Elop 'Burns Boats' in Shifting Symbian to Accenture: He had to do it to focus Nokia staff

Last week, Nokia announced that 7,000 jobs would be cut from the handsets side of Nokia, saving the company about 1 Billion dollars in salary costs. 3,000 of those were the shifting of Symbian and its staff from Nokia to Accenture, where Symbian development is now effectively outsourced. A few notes about the Symbian move. This is something Elop had to do, and do fast.

1. Nokia had seen perilous declines in profitability in its handset unit. This kind of cost-cutting is necessary. Rivals like Motorola and LG are still making losses and SonyEricsson was barely profitable. Nokia's profitability was on a severe downward slope, one of the answers is job cuts. This was to be expected. CEO Stephen Elop was tasked to rescue the company and many expected cuts in the 5,000 - 6,000 range. That he did 7,000 tells the investors that he is acting decisively and boldly and is not afraid to take on entrenched interests such as the unions.

2. The outsourcing of Nokia non-core functions is normal operating procedure at Nokia at various reshuffles. As in the past, when Nokia grew some departments strongly, in response to a rapidly shifting world, Nokia would often find it could not hire the right competences or not manage them well, unless done in-house. But that is expensive. As the various new processes then matured, it was normal for Nokia to shift them to outside companies from companies like Satama to others like Accenture. This shift of Symbian staff was to be expected and is not a surprise.

3. It was actually the right thing for Stephen Elop to do. He had to 'burn the boats'. Like Spanish conquistador Cortez is said to have done (some disagreement if he did), when he landed his army in Mexico to fight the Aztec Empire, he (so many believe) burned his ships with his troops to see, there was no possible retreat. They had to fight or else perish.

This is the toughest year Nokia has faced since it was on brink of bankruptcy back in the days of a multi-industry conglomerate some 3 decades ago (when Nokia made just about anything from toilet paper to television sets, from rubber boots to military computers) What Stephen Elop needs is the clearest single-minded focus of all of his employees, to work on the task at hand, make Nokia's transition to Windows Phone 7 smartphones a success. He cannot afford the backroom bickering that all the disgruntled Symbian staff might be doing at the water cooler.

Now he has outsourced the whole problem to Accenture. If any of the former Nokia Symbian staff grumble there, it is not sapping Nokia morale. And if Accenture staff say nasty things about Symbian (and by infrence Nokia) in public, they can take action. The employees who were shifted to Accenture will know, they narrowly missed being fired outright, and will mostly feel happy that they now have an employer who is at least committed to them and their skills, not looking to get rid of them.

Now Symbian the operating system can do its death in peace and quiet, without much further stain on Stepen Elop's early career, soon becoming just a footnote of tech history. And for however many handsets Nokia still makes on Symbian (very likely will do that promised 150 million but probably not many million beyond that), Nokia can focus on the hardware only, again distancing Elop from Symbian and what came before him.

This was the right thing for Stephen Elop to do. We may agree or disagree on his choice of Microsoft Phone 7 as his new smartphone operating system but once that decision was made, he had to get rid of MeeGo, Qt and of Symbian, all which have no place in the future with Microsoft (Ovi will be obviously refocused to utilize the Microsoft partnership). This was the right thing to do.

Meanwhile on that knowhow. What a rich deep resource pool was shifted to Accenture in the move! Whatever you may think of Nokia smartphones and Symbian of late, it was this smartphones software group which did most of the heavy lifting and inventing, seeing an improbable, unlikely future, and made it happen. Remember, Nokia sold touch screen smartphones long before there was an iPhone. Nokia created the world's first pure gaming smartphone half a decade before the iPhone emerged as the world's favorite pocket gaming device (Nokia did that with its own app store too long before Apple launched its app store) and the world's first consumer-oriented smartphone. Obviously on the enterprise side, long before there was a Blackberry, there was the Communicator, as Nokia invented the smartphone itself, and then early in the previous decade, Nokia was the first phone maker to split its smartphone business into divisions, one focusing on enterprise smartphones and their apps. Nokia was the first phone maker to audaciously claim that what they offered for the pocket was a true computer - something today in the iPhone era, all PC makers agree is true. And while Symbian was indeed an old operating system, it was designed for phones or pocketable devices, it worked very well with smartphone also of modest performance specs, and did have most of those things that were missing from the early iPhones, and also missing from many rival operating systems early on, like multitasking, folder views, Microsoft Office suite compatibility, while being the most compatible system around supporting just about everything including Adobe Flash of course.

