"Burning Platform" and Windows Phone 7
Shortly after joining Nokia, Elop issued a company internal memo titled “Burning Platform”, that was immediately leaked to the press. The memo likened the 2010 situation of Nokia in the smartphone market to a person standing on a burning oil platform (in software, "platform" is used to refer to frameworks such as Symbian, Apple iOS and Google Android.)
Media reception was mixed. Some have since remarked that the memo was a wake-up call for Nokia (“It is one of the most combustible and gripping documents ever to emerge from a major corporation.” (BBC) and “With its elegant writing style and brutal honesty, the 1,200-word missive is far removed from the average management pep talk.” (Financial Times)). The memo has also even been referenced as a guide for other business and political leaders such as Cisco’s John Chambers. However, mobile commenter Tomi Ahonen has called it "the costliest management memo ever written". Ahonen also argues that as a result of the memo and Elop's communication, "Nokia is doing the most rapid death in the shortest period of time ever, for a global market leader Fortune 500 sized company. Ever."
In February 2011, Elop announced a new strategy for Nokia, which included shifting its smartphone operating system from Symbian to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. During the transition, Nokia released the one off Linux MeeGo-based Nokia N9 and five dual SIM feature phones. The first Nokia Windows Phone 7 smartphones shipped in November 2011.
Some technology writers have criticised Elop for the decision to move away from Symbian and MeeGo platforms to Windows Phone 7 and bad timing in communicating this decision (a.k.a. Osborne effect). Elop himself later admitted to some damaging effects of his memo.
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