Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has considered several facts before finalizing the $7.2 billion Nokia acquisition. The software giant wants to compete with Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone.
The following article is based on Steve Ballmer and his teams’ presentation made at Microsoft HQ on 3 September.
Microsoft team felt that as a result of their Windows Phone innovations, combined with Nokia’s device portfolio, their distribution and retail promotions, Windows Phone reached over 10 percent share in nine markets.
In 34 markets Windows Phones outsell Blackberry, from Australia to China to Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Russia, and the United States. ( Microsoft buys Nokia devices for $7.17 billion in cash )
Nokia Windows Phone momentum has made Windows Phone the fastest growing mobile platform, with 78 percent year over year growth.
Steve Ballmer says the deal strengthens Microsoft in many ways. Nokia deal is part of Microsoft’s transformation.
“Microsoft I joined 33 years ago was a company focused on software for personal computers. And software is a great skill and will always be a core strength of Microsoft. The PC is an important device, the most productive device on the planet, and will continue to be so,” he said.
“We need to be a company that provides a family of devices — in some cases we’ll build the devices, in many cases third parties, our OEMs, can build the devices — but a family of devices with integrated services that best empower people and businesses for the activities that they value the most,” he added.
“This is the single-most exciting deal in my 17 years at Microsoft, unlocking our potential to win in mobile devices. Together Nokia and Microsoft have the scale to combat Galaxy, the design to combat iPhone, and the innovation capabilities to lead it all,” said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Operating Systems, Microsoft.
Nokia acquisition is transformational in terms of giving us the capabilities to do physical devices in addition to the work we do with our OEM partners on virtual devices for Microsoft.
Phone is the most popular intelligent device now on the planet. There will be innovation in hardware and in software and that will give opportunities for us to build market share in the phone as a device, and that brings with it profit opportunities.
“We will support both iPhone and Android Galaxy phones with our services. But we run the risk that Google or Apple will foreclose our ability to innovate, to integrate our applications the way we have in Office, to do distribution, or to impose economic terms,” Ballmer added
There will be over 300 million Windows devices sold this year.
“We also know that there’s a relationship between tablets and PCs. An investment in Windows Phone, and the Windows ecosystem should help raise the tide of everything that we do,” Ballmer said.
With Office, with Skype, with Xbox Entertainment Services, SkyDrive, Bing, Microsoft has a powerful lineup of first rate services to deliver on high value experiences. “But in the mobile world mapping is essential, and we need a very effective alternative to Google for mapping. It is important to many players, including Microsoft, that there be more than one digital map of the world,” Ballmer said.