Symbian is an old and obsolescent operating system, that is true. But it was kept alive with continuous updates where all of its contemporary operating systems had been killed along the way. Symbian had always been developed with backwards compatibility (an expensive option, but one much better for developers and end-users than deciding to not have it, like Microsoft did last year when they announced that the new smartphone operating system Phone 7 would not be compatible with Microsoft's legacy OS of nearly ten years, Windows Mobile). And Symbian was being developed always to supply multiple handset makers, another factor that added costs (compared to say Apple or RIM or HP/Palm whose operating system only needs to power smartphones for one maker, addressing one specific customer segment). Where many complained that Symbian was out of date, in reality, it was the operating system of choice by Japan's NTT DoCoMo, powering their smartphones/featurephones which by most measures are the most advanced phones on the planet. So there was (and still is) life left in that operating system, inspite of its age.

That Symbian had survived this long and still remained viable - and the latest iteration, Symbian S^3 is quite user-friendly even as a touch-screen OS - is testament to the hard work and dedication of the Symbian development staff, led increasingly by Nokia. That Nokia itself had achieved one massive milestone after another in the true inventions and innovations of smartphones (even if to modest successes in some cases, where Nokia's invention was clearly ahead of its time - this is no crime, look at Apple's Newton, which while failing the market, is still seen as the first modern PDA).

The smartphone environment and the operating systems and app stores we use today are all richer and better because of the pioneering work done by Nokia and its smartphone developers. Much of that staff, in particular on the side of the software and OS skills, has now shifted to Accenture. What Accenture gains in this transfer of knowhow, is an immense depository of the deepest knowhow into the future of digital convergence. If Accenture wants, it can use this as a big stepping stone to building a bigger future for Accenture in the digitally converging space.

I wish all my friends and colleagues at Nokia/Symbian and now Accenture the very best. The options if you had remained at Nokia were not good. But hopefully at Accenture your skills will be recognized and celebrated and you will find a new career and greater success there.

Symbian is dead, long live Symbian..  :-) 

Comments

[replica handbags]

This is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the good work.

[prada]

Ciao! Mi sono imbattuto nel tuo sito completamente per errore, e sono veramente felice di averlo fatto! Questo è molto interessante, e posso dire che avete trascorso qualche tempo a studiare questo. Grazie!

[Lancel]

Ceci est ma première fois que je visite ici. J'ai trouvé tellement de choses intéressantes sur votre blog en particulier sa discussion. Du tonnes de commentaires sur vos articles, je suppose que je ne suis pas le seul à avoir tout le plaisir ici! maintenir le bon travail.

[cheap beatz by dre]

service firm as Accenture probably has the rights capabilites to to move these professionals over to other areas.

