The Motorola Breakup is Good News for the EnterpriseThe Motorola Breakup is Good News for the Enterprise

In a move that was not entirely a surprise, Motorola announced plans to split into two separate companies, effectively spinning off their cellular handset division. Some type of realignment had been anticipated given Motorola's declining fortunes and the well-publicized displeasure of investor Carl Icahn who holds 6% of Motorola's stock. Icahn has been highly critical of thecompany's management and has been angling for representation on the board.

In a move that was not entirely a surprise, Motorola announced plans to split into two separate companies, effectively spinning off their cellular handset division. Some type of realignment had been anticipated given Motorola's declining fortunes and the well-publicized displeasure of investor Carl Icahn who holds 6% of Motorola's stock. Icahn has been highly critical of thecompany's management and has been angling for representation on the board.The collapse of Motorola's handset business will be a case study in business schools for years to come. The Motorola StarTAC, introduced in 1996 created the flip-phone segment, and the artistic Razr became a veritable phenomenon. While I wasn't the biggest Razr fan, it was a smashing success. Wikipedia reports that the original black Razr was introduced in May 2005 and distributed in the celebrity gift bags at the 77th Academy Awards.

However, Motorola's success ended as quickly as it began. After the initial upswing, Motorola's only innovation with the Razr was to paint it different colors and lower the price. Soon their core product had become a commodity, and there was nothing new in the pipeline. By the time Apple launched the iPhone in mid-2007, no one was talking about the Razr anymore.

Motorola is keeping their Enterprise Mobility Solutions group, and that's good news for enterprise customers. At the center of that group is Symbol Technologies, one of the businesses Motorola bought last year--with the money they made from the Razr. Symbol is a pioneer in enterprise wireless and in developingcommunications enabled businesses processes. A good nuts-and-bolts enterprise provider, Symbol specialized in the "non-carpeted areas of the enterprise". Along with their solid product line of mobile computers, RFID equipment, and wireless network infrastructure elements, Symbol has an extensive network of systems integrators with demonstrated experience at linking mobile communications to core business applications.

So while the business press may lament Moto's fall in the consumer wireless business, this is good news for enterprise users.

The other rumor to watch is that Motorola might now acquire Nortel. Remember, Nortel's CEO, Mike Zafirovski, is Motorola's former president and chief operating officer. Now that would be a story.