phones. Nokia regards the Symbian software as better and more versatile than Windows.
      ”One should look at the scale. Counting Nokia’s mobile phones alone, Symbian has a 45 per cent market share in the smartphone market, and the figure is growing constantly”, says Öistämö.
     
Nokia started closer cooperation with Microsoft a year or so ago when it introduced Microsoft’s e-mail software to its smartphones.
      According to Öistämö, 50 teleoperators worldwide have started to sell this service to enterprises as a part of Nokia’s mobile devices.
      Hundreds of employees from both companies are to join forces to develop and market the new software.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  No end in sight to Nokia´s woes in North America (11.8.2009)

See also:
  Bill Gates says Microsoft is not interested in buying Nokia (10.11.2006)

Links:
  Nokia press release 12.8.2009: Microsoft and Nokia form global alliance to design, develop and market mobile productivity solutions

Helsingin Sanomat