NOKIA on Sunday unveiled a plan to accelerate its growth across six pillars and a “refreshed brand” as part of its long-term strategic transformation.
The Finnish network equipment developer said it intends to pursue technological leadership to grow its market share, actively manage its portfolio to ensure a path to a leading position in all key segments, increase the share of corporate clients, seize new opportunities to monetise its intellectual property, implement new business models and develop environmental, social and corporate governance into a competitive advantage.
Pekka Lundmark, the CEO of Nokia, told Helsingin Sanomat that the company has decided to “put its food down on the gas pedal” after finding itself in a substantially improved technological position.
Nokia, he told, presently commands a share of 25–26 per cent share in mobile networks and one of less than 20 per cent in optical networks in geographies outside China.
“The markets are no longer growing too much in the networks of telecommunication companies, but we intend to expand our market share with new products. Also the geopolitical development is helping us,” he said, pointing to the problems faced by the Chinese rivals of Nokia.
A number of western telecommunication companies have discontinued equipment and software acquisitions from the rivals over espionage concerns.
Nokia last year saw revenue from its corporate business jump 21 per cent year-on-year to two billion euros, equivalent to roughly eight per cent of its 25-billion-euro revenue. Its most important corporate clients today are mines, ports and energy companies, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
“Automation is progressing rapidly in industry, which is why we’re seizing this growth opportunity hard,” explained Lundmark.
He said the company will look to become the technology leader in all business segments, increase its software-as-a-service operations and increase the licensing of patents in segments outside mobile phones, such as automotive and the internet of things.
“We intend to make responsibility into a competitive advantage,” he said of the sixth pillar. “This means that we’ll take into account aspects such as environmental considerations and information security in all our operations. The green transition and digitalisation support each other very strongly.”
Helsingin Sanomat pointed out that Nokia continues to employ about 10,000 companies in China, a country with a dubious human rights track record.
“It isn’t possible to decouple China from the world economy. [The European] Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said that China can’t be decoupled, but we have to do a better job of managing China-related risks and make sure we aren’t too reliant on it,” countered Lundmark.
Nokia on Sunday also revealed it intends to refresh its brand, including adopting a logo that is emblematic of an “energised, dynamic and modern” company.
“Our old logo is still closely associated with mobile phones. With the new visual design, we want to communicate that the company is renewing,” Lundmark added to Helsingin Sanomat.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
