After three years of trying to repair businesses that proved to be unfixable, Nokia Corp. NOK1V.HE +33.94% Chief Executive Stephen Elop is back at Microsoft Corp. MSFT -4.55% to help shape the legacy of the software giant's longtime boss, and potentially take his job。

三年来试图修复最终证明是无药可救的业务之后，诺基亚(Nokia Corp。)首席执行长(CEO)埃洛普(Stephen Elop)又回到了微软(Microsoft Corp。)，帮助塑造这家软件巨头长期掌门人的留下的“遗产”，并有可能取而代之。

Nokia on Tuesday announced the $7 billion sale of an ailing handset business to Microsoft, ending several months of discussions between Mr. Elop and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. The negotiations were the subject of dozens of boardroom deliberations on both sides of the Atlantic。

诺基亚周二宣布以70亿美元的价格将境况不佳的手机业务出售给微软，结束了埃洛普和微软CEO鲍尔默(Steve Ballmer)之间历时数月的谈判。地处大西洋两岸的这两家公司的董事会都为这些谈判召开了数十次的会议。

Nokia shareholders and many in Finland applauded the move. Nokia shares jumped 34% to 3.97 euros ($5.24) in Helsinki trading Tuesday amid sentiment that the deal is the best solution for a mobile-device operation that already relied heavily on Microsoft Windows technology。

诺基亚股东和许多芬兰人鼓掌欢迎这一收购行动。诺基亚股票周二在赫尔辛基跃升34%，至3.97欧元(合5.24美元)，人们认为对于已经严重依赖微软Windows技术的移动设备业务来说，该交易是最好的解决方案。

It is a stark reversal to the chilly reception Mr. Elop has recently weathered in Helsinki, where some had taken to calling him 'Stephen Eflop.'

这与埃洛普近来在赫尔辛基遭到的冷遇形成了鲜明对比，赫尔辛基的一些人已经开始叫他“埃笨伯”(Stephen Eflop)。

Having left Microsoft after running the company's profitable business division, Mr. Elop returns a bit of a hero. He was the only executive in the global handset business to exclusively use the Microsoft mobile platform and Nokia now sells nearly every Windows phone that is sold world-wide。

埃洛普离开微软之前负责该公司利润丰厚的企业部门，此次又几乎以英雄姿态回归微软。他是全球手机企业中唯一一位专门使用微软手机平台的CEO，如今在全球销售的所有Windows手机几乎都是由诺基亚销售。

The table is set for the 49-year-old executive to help Mr. Ballmer pull off an ambitious plan and, in the process, win respect in Microsoft's board room as its directors search for a new CEO。

现在已经万事俱备，49岁的埃洛普将帮助鲍尔默实施宏大的计划，并且在这个过程中赢得微软董事会的尊重。目前微软董事会正在搜寻新CEO人选。

In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Ballmer said the public shouldn't read too much into what the deal means for Mr. Elop's future, but acknowledged his longtime associate has gone from being an external candidate to an internal candidate。

鲍尔默周二接受采访时说，公众不应过度解读这桩交易对于埃洛普未来的意义，但承认曾长期担任他助手的埃洛普已经从外部候选人变成内部候选人。

The immediate goal is to work hand-in-hand with engineers and marketing staff at Microsoft to put the pieces in place to truly compete with rivals. The executives are eager to develop a legitimate third ecosystem capable of taking on players like Samsung Electronics Co., 005930.SE -1.04% Apple Inc., and Google Inc., GOOG +1.59% which are miles ahead thanks to iOS and Android。

两家达成交易后的近期目标是与微软的工程师和营销人员通力合作，利用现有资源真正与对手展开竞争。管理层渴望开发合理的第三种生态系统，能够挑战三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co。)、苹果(Apple Inc。)和谷歌(Google Inc。)等厂商，这些厂商凭借苹果iOS和谷歌安卓(Android)操作系统遥遥领先。

If he fails, Mr. Ballmer's legacy will be dented. The Microsoft chief has been criticized for not keeping up in a fast-moving industry. People involved in the Nokia deal say the play for a struggling handset business is one last effort to prove his mettle。

如果失败，鲍尔默的“遗产”将受损。这位微软CEO已经因未能跟上快速变化的行业动向而受到批评。参与诺基亚交易的人士说，收购一家陷入困境的手机企业是证明他勇气的最后行动。

In choosing Mr. Elop to lead the integration of the new business, Mr. Ballmer taps a respected ally. During the interview, Mr. Ballmer said he values Mr. Elop as a partner. The Canadian-born executive was one of the few people he called before announcing his coming retirement。

