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INTRODUCTION.
Nokia is a Finnish multinational corporation founded on 12 May 1865 as a single paper
mill operation. Through the 19th century the company expanded, branching into several
different products. In 1967, the Nokia corporation was formed. In the late 20th century, the
company took advantage of the increasing popularity of computer and mobile phones.
However, increased competition and other market forces caused changes in Nokia's business
arrangements. In 2014, Nokia's mobile phone business was sold to Microsoft.

Rise of Nokia
From a pulp mill to a telecom giant, Nokia climbed the ladder of
success like no other mobile company.

In 1992, Nokia launched the world’s first GSM phone: Nokia 1011. In
1998, the company overtook Motorola and became the best-selling
mobile phone company. At its peak, in 2007, Nokia’s worldwide
market share stood at 49.4%, the highest in the world.

However, behind the curtains, something else was brewing. The

collapse of Nokia had already begun, way before 2007. It started from
within the top management, and just like dominoes, one by one,
everything went down.

A Timeline of Nokia’s Failure

After dominating the mobile industry for more than a decade, Nokia’s
sales went down. It was a result of both internal decisions and the
external environment.
  Change in The Top Management
 The Arrival of New Companies
 Delay in The Release of New Phones
 Partnership with Microsoft
 Acquisition By Microsoft
Reasons for Nokia’s Failure
There are numerous reasons that led to Nokia’s failure. Here are some
of the major reasons among them.

Failed to Adapt
Despite knowing that there was more demand for software than
hardware, Nokia stuck to their old ways and didn’t adapt to the
changing environment. When Nokia eventually did realize their
mistake, it was a little too late, because people moved on to Android
and Apple’s phone.

Failed to Innovate
In the early 2000s, it knew that innovation is the key to stay relevant
and push the boundaries of technology. But as demand for their
phones grew, their focus shifted to manufacturing, to fulfill those
demands. It focused less on innovation and more on mass production
and as a result, companies like Samsung, Apple, HTC, etc., started to
gain some market with their innovative & simple OSs.

Failed to Reposition Itself

Nokia should have analyzed the market trends and repositioned
Itself accordingly. It failed to do so. It did not focus on the smartphone
market and missed the opportunity. Nokia could have improved their
existing software: Symbian.
Overconfident
The top management of Nokia thought that nothing could ever go
wrong until it did. New companies arrived with new ideas and
technologies and Nokia turned a blind eye to them.. In this
overconfidence and ignorance, Nokia failed.

Changed the Organizational Structure

Nokia shifted to the matrix structure. It was a sudden shift and was
done to improve agility. A lot of stakeholders were upset and people in
top management left the company. The people who helped Nokia to
become the best company were no longer there..

Had Internal Issues

“We were spending more time-fighting politics than doing design,”
said Alastair Curtis, Nokia’s chief designer from 2006 to 2009.

Many divisions of the company were not coordinating with each other
properly. The impact of these problems was not direct but it played a
role in the downfall of Nokia.

Failed to Compete in the Smartphone Market

While companies like Samsung, Apple, HTC were making software-
driven phones, Nokia was still fixated on the traditional phones. It did
try to compete by releasing N97 with new Symbian OS, but it was too
late as Android phones and Apple phones were already established.

The Symbian OS vs MeeGo OS Confusion

The company’s R&D division was divided into two. One was working
on improving Symbian and the other on MeeGo. Both teams claimed
that their software was better. This competition resulted in delays in
releasing new phones.
Frequently Changed the Management
Having stable top management helps the company to stay on one
track. But this was not the case of Nokia, in the span of 5 years, the
CEO was replaced 2 times. This frequent change didn’t give the
employees to adjust to the new CEO’s goals and visions. This caused
dissatisfaction among the employees and other stakeholders.

Failed to Switch to Android

Nokia had the opportunity to join hands with Google and make
android phones but refused to do so. This was one of the biggest
mistakes Nokia made. Android OS was simple, faster, and had a great
collection of applications on its store, which made it so popular. If
Nokia had switched to Android in time, their story would have been
different.

Decision-Making Was Slow

The top management took too long to make decisions. Frank Nuovo,
former vice-president, and chief designer left the company in 2006. He
said that the management was slow to make decisions that required
urgency. Many opportunities were lost due to this. Way before the
release of the iPhone, Nokia’s research department had already come
up with the idea. But because of the corporate culture that was
prevailing, it never saw the light of the day.

Partnered with Microsoft

In 2011, Nokia announced a partnership with Microsoft. They were
going to make windows smartphones, which didn’t work in the market
due to a lack of applications in the windows store. Nokia was on the
brink of bankruptcy, but Microsoft bought the mobile devices division
of Nokia in 2014 for $7.2 billion.  
Aftermath
To this day, Nokia exists, not as relevant as it was in the past. Its glory
days are long gone, but it is still trying to regain it by not repeating the
mistakes of the past.

Nokia focused on network equipment through Nokia Networks, after

the sale of its mobile phone division in 2014. Nokia Networks has its
operations in more than 150 countries, it deals in wireless and fixed
network infrastructure, communications and networks service
platforms, and professional services to operators and service
providers. Nokia’s ranking in global telecom infrastructure was 5 th in
2018 and it is paving its way to the top.

In 2016, Microsoft sold the mobile phone division of Nokia, for $350
million to HMD Global, which was a company made up of previous
Nokia’s executives.

In 2017, HMD Global released an Android-based smartphone under

the brand name of Nokia.

The company’s Android phones were well received by the audience.

Still, it is a long way from catching up to the current competition