Nokia's Partnership With Microsoft: A Good Choice?

When Nokia filed its paperwork with the U.S. SEC, it brought to light some of the many interesting trials that the company may have to deal with when it goes forward with its partnership with Microsoft.

It was stated that Nokia will begin to officially phase out their current phone software, which is entitled Symbian, and will instead be installing Microsoft Windows Phone software in its place. What hardships could this possibly cause for the company?

First off, the new software from Microsoft is still in is early stages. With many of the major smart phones today carrying either the Android OS or the Apple OS, it may be quite difficult for this partnership to blossom in an environment which is already dominated by other more popular, and more proven operating systems.

Secondly, there is no telling how long it will take to fully integrate Microsoft's software effectively into Nokia's fleet of hardware. If it takes too long, it may not grow properly and become competitive enough to play a major role in this particular arena.

Third is usually the most obvious in a partnership of this kind, money. Back in 2008, Nokia made a major purchase of Symbian. They spent $200 million (USD) to purchase the part of the company not already in their possession. The upside to this was that Symbian was a royalty-free software. However, now Nokia will have to pay royalties to Microsoft.

When it comes to an arrangement of this kind, it really is difficult to tell if it will work out in the long run. Nokia, who is foreseeing layoffs of large groups of its employees, may have to also face a hit in the form of morale. Even when you consider their optimistic view of the situation and their expectations of growth, it still carries a lot of weight when a company doesn't publicize its annual targets for the coming year.

In the end, will it work out for Nokia and Microsoft? We'll just have to wait and see. While it is entirely possible that, Microsoft will be able to use the exposure of Nokia to its advantage in this instance, and of course, vice versa, both companies need to realize what they are up against. This is a battlefield of fierce competition and neither Apple nor Android want to lose customers. If Nokia and Microsoft want to plant themselves solidly in this market, they will need to strike firmly and with a total product that has few glitches. If they cannot deliver in this fashion, it may cost both companies more than just a financial hardship.