Innovation
KT is improving its internal information systems. It is looking to complete its Business & Information system Transformation (BIT) project this year, which has been continued for over three years since its merger with KTF. The project will transform the company from a telecoms operator into a global ICT player.
The company held a press conference on September 30 at its main office located in Gwanghwamun and announced the outcome of the project, the goal of which is to reduce the number of its wired and wireless systems from 136 down to 6. Up to that date, its service delivery platform (SDP), enterprise resources planning (ERP), content management system (CMS), business intelligence and data warehousing (BI & DW), wired, and wireless business support systems (BSS) have been integrated as planned. The entire project will be completed once the new operation support system (OSS) is launched in February next year.
“We had very weak IT capabilities at the time of the merger, and we kicked off the BIT project to overcome our limitations,” said KT president Pyo Hyun-myeong, adding, “Finally, we have succeeded in building the new systems that will suit the needs of the market and customers.”
In particular, the company is going to enhance its customer-centered management by means of the new BSS established on September 23. It will be utilized to simplify its various billing tables and evidential documents while providing customer counseling in an integrated way. “We are currently reducing the number of calling plans from over 7,000 to 250, which will result in the period of new service development being shortened from longer than three months to within a month,” the president continued.
He went on to say, “When the BIT project is completed, our management will be smarter, speedier and more responsible. For example, integrated product consulting will be able to be offered to individual customers and troubleshooting will be made in a one-stop way to improve our sales efficiency and decrease customer complaints.”
At the same time, KT unveiled its plan to export the new services building on the BIT project, examples of which include the LTE network and joint system integration (SI) venture establishment in Rwanda. “We will organize our accumulated expertise into the form of new business models for overseas markets and export them starting next year,” president Pyo explained, adding, “As a matter of fact, Australia’s Telstra, Malaysia’s Celcom and Indonesia’s PT Telecom have visited us to take a leaf.”
In the meantime, KT announced on September 12 that it was selected as an Industry Group Leader (IGL) of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the third consecutive year.
The DJSI World is the world-renowned index drawn up by Dow Jones and Swiss investment assessment company Robeco SAM. The financial outcomes and non-financial elements of more than 2,500 global companies are evaluated to measure the sustainability of each one. The assessment of the non-financial factors includes the transparency of corporate governance, eco-friendly management, and contribution to joint growth and social welfare.
Each year, 24 companies are picked out as the IGL in as many fields. Among Korean corporations, KT was selected as the IGL of the wired and wireless telecoms sector, and Lotte Shopping as its counterpart of the retail sector.
“About 80 wired and wireless telecoms service providers tried to be incorporated into the DJSI World this year but only 10 of them, including KT, British Telecom and Telecom Italia, made it,” said Kim Dong-soo, head of the Sustainability Management Center of the Korea Production Center, which is in charge of the DJSI assessment in Korea. He remarked that KT’s selection at this time is highly meaningful and will be an opportunity for Korean companies to publicize their excellence in sustainable management.