Its never easy to launch a new device brand into a saturated market, and even harder to establish a new operating system in a world dominated by iOS and Android. For a while, Finish company Jolla was trying to do both, but the firm has announced it is forking itself, splitting into separate hardware and software businesses.

The company retaining the Jolla name will be focus on the development and licensing business for its open mobile operating system Sailfish, with current chairman of the board Dr. Antti Saarnio taking over leadership.

Current CEO Dr. Tomi Pienimäki will depart to lead a new (as yet unnamed) company which will continue the firms device business, which will focus on privacy-conscious consumers and corporations around the world.

Until recently, the company focused on forming regional partnerships to create locally specialised versions of Sailfish in emerging markets, with the selling point that it had no other services to promote, unlike Apple and Google, and so could benefit local developers and brands.

The company has confirmed it still intends to deliver the Sailfish-running Jolla Tablet it crowdfunded last year, which has yet to ship to supporters, and has said it is “working hard” to get the first models in consumers hands.

“Every young company has to find its clear focus at some time, and for Jolla that time is now,” said Saarnio. “We have huge opportunities in the Sailfish OS licensing business, and I am very proud and excited to take responsibility of steering the Jolla ship to a new commercial phase.

“After three years of intensive Sailfish OS research and development we are now mobing full speed to new bigger waters, which requires full focus on software from the team. We have already proven that there is demand for Jolla devices in the market and we continue to see good opportunities for it. We have now decided the Jolla devices business under a new company, focusing on security enhanced devices.”

The new software-focused firm will be present at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai next week, and many attendees will no doubt have questions for its representatives over what exactly the future of the company holds.