Motorola Solutions Company Profile











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Motorola Solutions
Company Profile

by Faulkner Staff

Docid: 00021172

Publication Date: 2002

Report Type: VENDOR

Preview

A leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions and
services for government and commercial customers, Motorola Solutions
manufactures two-way radios and accessories that are used primarily in the
public safety sector, as well as barcode scanners, mobile computers, RFID
solutions, private radio systems, and wireless network infrastructure
equipment. This report provides details on the company’s history and
recent activity.

Report Contents:

Fast Facts

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Name: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Headquarters
1303 East Algonquin Road
Schaumburg, IL 60196
Phone: (847) 576-5000
Web: http://www.motorolasolutions.com/
Founded: January 2011, when the split of Motorola into
two companies was finalized (Motorola was founded in 1928)
Number of Employees: 17,000 in 60 countries
Stock Symbol: MSI (NYSE)


Profile

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Founded in 1928 as the Motorola Corporation, Motorola Solutions was
formed in January 2011 when the parent company was split in two: Motorola
Mobility (the Motorola cell phone business) and Motorola Solutions (the
remaining products and services).

With 17,000 employees in 60 countries and over 100,000 customers in 100
countries, Motorola Solutions serves both national and international
government and commercial customers. Motorola Solutions specializes
in public safety communications from infrastructure to applications to
devices, such as radios and task-specific mobile computing systems.

History & Milestone Events

Founded in 1928, Motorola completed its split into two public companies
in January 2011: Motorola Solutions, Inc. and Motorola Mobility, Inc.

  • 1928 – Motorola is founded by Paul V. Galvin in 1928
    as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. Its first product, a battery
    eliminator, lets consumers operate radios directly from household
    current. During the 1930s, the company successfully commercializes
    car radios under the brand name Motorola.
  • 2005 – Motorola president and COO Mike Zafirovski
    steps down from his positions after being appointed to them by then-CEO
    Christopher Galvin in 2002. Zafirovski had been a candidate for the CEO
    position when Galvin resigned, but Ed Zander was named instead. Motorola
    reduces its workforce, spins off the semiconductor business, and
    introduces new handset models in a successful attempt to gain market
    share. Instead of replacing Zafirovski, Zander takes over his
    responsibilities, and the heads of the business units report directly to
    him. Motorola later files a lawsuit against Zafirovski, who is named by
    Nortel’s board of directors as president and CEO, alleging the former
    employee breached several agreements with the company by accepting that
    role.
  • 2007 – Activist investor Carl Icahn raises his stake
    of Motorola’s shares to 2.9 percent from 2.7 percent. Icahn fails to
    gain a seat, but his initiatives raised doubts about Motorola’s
    direction. After a disappointing second quarter, Motorola undergoes a
    company-wide reorganization. When the company fails to rebound in the
    third quarter, rumors grow that Icahn will again start a proxy war, this
    time calling for Motorola to split into two separate entities.
  • 2008 – Motorola announces it will split its
    operations into two businesses, one for its handset and handset
    accessories businesses and the other for wireless broadband networks and
    communications services. Gregory Q. Brown and Sanjay Jha are named
    co-CEOs of Motorola for the two spin-off companies. Motorola
    acquires AirDefense and sells off its biometrics business to Sagem
    Morpho; announces 3,000 employee layoffs. 
  • 2009 – Motorola sells its Good Technology unit, which
    it acquired in 2006, to VISTO, and announces plans to lay off 4,000
    employees. Motorola sells off the biometrics division to SAFRAN
    Group. 
  • 2010 – Motorola acquires SecureMedia and BitBand.
    Motorola announces it will separate into two publicly traded entities in
    early 2011. Nokia Siemens Networks agrees to buy Motorola’s
    wireless-network equipment business for $1.2 billion. 
  • 2011 – In January, Motorola completes its split into
    two public companies: Motorola Solutions, Inc. and Motorola Mobility,
    Inc.
  • 2012 – Motorola Solutions Venture Capital invested in
    Fixmo, a provider of mobile security, compliance, and risk management
    solutions for the public and private sectors. It also acquired Psion
    Plc. for US $1.36 USD in cash per Psion share. Motorola Solutions folds
    Psion into its Motorola Solutions’ Enterprise Mobile Computing (EMC)
    business.
  • 2016 – In February, Motorola Solutions competed its
    acquisition of Airwave Communications for approximately $1 billion USD.
    Through this acquisition, Motorola Solutions is looking to expand its
    managed and support services business. Airwave provides voice and data
    communications to more than 300 emergency and public service agencies in
    Great Britain.
  • 2017 – In July, initiated patent infringement
    proceedings against Hytera Communications in China and Australia,
    claiming that Hytera digital mobile radios infringe on Motorola’s
    patents.
  • 2018 – Reported plans to acquire Avigilon, a provider
    of security surveillance products and services, through a transaction
    worth approximately $1.0 billion USD.
  • 2019 – Acquired VaaS International Holdings and its
    subsidiary Vigilant Solutions, which is a license plate reading
    technology company, for $445 million USD.
  • 2020 – Received approximately $765 million USD
    through a federal jury ruling that decided China’s Hytera Communications
    had stolen trade secrets from the company and had engaged in copyright
    infringement.