通过选择埃洛普领导新企业的整合，鲍尔默争取到了一位受人尊敬的盟友。鲍尔默接受采访时说，他将埃洛普视为合作伙伴。出生于加拿大的埃洛普是鲍尔默宣布即将退休之前致电的少数人之一。

Mr. Ballmer also picked an executive who hasn't strayed far from home。

此外，鲍尔默还选择了一个离家不远的高管。

Since joining Nokia in 2010, Mr. Elop has taken commercial flights between Helsinki and Seattle. He essentially lived out of a suitcase to balance the demands of turning around a crumbling business and raising teenage daughters whom he didn't want to uproot。

2010年加入诺基亚以来，埃洛普便乘坐商业航班往返于赫尔辛基和西雅图之间。工作上，他要让一个濒临崩溃的公司实现华丽转身;家庭生活中，他要抚养十几岁的女儿，又不愿让她们迁居别处。为了平衡这两方面的需求，埃洛普基本上是拎着手提箱来回奔波。

Mr. Elop isn't a stranger to tough decisions. He made waves almost immediately after starting at Nokia. He set to work on a plan that would lead to tens of thousands of job cuts and a downsizing of Nokia's treasured research and development department. He sold key assets, including the seaside headquarters near Helsinki and closed the last remaining handset factory in Finland。

对于做艰难的决定，埃洛普可谓驾轻就熟。在诺基亚上任后，他立即开始“大动干戈”。先是着手制定计划，准备裁员数万人，精简备受诺基亚重视的研发部门，而后卖掉了赫尔辛基附近临海总部大楼等关键资产，并且关闭了该公司位于芬兰的最后一个手机工厂。

He also changed the focus. Earlier this year, after an extensive rebuild of the Nokia Siemens Networks wireless division, Mr. Elop paid about $2.2 billion to buy out Siemens AG. Nokia now looks a lot like Sweden's Ericsson, which exited handset manufacturing a couple of years ago and is now making big profits selling infrastructure。

此外，埃洛普还改变了诺基亚的关注焦点。今年早些时候，在诺基亚西门子通信公司(Nokia Siemens Networks)无线业务经历了一番重建后，埃洛普支付了约22亿美元收购西门子公司(Siemens AG)在该合资公司中的股份。诺基亚现在看上去与瑞典的爱立信(Ericsson)十分相似，后者在几年前退出了手机生产业务，目前正通过出售基础设施赚取巨额利润。

The results of the handset strategy have been less than stellar。

诺基亚手机战略的效果称不上完美。

Nokia's cash burn and losses have narrowed, but it only controls about 3% of the global smartphone market and 14% of a total handset market. While many analysts have blamed Nokia's demise on a weak Microsoft operating system, criticism can be aimed at Nokia executives who underestimated rivals。

诺基亚的现金消耗与亏损有所收窄，但该公司目前只控制着全球3%的智能手机市场和14%的整体手机市场。虽然很多分析人士将诺基亚的衰落归咎于微软不给力的操作系统，但其实也可将批评的矛头对准诺基亚高管，是他们低估了竞争对手。

In recent months, it became increasingly clear the Windows phone strategy was running into a roadblock. No matter how good Nokia's new Lumia smartphones were, other players in the industry-particularly Samsung Electronics-had deeper pockets that allowed them to pour far more money into marketing and discounting smartphones than Mr. Elop has initially calculated。

近几个月愈发明确的一点是，Windows手机战略受阻。不管诺基亚的新智能手机Lumia有多棒，业内其它厂家(特别是三星电子)都十分财大气粗，可在智能手机的营销和打折方面投入远多于埃洛普最初以为的大量资金。

Samsung's market share, fueled by the popularity of both the Galaxy handset and the Google Inc. Android operating system it runs, has skyrocketed as Nokia's share plummeted, with the Korean company overtaking Nokia at No. 1 in 2012.

随着诺基亚手机市场份额暴跌，三星电子的市场份额则出现飙升，这得益于Galaxy手机与其搭载的谷歌安卓操作系统的高人气。这家韩国公司已于2012年取代诺基亚，成为全球第一大手机生产商。

Mr. Elop has done his best to paint a positive picture of Nokia's phone business, pointing out that Lumia volume, while small, has been growing, with sales increasing 32% to 7.4 million in the second quarter. Samsung, however, sold nearly 10 times as many smartphones in the first three months of 2013.

埃洛普竭尽所能地为诺基亚手机业务描绘出一幅积极图景。他指出，Lumia虽然销量不大，却在逐步增长。今年第二季度，Lumia销量达到740万部，增幅为32%。今年前三个月，三星电子的智能手机销量是Lumia的近10倍。

The clock is now ticking on Mr. Elop's attempt to catch up。

时间紧迫，埃洛普应加快追赶步伐。