Mobile phone maker Nokia and management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture have finalised an agreement for Nokia to outsource Symbian software development and support activities to Accenture.
Plans for the deal were first announced on 27 April 2011.
Under the agreement, Accenture will provide Symbian-based software development and support services to Nokia through 2016.
About 2,800 Nokia employees in China, Finland, India, the UK and the US are expected to transfer to Accenture at closing, which is expected in early October, 2011.
“We look forward to partnering with Nokia as they continue to support Symbian and transition to the Windows Phone ecosystem,” said Marty Cole, chief executive, Accenture Communications and High Tech group.
“The highly skilled group of technologists and engineers transferring to Accenture will complement our current mobility skills and enhance the breadth, depth and scale of our capabilities, allowing us to meet the growing global demand for mobility services across many industries.”
The agreement calls for Accenture to support and further develop Nokia’s Symbian platform and to become the preferred supplier to Nokia on its transition to Windows Phone.
Accenture will seek opportunities to leverage transferring employee skills and capabilities to provide mobility software, business and operational services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia and other ecosystem participants. Accenture will also seek to retrain and redeploy transferred employees.
“Our collaboration with Accenture allows us to meet our ongoing commitment to support our Symbian smartphone customers and continue to leverage the talent that has the deepest experience on the platform,” said Jo Harlow, executive vice-president for Smart Devices, Nokia.
“As we move our primary smartphone platform to Windows Phone, we will look to explore potential opportunities to tap this talent pool as they develop and expand their knowledge and capabilities beyond Symbian.”
Accenture will also work with Avanade, a technology service company that is majority-owned by Accenture and focuses on Microsoft technologies, to provide further services to Nokia.
The definitive agreement includes customary closing conditions.
Photo: The new Nokia N9 smartphone
