[geeks] Nokia is getting the Rick Belluzzo treatment...

[gsm at mendelson.com]

On Thu, Jun 02, 2011 at 09:28:43AM -0400, Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:
>It's almost like MSFT has these MBA-ninja's whose job is to infiltrate
>then destroy other companies ...

Maybe it's the other way around. They are hired to transition the company
or the product to Microsoft. 

Many companies here are over-invested, they have a simple technology or a
single patent that would be worth $5-10m but were bubbled up to $30-$50m
and have no chance of ever producing a product that would make that much
profit.

The original founders have long since sold out, and made their money,
the people left are glad to get anything back before they run out of
money to pour into it, everybody gives up and quits, or the competition
produces a viable product. Microsoft comes in and offers them $.75 on
the dollar and they take it.

These MBA-Ninjas are hired to get the best deal in the shortest time. 

In the case of Nokia, maybe they just want to get out of the operating
system business. Or get out of the phone business entirely. Cell phones used
to be a high profit business, especially Nokia ones. Now there are lots of
competitors, business is bad, and profits are low.

If they can transition the business to produce phones for Microsoft who 
would pay a fixed price per unit, it would be a win for them.

Nokia took a big sales hit when the Iranians tried to revolt. The software
used by government to monitor and limit their web access was produced by a
unit of Nokia, and Nokia phones suddenly became very unpopular.

Geoff.


-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
Making your enemy reliant on software you support is the best revenge.