Two Nokia stories for the price of one here, man. Can’t argue with that. In story the first, we’re hearing that former CEO Jorma Ollila could see exactly where Nokia was headed.
And in related news (in the sense that it relates to Nokia being a bit rubbish), various analysts are predicting that Microsoft will bail out Nokia, should the need arise.
Jorma Ollila was the big cheese at Nokia from 1992 to 2006, mostly good times, but admits that the company was well aware there were hard times ahead.
“It was mainly started with the weak software platform and the fact that this was not a European strength. We had recognized for 10 years, in the late 90′s and early 2000 what Nokia’s strength should be, but we were not in a position to implement it,” explains Jorma.
Ollila reckons it’s not too late to turns things around, but notes: “In any case, this will be a long process, almost a marathon.”
As for Nokia’s partnership with Team Ballmer, Microsoft reportedly pumps $1 billion a year into the Finnish manufacturer for adopting Windows Phone 7 as its “primary smartphone platform”.
However, despite that injection, Nokia is struggling, with both profits and market share on the slide. But big daddy Microsoft isn’t about to let Nokia sink.
“If Nokia ends up in financial difficulties I believe the helping hand would be there,” says Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies.
Microsoft is said to have $60 billion in cash lying around, while Nokia is worth around $9.3 billion. Buyout? Nokisoft? Nah, probably not.
“I don’t see Microsoft owning Nokia, but it would definitely provide financing to the tune of a couple of billion dollars,” adds another chap.
All in all, a pretty sorry state of affairs for the world’s former number one.
via: WMPoweruser
