Common sense would seem to suggest that for a double act to work both sides need to be equally matched and balanced. This way, whatever the forum, media or industry, the two entities in the double act can complement each other to make a unit that is greater than the sum of its parts. The most striking example of this would be John Lennon and Paul McCartney who together were the most formidable writing team in the history of music.
However, quite often, a double act is made up of two sides that you wouldn’t necessarily put together (the USA and the Soviet Union were comrades in World War II just months before the Cold War began) but who unite to work towards a common goal. In today’s world, one such double act is Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer, and Siemens, the German electrical company.
Nokia Siemens Networks has been running as a combined concern since 2007 offering mobile and land based broadband solutions, IPTV and other general communication technologies.
And in many ways it is an odd partnership. Nokia, once the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world have now, for the first time, dropped out of the top five. Their most recent quarterly results showed a larger than expected loss and unless the Windows 8 powered smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920, is a major success, the future looks more than a little bleak.
Siemens, on the other hand, are sitting in a position of complete safety. Since being formed as a telegraph company in 1851, they have ensured that they have kept abreast of the latest technologies while innovating themselves. Because of this, when you buy a Siemens product, you know you are buying the kind of quality that can only come with decades of expertise.
One area in which Siemens truly excels is in telephones (this is logical given their telecommunications based foundation, and somewhat ironic when juxtaposed with Nokia’s smartphone woes). Siemens telephones are, in short, wonderful.
Their optiPoint range of telephones in particular is impressive. These are devices that do it all and are perfect for any industry. From the ISDN adapter through to Lamp Fields, Key Modules and duplex hands free digital phones with USB jack for connectivity, this range offers a complete telephony solution.
Siemens are a global leader in telecommunications and their devices are the perfect mix of design, functionality and build quality. While it’s anybody’s guess what will happen to Nokia in the future, the other half of the double act is guaranteed to be just fine.