Renewed focus
Nokia is considered to be struggling in the smartphone and mobile device market, with Apple and Android currently getting all the buzz, but there can no longer be any doubt how seriously it's taking this challenge.
Today the Finnish handset giant announced a fundamental organisational restructure; creating a major new business unit dedicated to what it calls Mobile Solutions. This unit will focus solely on its high-end mobile computing efforts, which includes smartphones, running on either the MeeGo or Symbian operating systems.
"In addition to extending our leadership in mobile phones, we are decisively moving to respond faster to growth opportunities we expect in smartphones and mobile computers," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia CEO.
"Nokia's new organizational structure is designed to speed up execution and accelerate innovation, both short-term and longer-term. We believe that this will allow us to build stronger mobile solutions - a portfolio of products and integrated services that connect people and enable new ways of communicating, sharing and experiencing mobility."
There will be sub-units within mobile services concerned with MeeGo, Symbian and Ovi. Nokia has also appointed a new CTO - Rich Green - who is based in Silicon Valley and counts Sun Microsystems among his former employers.
This is a clear statement of intent from Nokia that it wants to up its game in the smartphone and mobile device sector and, effectively, an admission that it hasn't done enough to date. It will be interesting to see how Nokia's offerings in this area change as a result.
