Merging Hardware and Software Development

With its commanding share of the mobile phone market, Nokia is a world leader in communications. So it stands to reason that Nokia -- and its employees -- are equally adept at communicating well with their business partners.

Since February 1996, Nokia has teamed up with Mentor Graphics to co-develop Mentor Graphics' Seamless Co-Verification Environment™.
In fact, Nokia is so sold on the capabilities of this new product that senior management has committed the resources of a full-time hardware engineer to work side-by-side with Mentor Graphics' design engineers.

The Seamless Co-Verification Environment combines embedded software development tools with logic simulation, enabling high-performance co-verification months before a hardware prototype can be built.

Meet Antti Suhonen, Nokia Hardware Engineer

Since the Nokia-Mentor Graphics partnership was forged last February, hardware engineer Antti Suhonen has made three extended trips from his Finnish homeland to Mentor Graphics' headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon. Suhonen brought one key Nokia design with him, and the Nokia-Mentor Graphics project team utilized this design in helping formulate the Seamless product.

"Hardware-software co-design represents a key component of Nokia's product development process," Suhonen says. "With Seamless, we can enable the software development to begin before any hardware is done, and that has been a major bottleneck in the past."

Suhonen also admits that without this kind of tool, hardware and software co-development would require much more time and money, especially given today's complex ASIC designs.

"Being on-site has been a big plus in helping to develop Seamless," Suhonen says. "One-on-one contact breaks down any cultural or language barriers. It's much easier to get things done this way." Suhonen is under contract with Mentor Graphics through May 1997.

"We are very appreciative of the high level of cooperation we've received from Nokia," says Mitch Weaver, director of marketing for the hardware/software division of Mentor Graphics. "This joint Seamless project is an example of partnership at its best, and we anticipate similar kinds of ventures in the future."

An Easy Transition to Life in the U.S.A.

Suhonen says his adjustment to spending extended time in Oregon has been easy, since he lived in the U.S. between 1986 and 1991. Back then, he was awarded a cross-country skiing scholarship from the University of New Mexico. During that time he was rated one of the top 20 cross-country skiers in the U.S. Suhonen characterizes his experience at Mentor Graphics as, "Really good. I have enjoyed it a lot. After working strictly as a hardware engineer for the past three years, it is fun to do something else."

In Finland, Suhonen works at Nokia's facility in Oulu, a city of 120,000 located on the Gulf of Bothnia. Although Oulu is situated just a little south of the Arctic Circle, the climate is moderated by the gulf stream. Consequently, Suhonen must often travel some miles out of town to find ample snow for skiing.

Toward a Brighter Future, "Seamless"ly

Suhonen predicts that, over time, many of Nokia's products will be developed in the Seamless Co-Verification Environment. These products include mobile phones, cellular data products, FM pagers, personal communicators, multimedia terminals, monitors, and satellite receivers.

One of Nokia's premier consumer offerings is its 9000™ Communicator, which will soon be available in the U.S. The Nokia 9000 Communicator combines the portability and functionality of today's digital, data-capable cellular phones and palmtop computers. Simply speaking, it's several communications tools in one compact package with a single user interface.

Specifically, the Nokia 9000 Communicator is a full-featured phone, with fax and e-mail capabilities, and it also allows portable Internet access. In addition, the product serves as a compact personal organizer, and includes an address book, calendar, note editor, to-do list, calculator, and world clock.

Nokia, Then and Now

During the 1980s, Nokia strengthened its position in the telecommunications and consumer electronics markets. Today, the Nokia Group comprises Nokia Telecommunications, Nokia Mobile Phones and Nokia General Communications Products. In 1995, Nokia's total net sales amounted to more than U.S. $8 billion.

Nokia's corporate world headquarters are located in Helsinki, Finland, and the company has 32,000 employees worldwide with more than 2,000 in the United States.

Nokia was founded in 1865 as a forestry industry enterprise -- a groundwood mill -- on the Nokia River. In 1966, Nokia merged with two other companies -- the Finnish Rubber Works Ltd. and Finnish Cable Works.