FT: Microsoft and Nokia: key questions

Microsoft and Nokia: key questions

Microsoft and Nokia have a lot in common: they both had their respective markets to themselves, and they both managed to be cut down to size by the competition. And they managed this feat not because of the strength of the competition, but because of their own ineptitude. Microsoft is still a behemoth and makes a lot of money, mostly thanks to inertia. as most businesses have too much invested in Windows to ditch it without a huge write-off in terms of software and personnel training. The mobile telephony market is much easier to shift, so Nokia did not profit from its huge installed base when the iPhone and then Google joined the fray. One could be tempted to say that both sides are hopeless and heading downhill – except that a good leader could pull them out of trouble. Let’s not forget that Apple, until Steve Jobs’ comeback, was going fast downhill. Now, as for finding a good leader, that’s another matter.

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