Saturday, July 30, 2011

Last day a roller coaster

Last program day a roller coaster

Started the day with our session at Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).  Although BMW was definitely a really sharp presentation (maybe 8 on scale of 1-10), SAP TURNED OUT TO BE A 9! Talk about formality, preparedness and interaction, wow! Printed agenda with all participants' names and titles, acrylic table name stands and ample refreshments. The main presenter, Mr. Volker Ziegler, Head of Business Portfolio, Strategy and Business Development, did an awesome job of presenting the NSN story. Mr. Ziegler's style was extremely interactive, making his way around the group, both answering our questions and asking his own of us, all by addressing each person by first name. It felt like we were in a staff meeting  for a company we all worked for. Included were a brief history of NSN, market overview, competitive landscape and basic business direction.

Heiko Straulino, Head of Technology and network Visioning, shared a large portion of the current situation and future vision of NSN from a technological and market perspective.

The Solution Experience Center was just that... an experience! After a 3-minute virtual tour of Bavaria in  a room designed as the inside of a chateau (complete with rock wall and tree-stump seats), we immediately jumped into a 3D demonstration of cell tower operational technology which load-balance and fill in blind spots when a tower goes down. Multiple other demos were viewed, along with a ~6'x3' tabletop model with interchangeable elements (eg. a stadium, hill or building) and, coupled with an overhead projector replicating traffic and phone signals on the model, becomes a focal point for high level business discussions with carrier C-level visitors. I must say this is a high impact impression NSN leaves with me (probably the objective, huh!).

Then, back to reality of a low(er) tech truck manufacturer --- Volvo Group. Completely divorced from the automotive company bearing the same name (maybe to their detriment?) we plowed though a much more sobering picture of a traditional manufacturer.

The most interesting aspect for me was the diametrically opposite personality of the companies. NSN was vibrant, energized, with lots of activity and apparently happy-looking employees.

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