Nokia, a Finnish company that specializes in 5G equipment, has revealed a new logo as part of a brand redesign effort aimed at avoiding association with its previous involvement in mobile phones, which it abandoned nearly a decade ago. This rebranding initiative was announced yesterday, along with new strategic objectives that seek to facilitate more rapid growth as the world continues to adopt fifth-generation mobile technologies.
In a recent interview ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, CEO Pekka Lundmark acknowledged that Nokia is still largely associated with its prior success in the mobile phone industry, despite having transitioned away from that market for a while now. To address this perception, Nokia has introduced a new brand identity that emphasizes its focus on networks and industrial digitalization, a departure from its previous emphasis on mobile phones.
It’s worth noting that while Nokia no longer manufactures phones, HMD Global now licenses the Nokia name for their phone products, following Microsoft Corp’s acquisition of Nokia’s phone business in 2014.
Lundmark also noted that Nokia is now prioritizing efforts to gain market share in the wireless service provider sector, by offering network equipment that is competitive in both price and quality. This has been aided by restrictions on Huawei, a key Chinese rival, which has been blocked from selling 5G network components in several European countries and the US.
Nokia also aims to expand its business by offering private 5G networks to companies, with a goal of increasing the enterprise division’s contribution to Nokia’s revenue from 8% to double digits. The company plans to achieve this through organic growth and small acquisitions, according to CEO Pekka Lundmark.
However, Nokia has no intention of following in the footsteps of competitor Ericsson, which recently acquired Vonage Holdings Corp. for $6.2 billion in order to bolster its enterprise offerings.