Where Now For Vodafone's Internet Strategy, As Knook Leaves?

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La stratégie Internet Mobile de Vodafone a connu beaucoup de détours. Stratégie de contenus, smart pipe, alliances avec des monstres du web, produits in-house.
Quand Pieter Knook est arrivé en 2008 je me souviens d’un large mouvement chez Vodafone vers uns stratégie pragmatique. Deux ans plus tard, c’est donc un echec.
Bonne chance au prochain.

Vodafone’s internet chief is leaving after the company put the brakes on its online mobile services strategy, FT reports.

Seventeen-year Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) veteran Pieter Knook joined in 2008 to direct a new internet services group in Vodafone.

The paper says his departure comes “after important aspects of the operation were scrapped” - namely, because Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) has stopped selling flagship Samsung handsets that bore the gubbins for itsVodafone 360 services suite and because Vodafone in March closedWayfinder, the nav company it earlier bought for £22 million.

In truth, Vodafone 360 was always destined to end up on multiple handsets, not just the Samsungs. It’s now available on HTC, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsoon, iPhone, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and BlackBerry.

But that fact illustrates the problem - each of those, and now Samsung itself, is now rapidly competing in the game of app stores and own-brand content offerings.