The PhoneBoy Blog

Nokia Spinning Off Security Appliance Division

30 Sep 2008

The thing that has consumed my waking thoughts on Monday was the fact that Nokia has announced they are in the advanced stages of discussions with a financial investor to purchase this Security Appliance business from Nokia. Since this is the part of Nokia I work in, I am obviously a bit concerned by this.

All indications are that the Security Appliance part of Nokia’s business will be spun out–intact–and made an independent company under new ownership. By itself, Nokia’s Security Appliance business is fairly substantial. Not as big as Nokia’s handset business, obviously, but it’s still a reasonably sized business.

For customers, it should be business as usual. Operationally speaking, most of what makes up the Security Appliance business in Nokia is already fairly independent of the rest of Nokia. The relationships with Check Point, Sourcefire, and others will continue and likely strengthen. The only real change will be the name on the front door, though you will likely to continue to see the Nokia brand in use for a period of time while the marketing folks roll out the new branding.

I think it will be a positive thing for the business as a whole. I personally see a lot of opportunities in this new world order, both for myself and the business. That being said, I won’t be part of Mother Nokia anymore, which I believe also has some interesting opportunities, but opens others. It’s giving me a lot to think about.