Gartner: Motorola, Symbol Benefits Outweigh Complex Integration

Symbol's experience in "ruggedized" handheld devices, wireless LANs (WLANs), data capture, radio frequency identification (RFID) and industry-specific application expertise makes sense on paper, the analyst firm said.

There are benefits for both companies, Gartner said. For Motorola, the deal comes with intellectual property, new direct-sales and distribution channels, and an installed customer base adjacent to its core enterprise strength in government.

For Symbol, it offers strong financial backing, complementary IP and supply chain expertise, and the potential for the enterprise group to become independent from the Mobile Device unit.

Gartner said it will become more difficult for Motorola's chief competitors to predict its moves. Motorola also could improve the Symbol business margins by bringing manufacturing operations under its wings.

If there's a down side, Motorola has been slow to integrate other acquisitions, such as its 2004 mesh networking acquisition, and this one will likely be more complex because of the extensive list of IP, applications and devices.

Gartner suggests that Motorola will retain Symbol's WLAN infrastructure business so it can bundle this offering for vertical industries and complement its WiMAX and voice offerings.

In particular, the Air PBX concept that Motorola is pursuing with Microsoft, utilizing Office Communicator gets a boost by adding WLAN capabilities, allowing the possibility to tightly integrate WiMAX-WLAN-cellular roaming. This type of integration would make the all-cellular-phone office a more likely possibility, Gartner said.