14 DAY TRIAL // Today, mobile phone maker Nokia announced that it has inked an agreement with Digia Plc for the selling of Qt commercial licensing and services business.
According to the deal, Nokia would transfer to Digia around 3500 desktop and embedded customer companies from various industries, in a transaction that should be closed before the end of this month.
At the same time, the handset vendor announced that it plans on continuing the investments in the future development of Qt, so that both Commercial and LGPL users can benefit from it.
All the commercial licensing and service operations business involving Qt will be run by Digia as soon as the deal is closed.
“We are excited to extend our Qt business to serve our new customers,” Harri Paani, Senior Vice President from Digia, stated.
Building on our in-depth Qt expertise and experience from demanding mission critical solutions, we will offer world-class commercial licensing and support services to Qt Commercial customers. We also look forward to driving further the evolution of Qt by bringing in new features and services.”
Digia already benefits from a leading Qt expertise, and the purchase would enable it significantly widens its Qt customer base. As part of the transaction, the company will establish subsidiaries in USA and Norway.
Around 3500 desktop and embedded customer companies are currently using Qt as an application and UI framework, including some from consumer electronics, finance, aviation, energy, defense and media.
Since the Qt usage has increased, the software would need further enhancements, and Digia is set to continue investing in its development, while also offering customers the possibility to benefit from its own services.
“Qt continues to be an important technology for Nokia and it is critical that Qt's growth and success can continue,” Sebastian Nyström, Vice President, Head of MeeGo, Qt and Webkit at Nokia, commented.
“While Nokia will continue to invest in developing Qt as a cross-platform framework for mobile, desktop and embedded segments, focusing on open source development and expansion, we wanted a partner who can drive the commercial licensing and services business around Qt.
“Digia has proven, in-depth Qt expertise, operational excellence and a keen interest in growing and improving the overall Qt community and so well positioned to expand the Qt Commercial licensing and services business.”