Grupul finlandez Nokia, cel mai mare producător mondial de telefoane mobile, a anunţat vineri încheierea unui parteneriat strategic în domeniul software cu Microsoft Corp, pentru a răspunde provocărilor lansate de rivalii Google Inc şi Apple Inc.

Directorul general al Nokia, Stephen Elop, va anunţa vineri la Londra detaliile strategiei sale de recâştigare a cotei de piaţă şi a profitului companiei finlandeze. Parteneriatul dintre Nokia şi Microsoft este menit să ajute ambele companii să recupereze terenul pierdut în faţa rivalilor Google Inc şi Apple Inc pe piaţa telefoanelor inteligente (smartphone) şi tabletelor.

Stephen Elop a venit de la Microsoft în septembrie 2010 pentru a redresa Nokia, în special în sectorul software. El a făcut schimbări minore, anunţând concedierea a 1,800 de angajaţi din totalul de peste 120.000 şi numirea unui nou şef la marketing, Jerri DeVard.

Nokia a anunţat vineri că sistemul de operare Windows Phone 7 va fi utilizat ca platformă principală pe telefoanele inteligente fabricate de compania finlandeză, ca parte a strategiei noului director general Stephen Elop.

Cele două companii 'vor combina activele şi vor dezvolta telefoane mobile inovatoare la o scară fără precedent', au anunţat Nokia şi Microsoft, fără a oferi detalii asupra sistemului de operare Symbian, care nu a răspuns aşteptărilor companiei finlandeze.

Luni Nokia a anunţat că smartphone-ul E7 va fi disponibil începând de săptămâna aceasta.

Smartphone-ul E7, modelul pe care mizează Nokia pentru a recupera terenul pierdut în faţa iPhone şi Blackberry, este ultimul produs din linia de aparate Communicator lansată de Nokia în anul 1996.

Telefonul funcţionează cu un sistem de operare Symbian-3, este dotat cu un ecran AMOLED şi o tastatură completă şi dispune de un pachet software Office Communicator Mobile, dezvoltat special de Microsoft pentru Nokia. În schimb, aparatul foto este mai puţin performant decât cel care echipează modelul N8.

În ultima perioadă, Nokia a început să fie supusă la presiuni, în condiţiile în care a pierdut teren pe segmentul smartphone în faţa rivalilor Apple şi Google, iar agenţiile de evaluare Standard and Poor's şi Moody's au avertizat recent că ar putea retrograda ratingul companiei finlandeze.

Oferta slabă de produse pe segmentul telefoanelor mobile inteligente a fost unul dintre principalele motive care în luna septembrie 2010 au determinat Nokia să înlocuiască directorul general Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo cu Stephen Elop, care anterior la lucrat la Microsoft.

În România, Nokia a investit 60 de milioane de euro în localitatea Jucu din judeţul Cluj într-o fabrică inaugurată pe 24 septembrie 2008.

 

Nokia has joined forces with Microsoft in an attempt to regain ground lost to the iPhone and Android-based devices. The deal will see Nokia use the Windows phone operating system for its smartphones, the company said. It means that Nokia's existing operating systems will be sidelined. Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Nokia's chief executive Stephen Elop revealed that there would be "substantial" job losses as a result of the tie-up. Nokia will remain "first and foremost...a Finnish company. Finland is our home and will remain our home," he said.But job losses around the world, including in Finland, will be inevitable, he added.

Speaking about the new partnership with Microsoft, Mr Elop said that "the game has changed from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems". "An ecosystem with Microsoft and Nokia has unrivalled scale around the globe," he said. Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer was also present at the launch, underlining the importance of the deal to the computing giant. "Nokia and Microsoft working together can drive innovation that is at the boundary of hardware, software and services," he said. Microsoft's Bing will power Nokia's search services, while Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft's mapping services. The new strategy means Nokia's existing smartphone operating systems will be gradually sidelined. Symbian, which runs on most of the company's current devices will become a "franchise platform", although the company expects to sell approximately 150 million more Symbian devices in future. "It is a transition from Symbian to Windows phone as our primary smartphone platform," said Mr Elop.

Windows may not be the exclusive operating system for Nokia tablets though. "We reserve the right to introduce tablets using other platforms, including ones we may be working on internally," he said. There was no specific announcement about when the first Windows-powered Nokia phone will be available. Mr Elop revealed that the firm did consider a tie-up with Google's Android operating system. "We spent time with our colleagues at Google and explored the Google ecosystem but we felt we would have difficulty differentiating within that ecosystem," he said. It was also revealed that talks with Microsoft only began in November, illustrating how quickly the deal has been pushed through. The move away from Symbian is a brave decision for Nokia, according to experts.

