Editor (Technology)
Microsoft just gained over 32,000 employees this week after unveiling it’s buyout of Nokia’s Devices and Services division from the Finnish company. The deal, part of outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer’s strategy to refocus the Redmond based behemoth into a devices and services company itself, has been rumoured ever since former Microsoft employee Stephen Elop moved into his position as CEO of the company three years ago.
The week’s events only served as evidence for many in the tech community who viewed Elop’s appointment as Microsoft’s own ‘trojan horse’, sent in to re-purpose the ailing phone manufacturer to serve Microsoft’s ends. With rumours of Elop replacing Ballmer as CEO, it’s easy to see why these rumours continue to persist, though it’s unlikely consumers will ever get a clear answer to their suspicions.
The deal means the death of the Nokia brand in the mobile space. Nokia’s remaining divisions of the company are barred from using the brand name on any mobile until December of 2015.
Microsoft is assuming control of the Lumia and Asha phone brands, with any new Lumias proudly displaying the Microsoft logo on the back of the case. Nokia’s move into Devices started with the release of it’s Surface tablet and the acquisition will no doubt mean a more recognisable Microsoft brand on the high-street.
Nokia’s alignment with the Windows Phone platform after a company wide memo announced the ‘burning’ of former Nokia OS Symbian clearly laid the roadmap for the acquisition of the company this week. Struggling at just over 10% of market share, the company’s admittedly stellar OS is struggling due to poor adoption from other careers and a real lack of dedicated apps.
The move to bring the chief supplier of Windows Phone handsets under Redmond’s roof is a strategy designed to ape both Apple and Samsung’s successful control model of their own phone ecosystems, in a move to better compete in an already crowded market.
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons (Ben Franske)
Miles McCormack
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