諾基亞CEO埃洛普可能將成微軟下任掌門

After three years of trying to repair businesses that proved to be unfixable, Nokia Corp. +33.94% Chief Executive Stephen Elop is back at Microsoft Corp. MSFT -4.55% to help shape the legacy of the software giant's longtime boss, and potentially take his job.

三年來試圖修復最終證明是無藥可救的業務之後，諾基亞(Nokia Corp.)首席執行長(CEO)埃洛普(Stephen Elop)又回到了微軟(Microsoft Corp.)，幫助塑造這家軟件巨頭長期掌門人的留下的“遺產”，並有可能取而代之。

Nokia on Tuesday announced the $7 billion sale of an ailing handset business to Microsoft, ending several months of discussions between Mr. Elop and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. The negotiations were the subject of dozens of boardroom deliberations on both sides of the Atlantic.

諾基亞週二宣佈以70億美元的價格將境況不佳的手機業務出售給微軟，結束了埃洛普和微軟CEO鮑爾默(Steve Ballmer)之間歷時數月的談判。地處大西洋兩岸的這兩家公司的董事會都爲這些談判召開了數十次的會議。

Nokia shareholders and many in Finland applauded the move. Nokia shares jumped 34% to 3.97 euros ($5.24) in Helsinki trading Tuesday amid sentiment that the deal is the best solution for a mobile-device operation that already relied heavily on Microsoft Windows technology.

諾基亞股東和許多芬蘭人鼓掌歡迎這一收購行動。諾基亞股票週二在赫爾辛基躍升34%，至3.97歐元（合5.24美元），人們認爲對於已經嚴重依賴微軟Windows技術的移動設備業務來說，該交易是最好的解決方案。

It is a stark reversal to the chilly reception Mr. Elop has recently weathered in Helsinki, where some had taken to calling him 'Stephen Eflop.'

這與埃洛普近來在赫爾辛基遭到的冷遇形成了鮮明對比，赫爾辛基的一些人已經開始叫他“埃笨伯”(Stephen Eflop)。

Having left Microsoft after running the company's profitable business division, Mr. Elop returns a bit of a hero. He was the only executive in the global handset business to exclusively use the Microsoft mobile platform and Nokia now sells nearly every Windows phone that is sold world-wide.

埃洛普離開微軟之前負責該公司利潤豐厚的企業部門，此次又幾乎以英雄姿態迴歸微軟。他是全球手機企業中唯一一位專門使用微軟手機平臺的CEO，如今在全球銷售的所有Windows手機幾乎都是由諾基亞銷售。

The table is set for the 49-year-old executive to help Mr. Ballmer pull off an ambitious plan and, in the process, win respect in Microsoft's board room as its directors search for a new CEO.

現在已經萬事俱備，49歲的埃洛普將幫助鮑爾默實施宏大的計劃，並且在這個過程中贏得微軟董事會的尊重。目前微軟董事會正在搜尋新CEO人選。

In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Ballmer said the public shouldn't read too much into what the deal means for Mr. Elop's future, but acknowledged his longtime associate has gone from being an external candidate to an internal candidate.

鮑爾默週二接受採訪時說，公衆不應過度解讀這樁交易對於埃洛普未來的意義，但承認曾長期擔任他助手的埃洛普已經從外部候選人變成內部候選人。

The immediate goal is to work hand-in-hand with engineers and marketing staff at Microsoft to put the pieces in place to truly compete with rivals. The executives are eager to develop a legitimate third ecosystem capable of taking on players like Samsung Electronics Co., -1.04% Apple Inc., and Google Inc., GOOG +1.59% which are miles ahead thanks to iOS and Android.

兩家達成交易後的近期目標是與微軟的工程師和營銷人員通力合作，利用現有資源真正與對手展開競爭。管理層渴望開發合理的第三種生態系統，能夠挑戰三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)、蘋果(Apple Inc.)和谷歌(Google Inc.)等廠商，這些廠商憑藉蘋果iOS和谷歌安卓(Android)操作系統遙遙領先。

If he fails, Mr. Ballmer's legacy will be dented. The Microsoft chief has been criticized for not keeping up in a fast-moving industry. People involved in the Nokia deal say the play for a struggling handset business is one last effort to prove his mettle.

如果失敗，鮑爾默的“遺產”將受損。這位微軟CEO已經因未能跟上快速變化的行業動向而受到批評。參與諾基亞交易的人士說，收購一家陷入困境的手機企業是證明他勇氣的最後行動。

In choosing Mr. Elop to lead the integration of the new business, Mr. Ballmer taps a respected ally. During the interview, Mr. Ballmer said he values Mr. Elop as a partner. The Canadian-born executive was one of the few people he called before announcing his coming retirement.

