Microsoft and Nokia, two erstwhile leaders in the mobile space, are turning to each other in hopes of recapturing their former glory. Very faint hopes at best.

According to the Microsoft press release, the agreement means bringing

Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft business communications, collaboration and device management software to Nokia’s Symbian devices… starting with the company’s business-optimized range, Nokia Eseries.

For Nokia, this means being able to ship smartphones running its Symbian operating system with Microsoft IM, conferencing and Office productivity applications tailored for the mobile form-factor.

It’s also a tacit admission that it’s not getting much third-party developer support for Symbian and thus needs Microsoft to fend off challenges from Apple’s iPhone and, to a lesser extent, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices. Between Apple’s pulsating marketing success on the one hand and BlackBerry’s entrenched user community, it’s hard to see how Nokia can recapture its past glory.

The companies will focus on enterprise customers first, but plan to extend their collaboration to N-class consumer smartphones as well. But the agreement doesn’t include more consumer-oriented Microsoft applications — like Mesh, which syncs different apps across several devices — and leads me to believe the companies aren’t fully aware of the forces driving the market.

Neither company has managed to generate enough developer enthusiasm for their mobile platforms for there to be any excitement around their platforms and devices. Microsoft in particular failed to realize early enough how much more personal handheld devices are, compared with desktops and even laptops. Customers need to feel a kinship to their devices and want to feel good about showing off their phones (and apps) to friends, colleagues and even people sitting next to them on the train.

Microsoft too must rue having failed to capitalize on being the only mobile game in town, particularly in the enterprise space, for many years. Latching onto a fading star like Nokia for help is a little like the Boston Red Sox signing John Smoltz for their rotation. It’s no longer 1995.

[Image source: Photo by aresjoberg via Flickr]