Symbian future

ESPOO, Finland and NEW YORK; April 27, 2011 – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced plans for a strategic collaboration in which Nokia would outsource its Symbian software activities and transition about 3, 000 employees to Accenture. At the same time, Accenture would provide mobility software services to Nokia for future smartphones.

The collaboration, which is subject to final agreement, calls for Accenture to provide Symbian-based software development and support services, with the expected transition of about 3, 000 Nokia employees to Accenture. The companies expect completion of the final agreement during summer 2011, and expect the transition of employees by the end of the year 2011. Transitioning employees, located in China, Finland, India, United Kingdom and the United States, will initially work on Symbian software activities for Nokia. Over time, Accenture and Nokia will seek opportunities to retrain and redeploy transitioned employees.

This collaboration also includes plans for Accenture to provide mobility software, business and operational services around the Windows Phone platform to Nokia and other ecosystem participants. Under the proposed agreement, Accenture would become a preferred partner for Nokia’s smartphone development activities, as well as a preferred provider of services.

“Mobility is a key area for Accenture, ” said Marty Cole, chief executive, Accenture Communications and High Tech group. “This collaboration with Nokia will enhance our ability to help clients across multiple industries leverage mobility to advance their business agendas. It is a real win-win for Accenture and Nokia”.

“This collaboration demonstrates our ongoing commitment to enhance our Symbian offering and serve our smartphone customers, ” said Jo Harlow, executive vice president for Smart Devices, Nokia. “As we move our primary smartphone platform to Windows Phone, this transition of skilled talent to Accenture shows our commitment to provide our Symbian employees with potential new career opportunities.”

Accenture and Nokia have been working together since 1994. In October 2009, Accenture acquired Nokia’s professional services unit that provides engineering and support of the Symbian operating system to mobile device manufacturers and service providers, and which then served as a key building block in Accenture’s Mobility services portfolio.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 215, 000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture is focused on enabling its clients to achieve breakthrough growth throughout the rapidly changing mobile ecosystem. The Accenture Mobility Services group offers five mobility services including consulting, software services-applications, software services-devices and platforms, managed services, and business integration services. These are designed to help organizations embrace business to employee (B2E), business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B) and machine to machine (M2M) business opportunities. Accenture offers mobility and embedded software services across a wide range of industries and platforms, including Symbian, WinMo (Microsoft Windows® Mobile), Windows Phone, Android™, Blackberry®, iPhone®, Java™, Linux, Meego™.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi ( including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

DISCLAIMER

Accenture and Nokia have entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent. The planned partnership remains subject to negotiations and execution of the definitive agreements by the parties and there can be no assurances that the definitive agreements would be entered into.