TAG | Nokia Siemens sells R&D operations to IBM |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Monday, 01 October 2007 | |
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Nokia Siemens says that "entire teams will be transferred and continue to deliver necessary development activities back to Nokia Siemens Networks. They will work together with Nokia Siemens Networks' program management, product management, architecture, technical support and system level testing to fulfil obligations." Over time, the services and expertise of these will also be offered to other IBM clients - likely to include Nokia Siemens' competitors - as part of the portfolio of the IBM Global Engineering Solutions division, which provides engineering and R&D services to a variety of industries. The timeframe of this transition was not specified. Nokia Siemens announced in May plans to transfer R&D capabilities to "trusted business partners" as part of its overall strategy. It has justified the deal with IBM by saying it will "allow Nokia Siemens Networks to realise greater workforce flexibility and improve cost management, while being able to leverage the expertise of its R&D partners...IBM's global network and experience as one of the world's foremost R&D organisations, investing more than $6 billion in 2006 and with 14 years of patent leadership. Jürgen Walter, head of service core and applications, Nokia Siemens Networks, said the move would "strengthen our R&D activities by creating a cost efficient R&D structure. This move provides Nokia Siemens Networks with the flexibility it needs to successfully compete in the market." He claimed that "customers will reap the benefits as this agreement strengthens our capabilities to provide them with high quality software and products." However with the R&D expertise once transferred to IBM to be available to competitors, he did not explain how Nokia Siemens intends to maintain a competitive edge in an industry in which technology innovation is key.{moscomment}
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