The Motorola Split- Good For Enterprise - Unified Communications (UC) Strategies

The Motorola Split- Good For Enterprise

mfinneran

Faced with declining fortunes, Motorola has announced plans to split into two separate companies, essentially divesting their cellular handset division. The result should be good for enterprise users, as Motorola’s can now focus their full attention on enterprise rather than consumer product lines. A radical realignment has been anticipated given the problems besetting their handset division, and the well-publicized displeasure of investor Carl Icahn who holds 6% of Motorola’s stock. Icahn has been highly critical of the company’s management and has been lobbying for several seats on the company’s board.

Motorola’s phenomenal success and abrupt collapse in the handset business will be a management case study for years to come. They pioneered the flip phone with their classic StarTAC in January 1996, and hit a grand slam with the phenomenally successful Razr. According to Wikipedia, the original black Razr was introduced in May 2005 and distributed in the celebrity gift bags at the 77th Academy Awards. After that however, it appears after that Motorola’s only innovation was to paint it different colors and lower the price. Soon their one core product had become a commodity, and there was nothing new in the pipeline. When Apple launched the iPhone in mid-2007, it became painfully clear just how far Motorola had slipped.

While Motorola is losing the handsets they are keeping Enterprise Mobility Solutions, and that’s good news for the enterprise customers. At the center of that group is the Symbol Technologies business they bought last year- with the money they made from the Razr. Symbol is a pioneer in enterprise wireless and developing communications enabled businesses processes. While the Paris Hilton was getting a Razr in her goody bag, Symbol was advertising their expertise in the “non-carpeted areas of the enterprise”. With a solid product line of mobile computers, RFID equipment, and wireless network infrastructure elements, Symbol’s network of systems integrators have demonstrated how linking mobile communications to core business applications can impact the bottom line.

So while the business press may lament Moto’s fall in the consumer wireless business, this is good news for enterprise users.

One other rumor to watch is that Motorola might now be acquiring Nortel. Now wouldn’t that be news.

 



 

No Comments Yet.

To Leave a Comment, Please Login or Register

UC Summit 2013 UC Alerts
UC Blogs
UC Solutions RSS Feeds