"This is a clear admission that Nokia's own-platform strategy has faltered," said Ben Wood, an analyst with research firm CCS: Insight. "Microsoft is the big winner in this deal, but there are no silver bullets for either company given the strength of iPhone and Google's Android," he added. Nokia's share of the smartphone market fell from 38% to 28% in 2010, according to monitoring firm IDC. Nokia's upcoming Meego operating system will also be sidelined. According to the company statement: "MeeGo will place increased emphasis on longer-term market exploration of next-generation devices." The MeeGo platform was expected to form the core of Nokia's future smartphone and tablet strategy. The company says it still plans to ship one Meego device by the end of 2011. For Magnus Rehle, the Nordic managing director of research firm Greenwich Consulting, Nokia may have difficulty juggling its three operating systems: Windows, Symbian and MeeGo. "Three platforms is a lot to work with. I'm not sure there is room for so many platforms," he said. And, as with any tie-up, there could be clashes between the two firms, he said.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO, said at a joint news conference in London. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale.The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

Fondatorul si seful Yahoo Jerry Yang si-a dat demisia din pozitia de CEO de la Yahoo. Actionarii si angajatii Yahoo au fost nemultumiti de cele intamplate: refuzul ofertei Microsoft (a oferit de 3 mai mult decat valoarea actuala a actiunilor), concedieri, nerealizarea dealului cu Google. Yahoo va disparea curand din pacate ca firma, poate va ramane numai brandul. Pacat. Articolul in intregime poate fi citit pe TechCrunch [link in engleza]. Comentariile sunt din nou f interesante.

Dupa ce Yahoo a refuzat oferta Microsoft si a semnat un contract de colaborare cu Google, o parte din angajatii si actionarii Yahoo au fost nemultumiti. Acum povestea devine trista. Conform Reuters [link in engleza], o parte din management si-a demisia [link in engleza], fiind vorba de manageri [link in engleza] cu vechi state in Yahoo [link in engleza]. Se vorbeste si de o restructurare a departamentelor Yahoo Mail, Search si Homepage. Asta inseamna concedieri si nu suna bine deloc. Trist. Se apropie sfarsitul Yahoo mai repede decat credeam?

[Update: Se pare ca din 1 ianuarie 2007 peste 100 de executive manageri au parasit Yahoo [link in engleza]. Corabia e clar ca se duce la fund.]

 

Revista Manager Magazin [link in germana] a publicat un articol despre salariile din IT din Germania, intitulat Reiche Informatiker [Informaticieni bogati]. Ideea de baza e ca salariile din IT  sunt in crestere in ultimii 2 ani in Germania. Aici este o tabela cu salariile anuale, cele de baza si cele cumulate cu premii. (toate sumele in mii de euro pe an)

 

Gehälter nach Positionen
	Position	Jahres- grundgehalt	Jahres- gesamtbezüge
1	Leiter Informationsverarbeitung und Organisation	117	140
2	Leiter IT Management	103	125
3	Leiter IT Anwendungsentwicklung	95	109
4	Leiter IT Architektur, Methoden und Werkzeuge	88	100
5	Leiter IT Betrieb	85	96
6	Leiter IT Service	80	91
7	Leiter Netzwerktechnik und Telekommunikation	80	91
8	IT Gruppen-/Teamleiter	74	80
9	IT Projektleiter	69	78
10	IT Business-Analyst	63	70
11	IT Datenbankdesigner	65	69
12	IT Datenbankentwickler	59	64
13	IT Anwendungsanalyst	61	62
14	IT Anwendungsentwickler	55	59
15	Webredakteur	55	60
16	IT Datenbankadministrator	60	64
17	IT Systemanalyst/-Systemplaner	64	65
18	Systemprogrammierer	61	64
19	IT Netzwerkarchitekt/-planer	62	66
20	IT Netzwerkmanager	55	59
21	IT Systemadministrator	55	58
22	IT Produktionsplaner/-steuerer	53	55
23	Operator	45	47
24	IT Supporter	47	49
25	IT User Helpdesk-Spezialist	45	47
26	IT Controller	66	73
27	IT Qualitätsmanager	63	69
28	IT Softwareingenieur	59	64
29	IT Security-Manager	80	87
30	IT Vertrieb	73	83
31	IT Beschaffung, Lizenzmanagement	58	62
32	IT Training	55	60
33	IT Service Level Manager	67	76
	Führungskräfte	97	114
	Fachkräfte	59	63

 

[Update]

"variieren die Gehälter von Mitarbeitern in der IT deutlich. So reicht die Spanne bei Führungskräften von weniger als 60.000 Euro bis mehr als 200.000 Euro, bei Fachkräften von weniger als 30.000 Euro bis mehr als 100.000 Euro."

Asta inseamna ca se se platesc salarii si sub medianele din tabela dar si peste mediana, deci depinde de cum te vinzi la interviu :-)  Daca aveti intrebari (de exemplu cum se traduc numele joburilor acolo unde nu este evident), la comentarii cu ele si voi incerca sa raspund.