Strategy

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To better focus on government and public safety products and services, in
April 2014, Motorola Solutions sold the company’s Enterprise business to
Zebra Technologies Corporation for $3.5 billion USD in cash.  (As
part of the deal, Motorola kept its iDEN product line.)1

New Markets.  Motorola Solutions intends to
leverage its products and services for markets outside of the public
safety and commercial markets the company traditionally serves. New
product introductions in recent years include products which may also be
used in:

  • Hospitality
  • Mining
  • Military
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Utility

Motorola is also pursuing geographical diversification by investing in:

  • Different regional interfaces
  • Multiple languages
  • Tailored form factors
  • Unique feature sets

Strengths

Brand Recognition. Motorola is an iconic brand,
which entered the American consciousness in 1939 with the first
commercially successful car radios.2  Additionally,
Motorola Solution’s design philosophy incorporates “High Velocity Human
Factors” investigation, an area of cognitive research that helps the
company develop products for first responders by working with them in
crisis situations to study their communication needs.

Research & Development. Motorola Solutions
understands the critical nature of R&D, with programs focused on the
development of:

  • New public safety devices, infrastructure, and solutions
  • Public safety broadband solutions based on LTE technology
  • Smart public safety applications that include voice, data, and video

Intellectual Property. Motorola Solutions has more
than 6,900 owned and pending patents.

Weaknesses

While the leaner Motorola Solutions is better positioned to succeed than
its now defunct Motorola parent, Motorola Solutions could still be tested
in the months and years ahead. Company management is concerned about a
number of factors:

  • Compared to Motorola Corporation, Motorola Solutions has “diminished
    purchasing leverage and increased exposure to market fluctuations.”
  • The economic outlook for the government and enterprise communications
    industries remains uncertain, especially given the lingering effects of
    the Great Recession.
  • Sequestration in the US could cause the deferment or cancellation of
    purchase orders by federal customers.  Motorola Solutions’ largest
    customer is the US government.  According to the company, “The loss
    of this customer could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and
    earnings over several quarters, because some of our contracts with the
    US government are long-term.”
  • An unstable political environment overseas could threaten Motorola
    Solution’s manufacturing and business operations.
  • Motorola Solutions’ large systems and managed services contracts
    render the company vulnerable, including risks related to the fact that
    certain customers require that Motorola Solutions build, own, and
    operate their systems, often over a multi-year period.

Outlook

Despite its heritage, Motorola Solutions is a relatively new company; it
therefore needs time to “find itself.”  In the interim, company
revenue is steady, and recent environmental events may spur sales of
public safety infrastructure and services.  In fact, the effects of
climate change, including increased storm intensity, should provide a
perverse stimulus to Motorola Solutions’ principal businesses.

Financials.  For the fourth quarter of 2019, the
company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.94, an increase of 12%
from 2018. For the full year 2019, revenue was $7.9 billion, an increase
of 7% due to growth in the Americas. Revenue from acquisitions was $312
million. GAAP operating earnings were $1.6 billion, an increase of $326
million or 26%. Non-GAAP operating earnings were $2 billion, an increase
of $235 million or 14%.

For 2020, Motorola Solutions expects non-GAAP earnings per share to fall
in the range of $8.65 to $8.80 per share, and revenue to increase
approximately 4%. For the first quarter, it expects non-GAAP earnings per
share to fall between $1.30 and $1.35 per share and revenue to grow
approximately 2%.

Product Lines

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Product/Service Line

Description

Competitors

Products 

The Products segment offers an extensive
portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and
software.  The primary customalcatelers of the Products
segment are government, public safety and first-responder
agencies, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers
who operate private communications networks and manage a mobile
workforce.

The Products segment is comprised of
Devices and Systems.

  • Devices includes two-way portable and
    vehicle mounted radios, accessories, and software features and
    upgrades.

  • Systems includes the radio network
    core and central processing software, base stations, consoles,
    repeaters, and software applications and features.

