Speaking during a press conference to discuss the joint venture on Monday, Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said Siemens is looking for a new home for its enterprise unit.
Siemens is in "serious negotiations with partners" that might be interested in the division, he said. "We want to make sure the new organization will become a strong No. 2 in that market," he said.
While Siemens did not specify a time frame, an announcement could happen this week.
Neil Moulton, former head of UK channels at Siemens and now at distributor Westcon told Comms Business Magazine,
“It’s hardly a surprise that the Siemens enterprise business is to be sold. Kleinfeld is driven by profit and we have already seen the Siemens mobile business hived off. Having said that the UK enterprise business always punched above it’s weight in terms of profit contribution but having a direct sales force is an anachronism these days. The focus that Siemens is now placing on the channel is clearly the way forward but a little late in coming to pass.”
Siemens' enterprise division develops and sells IP PBX and wireless networking products, digital phones for businesses and communications applications. It is part of the Siemens communications group, most of which will be spun off into a joint venture with Nokia, according to an announcement by the two companies on Monday.
Competitors including Alcatel, Avaya, Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems could have a theoretical interest in buying the unit.