PROFILE: NOKIA
As its strapline suggests, Nokia is really good at ‘connecting people’. This Finnish icon is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile devices and has around 40% of the global device market. Nokia is very, very successful and, in 2006, generated revenue that for the first time was in excess of Finland’s state budget. Nokia has always used innovation as a key driver for growth: first, by pioneering GSM and then by reinventing the concept of product personalisation. These days Nokia’s challenge is to maintain its position in a world increasingly converged and dominated by the likes of Google and Microsoft. However, while these companies have strong brands and interesting plans for the future, they don’t have control over the handset. Nokia is bundling great services with tailored, user-friendly hardware. With a billion customers and relationships with hundreds of operators around the world, Nokia may well manage to hold its place.