 

Acesta este titlul unui articol pe internet scris vinerea trecuta, pe 13 iunie, de un insider din firma Yahoo. Decizia de a coopera cu Google, devenind astfel de facto sclavul celor de la Google, si nu de a nu vinde la Microsoft, i-a infuriat pe angajati. Actiunile s-au prabusit la bursa, e evident ca Yahoo isi va pierde identitatea pe zi ce trece, putinii clienti vor renunta la serviciile Yahoo, mergand direct la Google, iar cei din urma vor domina piata search pe internet. Un articol impresionat, care confirma ca Microsoft si Yahoo nu pot lupta singure impotriva Google, ca acum drumul lui Google spre dominanta pietei de cautare pe internet este liber, fara nici un concurent serios. Si in cele din urma, poate cel mai trist, este ca Yahoo, acest pionier al internetului, va disparea curand. Internetul nu va fi acelasi fara Yahoo, asta e sigur.  Cateva citate din articol, care m-au impresionat, facandu-ma sa inteleg ce simt oamenii de la Yahoo in aceste zile. Si poate lumea nu va mai injura atat pe Microsoft, ci si pe Google. Amin! 

"When I accused Yahoo of playing the crazy card in their negotiations with Microsoft, I never thought these people were actually insane. Handing Google a monopoly in search marketing was just a ploy, I thought. A way to get Microsoft to bid a little higher than $31 per share. But it turns out I was wrong. Yahoo’s hatred of Microsoft runs so deep that they were actually, in the end, willing to destroy the future of their company just to keep it independent for a short while longer. They’ve ignored the wishes of their shareholders, employees and many now former key employees in killing that deal. And apart from Google, CEO Jerry Yang, President Sue Decker and possibly Tim O’Reilly, I don’t believe there is anyone in the world that is happy with what has happened.

As much as everyone still has lingering doubts about Microsoft after their hardball monopolistic practices of the nineties, it’s clear that they, along with Yahoo, were the only force counterbalancing the massive presence of Google in search marketing.

Without them, Google would continue to keep the lion’s share of search marketing dollars to themselves, and distribute next to nothing to third party publishers. But Microsoft and Yahoo were both willing to fight for some of those deals, at least pushing Google’s profits down a little. Now, with Yahoo taken out of the game, it’s unclear that Microsoft can fight Google on its own. How long will they pour profits from Windows and Office into trying to compete in search?

The delicate power balance among the big players was disrupted today in a big way, and the consequences will be felt over the coming months and years. We needed a competitive market in search to ensure the health of the Internet. Now, it’s nearly impossible to see how that can happen.

It took me about five minutes of watching Yahoo’s top two executives talk last month to realize that they had no fight left in them. The fact that they simply gave up wouldn’t matter so much if the only people hurt by their actions were their employees and stockholders. But that just isn’t the case, and now we all have to deal with the fallout."

Articolul in intregime poate fi citit aici [link in engleza]. Foarte interesante sunt si comentariile.

 

Aseara Microsoft si Yahoo au anuntat concomitent ca nu va mai avea loc nici un deal. Microsoft nu si-a reinnoit oferta de a prelua Yahoo, ci doar parti din Yahoo, cum ar fi motorul de cautare, ambele parti retragandu-se de la masa discutiilor nemultumite. Yahoo a anuntat imediat apoi un deal cu Google, devenind astfel un fel de reseller pentru Google. Yahoo va permite Google sa isi puna ads-urile pe paginile sale, dar numai in USA si Canada. Sa vedem insa ce va zice si Departamentul de Justitie USA cand intelegerea va ajunge la Comisia anti-monopol. Intelegerea Yahoo-Googlee pe 4 ani cu posibilitatea de a fi de 2 ori prelungita cu cate 3 ani, Yahoo sperand sa ii aduca circa 800 de milioane de dolari pe an in plus la venituri. In cazul in care Yahoo va fi vandut/cumparat in urmatorii 2 ani, Google primeste 250 de milioane. Dupa aceste anunturi, actiunile Yahoo au pierdut 10% din valoare, cele Microsoft au crescut cu 4% iar cele Google circa 1%.

Eu cred ca Yahoo incearca cu disperare sa mai aduca niste bani in conturi, dupa ce au refuzat oferta Microsoft. Ei spera sa isi revina dupa afacerea cu Google, dar fara un aliat serios ca si Microsoft, nu are nici o sansa in fata lui Google, ci chiar mai mult de atat, a devenit un vasal al acestuia. Eu cred ca criza Yahoo sa va aprofunda, inca nu vad cum pot sa isi recastige pozitia pierduta. In fine, eu nu pot decat sa ma bucur ca au crescut actiunile Microsoft :-) Si ca sa o spun pe aia dreapta, decat sa fi dat atatia bani pe o firma ca si Yahoo, de banii aia mai bine cumpara Microsoft o firma profitabila, gen BMW, a carei valoare e mai mica decat oferta facuta lui Yahoo :-)

Reuters relateaza despre evenimente intr-un webcast, pe care va invit sa il vizionati: