Over the past year or so, there have been signs that BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s devices are slowly being replaced by others. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone was an early replacement for BlackBerry, but now it looks as if Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is taking over.
Enterprise customers switch to Nokia
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been a major player in the enterprise sphere. It makes sense that business users would look to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V)’s Windows Phones, especially since the view of the Windows mobile platform as a joke fades. Windows Phones integrate very well with the Windows-based enterprise system, although Microsoft has not shut out competing handsets completely from its enterprise system, which is a smart move.
One of the most recent companies which announced that it was switching to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V)’s Lumia line for its employees was Britvic, which told WMpoweruser this week about the switch. Other major enterprise customers which have switched to Nokia Lumia phones include O2 in Germany, Sara Lee, Mall of America, Telefonica and others.
Nokia is ready to move forward
Of course Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) still needs more enterprise customers to make the switch, but this isn’t something that will happen overnight. The important thing is that the company is slowly turning things around and even replacing BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) as the third mobile operating ecosystem. This is an essential first step in the turnaround process.
And then there’s the problem that BlackBerry only addresses the high end of the market with its new smartphones, which means that the opportunities for growth are minimal. All indicators point to emerging markets as being the major target for smartphone growth, and Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is far more prepared for this than BlackBerry. It’s got several handsets at different price points, also providing an opportunity for users to get in on the ground floor with a low-end handset first and then step up to a more expensive model later.