[Refurbished Dell Laptops]

Make it Easy to Comment I leave a lot of comments on a lot of blogs each week – but there is one situation where I rarely leave a comment – even if the post deserves it – blogs that require me to login before making a comment. Maybe I’m lazy (actually there’s no maybe about it) or maybe there’s something inside me that worries about giving out my personal details..

http://www.refurbishedp4.com

[ノースフェイス]

価に（2 +1）が含まれているかどうかわからない場合は評価、ない古き良き時代から多くのプライマリとセカンダリの学校の生徒。

[グッチ]

亘理町によると、荒浜地区の堤防沿いは町の集団移転の対象となる「移転促進区域」に含まれていない地域も多く、建築制限もかかっていない。このため流失を免れた自宅の修復を終えた住民もいる。

[Hermes UK]

It s well known that the hermes uk is one of the biggest names in luxury, so we are coming

up with the expensive price. Do you think that Hermes Birkin bags from our online store are

coming with a reasonable price? It is a fact that most people would think would never

happen, but the fact is that these bags are very popular in the price that most people have

the ability to deliver on our reputation online, so you should come and take this

opportunity quickly, are good things that make you excited.

[chemistry answers]

they killed symbian

[Air Jordan France]

let's join our hands together to stop this kind of wrong doings. It may risk lives in the future if we just let them continue.

[wholesale New Era Hats]

I really love your blogs!

[phone number lookup]

Not sure if this can go on.

[reverse cell phone lookup]

the best dating web pages have been those website pages which also gives you some freebies and souvenirs’

[reverse cell phone lookup]

Shame on you for creating an alternative terrific post! Awesome stuff, keep up the good work. I see quite a ton of potential! I question when you are an active user with any social networking internet sites along the lines of Digg or Stumble Upon

[reverse cell phone lookup]

Let me start by saying nice post. Im not sure if it has been talked about, but when using Chrome I can never figure out that the entire site to load without refreshing lots of times. Could just be my computer. Thanks.

[funny sms messages]

When a vendor serves via a fountain the carbonation, water, cup/container, can come from another vendor besides Coke. The amount of product supllied from Coke can be under five cents.

[fakeoakleysmalls]

Besides enjoying the healing benefits of tea beverage, michael kors bags here are other creative ways to use your tea bags:
• Soothe a sunburn or radiation treatment with aloe tea applied topically on the affected area for faster healing and more comfort while sleeping. michael kors handbags Just brew two to four bags of aloe tea and pour it into cool bath. Soak in the bath to allow healing and prevent moisture loss from the skin. Burns can also be washed with cooled aloe tea used in a mist-maker.
• For a quick cold and flu fix,http://www.michaelkorsbagshops.com/ spice up your bath with ginger. Just brew two bags of ginger tea in a pot of hot water, let it steep then add it to a prepared bath. The warm and stimulating effect of ginger is perfect for those who normally experience cold hands and feet, or for those who are recovering from a chill after suffering from a cold, flu or other illness.
• For instant relaxation and skin rejuvenation, make your own handy facial mist by letting two bags of lavender or chamomile tea steep until cool, then pour in a spray-mist bottle.
• Stir up some potpourri and soothe your senses at home with two tea bags (jasmine, orange or ginger works well) allowed to slightly simmer in a pan of water. Add a slice of orange, a cinnamon stick, or a few slices of apple for a more potent aroma. If you are planning to sell your house, this could be just the trick you need to inspire that prospective buyer.

[you can try these out]

You will not end up with a backyard that looks like a jungle nightmare! The selling point hot tub cinema of these tubs can easily fit 2 people so you can treat your hot tub has a strong structural support and since a hot tub so it doesn't ice up. Always have a cover on it so that your hot hot tub cinema tub.

[Bettye]

Saunas have a lot of care and hot tub patio ideas use. Water in these tubs is that it helps in prevention of birth of bacteria and germs such as molds, mildew and other water particles causing the cloudy water on your hot tub. This is actually an ideal way to rejuvenate the mind and body from the comforts of home, a hot tub. People who suffer from it, entertaining friends, hydrotherapy, and relaxation. Of course you can just sit down and relax and be in a state of attire -- swim wear -- that can make strangers uncomfortable.

[www.goodwebdiscount.com/boost-your-bust]

Monster of Hidden Treasures was a further exclusive person. They have a pretty innovative decor. You'll also study the proper cardio exercise exercises that allow you to shed extra fat while earning muscular tissues.