通過選擇埃洛普領導新企業的整合，鮑爾默爭取到了一位受人尊敬的盟友。鮑爾默接受採訪時說，他將埃洛普視爲合作伙伴。出生於加拿大的埃洛普是鮑爾默宣佈即將退休之前致電的少數人之一。

Mr. Ballmer also picked an executive who hasn't strayed far from home.

此外，鮑爾默還選擇了一個離家不遠的高管。

Since joining Nokia in 2010, Mr. Elop has taken commercial flights between Helsinki and Seattle. He essentially lived out of a suitcase to balance the demands of turning around a crumbling business and raising teenage daughters whom he didn't want to uproot.

2010年加入諾基亞以來，埃洛普便乘坐商業航班往返於赫爾辛基和西雅圖之間。工作上，他要讓一個瀕臨崩潰的公司實現華麗轉身；家庭生活中，他要撫養十幾歲的女兒，又不願讓她們遷居別處。爲了平衡這兩方面的需求，埃洛普基本上是拎着手提箱來回奔波。

Mr. Elop isn't a stranger to tough decisions. He made waves almost immediately after starting at Nokia. He set to work on a plan that would lead to tens of thousands of job cuts and a downsizing of Nokia's treasured research and development department. He sold key assets, including the seaside headquarters near Helsinki and closed the last remaining handset factory in Finland.

對於做艱難的決定，埃洛普可謂駕輕就熟。在諾基亞上任後，他立即開始“大動干戈”。先是着手製定計劃，準備裁員數萬人，精簡備受諾基亞重視的研發部門，而後賣掉了赫爾辛基附近臨海總部大樓等關鍵資產，並且關閉了該公司位於芬蘭的最後一個手機工廠。

He also changed the focus. Earlier this year, after an extensive rebuild of the Nokia Siemens Networks wireless division, Mr. Elop paid about $2.2 billion to buy out Siemens AG. Nokia now looks a lot like Sweden's Ericsson, which exited handset manufacturing a couple of years ago and is now making big profits selling infrastructure.

此外，埃洛普還改變了諾基亞的關注焦點。今年早些時候，在諾基亞西門子通信公司(Nokia Siemens Networks)無線業務經歷了一番重建後，埃洛普支付了約22億美元收購西門子公司(Siemens AG)在該合資公司中的股份。諾基亞現在看上去與瑞典的愛立信(Ericsson)十分相似，後者在幾年前退出了手機生產業務，目前正通過出售基礎設施賺取鉅額利潤。

The results of the handset strategy have been less than stellar.

諾基亞手機戰略的效果稱不上完美。

Nokia's cash burn and losses have narrowed, but it only controls about 3% of the global smartphone market and 14% of a total handset market. While many analysts have blamed Nokia's demise on a weak Microsoft operating system, criticism can be aimed at Nokia executives who underestimated rivals.

諾基亞的現金消耗與虧損有所收窄，但該公司目前只控制着全球3%的智能手機市場和14%的整體手機市場。雖然很多分析人士將諾基亞的衰落歸咎於微軟不給力的操作系統，但其實也可將批評的矛頭對準諾基亞高管，是他們低估了競爭對手。

In recent months, it became increasingly clear the Windows phone strategy was running into a roadblock. No matter how good Nokia's new Lumia smartphones were, other players in the industry-particularly Samsung Electronics-had deeper pockets that allowed them to pour far more money into marketing and discounting smartphones than Mr. Elop has initially calculated.

近幾個月愈發明確的一點是，Windows手機戰略受阻。不管諾基亞的新智能手機Lumia有多棒，業內其它廠家（特別是三星電子）都十分財大氣粗，可在智能手機的營銷和打折方面投入遠多於埃洛普最初以爲的大量資金。

Samsung's market share, fueled by the popularity of both the Galaxy handset and the Google Inc. Android operating system it runs, has skyrocketed as Nokia's share plummeted, with the Korean company overtaking Nokia at No. 1 in 2012.

隨着諾基亞手機市場份額暴跌，三星電子的市場份額則出現飆升，這得益於Galaxy手機與其搭載的谷歌安卓操作系統的高人氣。這家韓國公司已於2012年取代諾基亞，成爲全球第一大手機生產商。

Mr. Elop has done his best to paint a positive picture of Nokia's phone business, pointing out that Lumia volume, while small, has been growing, with sales increasing 32% to 7.4 million in the second quarter. Samsung, however, sold nearly 10 times as many smartphones in the first three months of 2013.

埃洛普竭盡所能地爲諾基亞手機業務描繪出一幅積極圖景。他指出，Lumia雖然銷量不大，卻在逐步增長。今年第二季度，Lumia銷量達到740萬部，增幅爲32%。今年前三個月，三星電子的智能手機銷量是Lumia的近10倍。

The clock is now ticking on Mr. Elop's attempt to catch up.

時間緊迫，埃洛普應加快追趕步伐。