Nokia to concentrate on consumer push services

Developing and marketing of business-driven Intellisync products to cease

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Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is renewing its service strategy by concentrating all efforts on consumer push services. The company will cease to develop and market its own “behind-the-firewall” Intellisync mobile solutions for businesses.
      In the autumn of 2005 Nokia purchased the American software house Intellisync for EUR 370 million, justifying the move with the need to strengthen the company’s position in the wireless company solutions and particularly e-mail environment.
      “Some of the software applications acquired in connection with the Intellisync purchase will be reused in e-mail solutions offered to consumers”, states Niklas Savander, EVP, Services & Software, Nokia.
      In practice, the change of direction means that Nokia handsets utilising the S60 platform will be tuned to be compatible with client companies’ internal data systems. Nokia has already commenced cooperation in the field of wireless e-mail services with the software giant Microsoft. Other cooperation partners include for example IBM, Cisco, and Oracle.
      “Wirelessness has become mainstream in the world of business data systems. It is no longer a speciality field that would require special experts. When mobilising applications, companies often turn to their existing software providers.”
     
Nokia, had to decide whether to embark on a large-scale development of its business software solutions risking competition against the industry's leading enterprise vendors, or to concentrate on its core business, which is mobile devices and related services.
      The Canadian competitor Research in Motion, which specialises in e-mail phones, has rapidly increased its market share partly at Nokia’s expense. RIM is best-known as the developer of the Blackberry handheld communications device.
      “We have to invest in areas where we see our greatest potential to become market leaders or runner-ups. On the business side this means that our devices’ market share and foothold in companies are maintained.”
     
As a result of the move, the unit headed by Savander now has five main spheres of business activities instead of six. These are music, games, media services, personal communication, and maps and navigation.
      One possible way of ensuring that consumers will remain loyal to Nokia is to offer them free email accounts through Nokia’s Ovi service.
      “That is one possibility”, Savander says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Nokia stock buoyant on announcement of new music & games portal and N81 handset (30.8.2007)
  Large acquisition reflects Nokia´s strategy in uncharted waters (22.11.2005)

Links:
  Nokia press release 29.9.2008

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