Ericsson has denied rumors that it is leaving the mobile phone or enterprise equipment market, but says it is making changes to business activities in both arenas through partnerships with other players.
Via a series of OEM pacts, the Swedish-based global telecom equipment maker is now outsourcing manufacturing of most company-branded mobile phones, according to company officials at a press conference in New York City.
The OEMs include Flextronics and Arima, said Goran Rassmuson, Ericsson's director for corporate marketing and business development.
At the same time however, Ericsson will continue to manufacture mobile phones in China, Rassmuson said. Convinced that the phones are part of the "end-to-end solution" that mobile commerce needs, Ericsson also plans to keep marketing and selling mobiles worldwide.
Ericsson will also continue to play in the enterprise space, although that division has been restructured, said Bo Larson, senior vice president, Ericsson Enterprise, North America and Japan.
In another recent deal, Ericsson sold off the North American direct sales arm for its enterprise division to large systems integrator Norstran and it will become Ericsson's biggest agent for indirect sales in the US enterprise market.
To "broaden its reach," Ericcson is also now teaming with about 40 other North American systems integrators for enterprise integration and indirect sales, according to Larson.
Outside the enterprise space, telecom carriers constitute another major market for Ericsson.
