Delivering Cloud services takes a different culture and mentality than building hardware so buying the tech pieces in was not in itself the wrong strategy but the pieces they bought and the prices they paid as well as the lack of leadership was.

But it fails to see that a good business strategy supersedes good technology. I maintain Apple is the greatest “non tech” tech company. This is more in reflection where Apple does not lead on tech invariably it follows yet has carved out more profits than the rest if the smartphone industry combined. Waxing lyrical about new tech is entertaining but in itself its not enough.

I’ve ttried to Elaine multiple times that its about profit and in the long run Nokia cannot profit from this partnership. Superficial changes to the os will not be enough differentiation and they will have to cut prices eventually to compete.

Why can’t people understand that most of the benefit to this partnership will be accrued by Microsoft.

I guess this is a tech blog not a business blog. People just don’t get economics

1)MS pushes updates to the carriers and to the manufacturers. They then test and OK the update. The carriers or manufacturers can delay the process. Apple greatest achievement was bypassing the carriers. MS needs to bypass the carriers for updates – they simply slow the process down. Will Nokia updates be pushed out faster than other makers?

2) What services will MS deliver and which services will Nokia develop and deliver? MS delivers Bing Search, Zune, App Market, Hotmail, Skydrive, Maps, Messenger, Photo upload and soon Skype. Nokia delivers Ovi store, Maps, email, photo upload, Music.

Overlaps – music, email, maps, photo upload, app market.

1) having 2 music services can be confusing but Nokia will eventually close its music store and just provide a streaming service. MS will push Zune hard.

2) Losing Nokia email service is no real loss to Nokia. Hotmail is more widely used.

3) Nokia Navigation and their online Maps service is far far superior to MS Navigation and Maps service. MS should let Nokia lead on this.

4) Photo upload – MS to take control of this.

5)MS will not cede any control to Nokia of their App market. Nokia App market will only live on the dying Symbian and possibly S40.

Nokia online services which it put a great deal of effort into will also be dismantled.

It’s problems were of its own creation where senior management were too engrossed in creating their own fiefdoms and then when pushed into action they thought that having departments fight for resources would create an environment where the best products would rise to the top. How pathetically wrong they were. I am of a firm belief that consultants, business schools and MBA are conditioned to think one way and in the end implement what is the flavour of the day. I have come across too many carbon copy braindead MBA to dissuade me of this opinion. Nokia in the end tripped and stumbled to the point they were looking at anything, any solution and Elop sold them a beautiful narrative.

If I was asked which ecosystem to pick from Android and WP I would have picked WP. This does not absolve Elop of his crimes as I pointed above in gutting what was good at Nokia. I do not know the details of the deal that was cut but to me it has not currently played out where Nokia has the upper hand. MS needed Nokia more than Nokia needed MS but it seems the deal so far feels like the other way round.