Airbus

Alcatel-Lucent

Harris

Honeywell

Hytera

Kenwood

Sepura

Services

The Services segment
provides a full set of service offerings for government, public
safety and commercial communication networks including: (i)
Integration services, (ii) Lifecycle Support services, (iii) Managed
services, (iv) Smart Public Safety Solutions, and (v) iDEN services.

  • Integration services includes
    implementation, optimization, and integration of networks,
    devices, software, and applications.

  • Lifecycle Support services includes
    lifecycle planning, software and hardware maintenance,
    security patches and upgrades, call center support, network
    monitoring, and repair services. 

  • Managed services includes managing
    and operating customer systems and devices at defined services
    levels.

  • Smart Public Safety Solutions
    includes software and hardware solutions for our customers’
    “Command & Control” centers providing video monitoring
    support, data analytics, and content management with the
    objective of enabling smart policing. 

  • iDEN services consists primarily of
    hardware and software maintenance services for our legacy iDEN
    customers.

Airbus

Alcatel-Lucent

Harris

Honeywell

Hytera

Kenwood

Sepura

Major Competitors

Activity

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Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures

Motorola
Solutions
acquired WatchGuard, Inc, a US-based provider of
mobile video solutions. The acquired company designs and
manufactures in-car video systems, body-worn cameras, evidence
management systems, and software. Motorola Solutions noted that
the purchased assets will be used to expand its own ecosystem by
combining the newly acquired technology with fixed cameras and
advanced analytics from Avigilon and license plate recognition
(LPR) cameras and software from Vigilant Solutions. No terms for
the agreement were disclosed.

(07/18/2019)

Motorola
Solutions
announced that it has acquired Avtec, Inc, a
provider of dispatch solutions for public safety and commercial
customers. The new acquisition, which is based in South Carolina,
provides voice over internet protocol (VoIP) dispatch services
over land mobile radio (LMR) and broadband networks. Its
customers include airlines, railroads and energy companies.
Motorola Solutions expects the purchased company’s assets to
help it expand its own land mobile radio and broadband platforms
for both public safety and commercial customers. No financial
terms for the transaction were disclosed.

(03/11/2019)

Products and Services

Motorola
Solutions
announced the launch of MOTOTRBO
Nitro
, a new “end-to-end enterprise communications solution
with premium voice communications and lightning-fast private
broadband data.” According to the company, the new offering
employs the CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) spectrum
to provide better indoor coverage for voice and data across an
entire organization, as well as faster private broadband data
with twice the capacity and up to four times the range of
Wi-Fi-based alternatives. Motorola Solutions also noted that it
designed MOTOTRBO Nitro to be scalable to growing customer
needs, including the future integrations of video surveillance, a
secure operations center, or introducing artificial intelligence
(AI) and analytics to it.

(03/18/2019)

Personnel and Organizational

Motorola
Solutions
has named Dr. Mahesh Saptharishi as the
company’s new chief technology officer. The 20-year veteran of
the industry will be called on to lead the company’s platforms in
mission-critical communications, video, and command center
software. Areas of particular focus for the new exec are expected
to include “applications that bring together artificial
intelligence (AI) and human intelligence to rapidly interpret
vast quantities of data, as well as new user interfaces for
efficiently delivering information.” Saptharishi comes to the new
role from Avigilon, a Motorola Solutions company specializing in
video analytics solutions. There he served as CTO for five years.

(03/12/2019)

Financials

Motorola
Solutions
publishes its Q2 2019 financial results. For the
period, the company’s revenue reached $1.86 billion, up from the
previous second quarter’s $1.76 billion. Net income was $207
million, or $1.18 per share, compared to the $180 million or
$1.05 per share posted for the year-ago quarter. On these
results, Motorola Solutions predicted FY 2019 revenue growth of 7
to 7.5 percent, as well as expected earnings per share in the
range of $7.67 to $7.77.

(08/05/2019)

Legal News

Motorola
Solutions
announced that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has
issued a final written decision on its case with Hytera
Communications Corporation. The decision relates to four patents
held by Motorola Solutions involving time-division multiple
access (TDMA) technology. Hytera had challenged the validity of
these patents, sparking a widening legal battle in which Motorola
Solutions has since accused Hytera of infringing on its own
intellectual property with its i-Series products. Hytera also
previously attempted to have Motorola Solutions’ patents
invalidated by the International Trade Commission. This is the
fourth case between the two surrounding the same intellectual
property.

(05/21/2019)

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References

1 Mark Scott. “Motorola Solutions to Sell Enterprise Business
for $3.5 Billion. The New York Times. April 15, 2014.

2 The New York Times.

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