KT senior executive Kim Hong Jin, right, shakes hands with TongYang Systems CEO Lee Chong-hwan, after signing an agreement to form a business alliance for smart working projects at TongYang’s headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of KT

By Kim Yoo-chul

KT said Wednesday that it will partner local systems solution company TongYang Systems to collaborate on various smart working-related projects.

The two companies will build a smart working center at TongYang’s head office in Seoul, according to KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong.

This is the first time that two private companies have formed an alliance to build a center providing smart working solutions. It on a tract of 80 square meters, will have rooms equipped with high-speed Internet, Wi-Fi connectivity and teleconference facilities, Kim said, adding the center will go on-line from August.

The collaboration comes after KT has been investing heavily to strengthen its capability for smart work management systems under the company CEO Lee Suk-chae’s ``working smart’’ initiatives.

KT has been working together with British Telecom (BT) of the United Kingdom, Microsoft, Cisco and other technology firms to help it acquire better know-how in smart working amid the digital convergence, according to the KT spokeswoman.

KT is already running smart working centers to help employees telecommute using video conferencing, cloud computing and mobile access to corporate software. Working mothers, researchers and back-up workers are allowed to work from home or the center.

The project calls for a ``chemical merge’’ of KT’s smart working know-how and TongYang’s system-building capabilities, helping them rise as the nation’s leader in total smart working services.

``The concept of working smart succeeds when people have a good understanding of how they can be productive, what their skills and weaknesses are, and have the ability to channel stress and energies to maintain equilibrium and deliver higher scales of performance,’’ said a KMPG executive.

Kim responded by saying ``That’s why we are targeting corporate clients first.’’