To grossly simplify Nokia’s current corporate structure, there is a devices unit that make phones, a services unit that make everything related to Ovi, and a sales unit that spends an insane amount of money to market the hell out of everything Nokia does. On October 1st, a new unit is going to open up called the “Solutions Unit”. No, this isn’t going to be a bunch of Finnish people passing around a bottle of Vodka around an open fire in the middle of the forest as they think up ways to assassinate Steve Jobs and make the world think the Russians did it. This is going to be the unit that pays attention to what the device guys and service guys are doing and then make something combining the two into a product that you as a consumer are going to love.
RIM is popular, not simply because of the BlackBerry device in your pocket, but the “solution” that comes with the push email service.
The iPhone is popular, not simply because of the new UI, but the “solution” they provide with iTunes and the App Store.
Nokia mobile phones, to be honest, don’t come with anything compelling. You turn them on, load up Opera Mini because it makes web browsing faster, the GMail app because it rocks, the Google Maps application because the search actually works … and that’s it. Nokia has yet to figure out how to properly bundle their services with their devices to create a compelling package.
This is what the solutions unit is for. It will be headed by Alberto Torres.
Full press release after the jump.
Espoo, Finland – Nokia strives to become a leading provider of mobile solutions. As the next logical step in this transformation strategy, Nokia has today announced the introduction of a Solutions unit as of October 1, 2009. Alberto Torres, currently head of Devices Category Management has been appointed to head the new Solutions Unit and becomes a member of the Group Executive Board as of October 1, 2009. Alberto Torres joined Nokia in 2004. Prior to his current position as Head of Devices Category Management, he held a number of senior positions in for example corporate strategy and Vertu devices.
“We are now fine-tuning our operations to accelerate the pace of our company’s change and to increase the speed, flexibility and innovation with which we meet consumer needs. The new unit will better enable us to deliver not only first-class devices and compelling consumer services, but also complete solutions that integrate the two seamlessly, ” says Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.
The Solutions unit will drive Nokia’s solutions offering and align it with the company’s devices and services portfolio; manage the end-to-end creation and delivery of solutions across the company together with the other Nokia units, and bring together all design and user experience activities to drive excellence in consumer experience.
Nokia naturally continues to deliver devices and services that are competitive also as stand-alone products.