
TOKYO Over the course of more than 150 years since its foundation, Finnish communications giant Nokia has gone through a series of transformations through innovation. Started as a manufacturer of paper pulp and rubber boots, the company shifted its priority to technology and at one point captured around 40% of the global market for mobile phones.
Businesses must constantly change to survive, Nokia Chairman Risto Siilasmaa -- whose company has since sold its mobile phone operations and become a world-leading maker of communications equipment -- said at the Global ICT Summit, held in Tokyo on June 6-7. The annual event, sponsored by Nikkei Inc. and Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, focuses on new technology trends, and this year's theme was "Digital Transformation -- Changing Business and Changing Manufacturing."