Nokia CEO Warns of Sinking Smartphone Business

When Nokia poached Stephen Elop from Microsoft to take the reins of the Finnish handset giant, he knew he was being asked to lead a turnaround mission.

And now, it appears he is poised to roll out some sweeping changes.

In an internal memo that leaked to the press, Elop likened Nokia’s position to a man on a burning oil platform in the North Sea, forced to make the radical — normally unthinkable — decision to jump into the icy waters below to save himself. It’s an evocative image, one Elop appears to have chosen to prepare the troops for a bracing shift in strategy.

Elop, who is due to present his vision for Nokia’s future at a conference in London, called the Symbian platform “non-competitive,” and had harsh words for the management decisions that led the company to its current, unenviable position.

“While competitors poured flames on our market share, what happened at Nokia? We fell behind, we missed big trends, and we lost time. At that time, we thought we were making the right decisions; but, with the benefit of hindsight, we now find ourselves years behind,” Elop said, noting the surging popularity of Apple’s iPhone and handsets powered by Google’s Android operating system.

Enterprise Mobile Today reports on Elop’s sharply worded memo to Nokia’s employees.

Read the full story at Enterprise Mobile Today:


New Nokia Head: We’re on a ‘Burning Platform’