When I joined Motorola some years ago, it was one company. After a few years, Motorola got split up into two companies, Motorola Mobility, which became the handsets business and Motorola Solutions, which was primarily the networks and push-to-talk business. I became part of Motorola Solutions after that split.
A few years later, Motorola Mobility got bought over by Google. And a part of the Motorola Solutions business by Nokia-Siemens Networks (NSN). That brought an end to an 80 year old company called Motorola; though Motorola Solutions is still around carrying the legacy of Motorola, albeit only a small piece of the giant it once was. For many of the old-timers, it was a defining moment.
Well, I became part of the NSN group after that (A joint partnership between Nokia and Siemens). Later this year, Siemens pulled out of this partnership and we became Nokia Solutions and Networks (still retaining the name NSN!).
And now, just a few weeks ago, Microsoft has bought over Nokia itself. With it, another company, with almost a 150 year old history has come to an end. And I am sure that very many emotions were at play on the minds and hearts of those who had been associated with it.
So I was wondering for a while if we will soon be called MSN (though I had a sneaky feeling I had heard that name somewhere before!). But that was not the case and our company continues to function as NSN, a Nokia company.
But imagine I am introducing myself and I am asked where I worked. Earlier it was simple. I would simply say, “I work for Motorola”. After a few years, “I work for Motorola Solutions”. Now here comes the confusion. People unfamiliar with the Motorola brand would automatically associate it with mobile phones, and I would have to patiently explain the difference between the network world and the handset world. And then after a few years I said, “I work for NSN..it stands for Nokia-Siemens Networks, which recently acquired the networks divisions of Motorola Solutions”. So they would say, “Ah, so Motorola exists no more?”, and I would say, “It does, Motorola Solutions is still around..”. Confusion!
Thankfully, the name NSN qualified what world I worked in, but many would still continue saying I work in “Nokia” (the devices company), which wasn’t true!
From this year I have been saying, “I work for Nokia-Solutions and Networks”. And now when I say this, they would say, “But didn’t Nokia get bought over by Microsoft” (someone’s reading up the papers!)”. I would go on to explain that Nokia (the handsets company) is bought over. The Nokia legacy still lives on, albeit in a smaller form, as NSN.
By the way, all this was only what I have seen happening. I have not gone into the legacies of these companies, or the numerous companies that were an offshoot from them, in previous years! But, having seen some of the action, I have now developed this ability to roll-off words like mergers and acquisitions and consolidation in the telecom world etc, quite adroitly!
In any case, what is quite apparent is that many of the earlier so called “software-only” companies are getting into the mobile eco-system and mobile computing/devices business.
I am sure many others might have witnessed something similar elsewhere! Do share your thoughts.
