KT knows that innovation requires highly productive employees who can instantly respond to changes in the business environment. That’s why the company recently re-engineered its IT infrastructure to encourage the free flow of ideas and create a culture of anytime, anywhere collaboration among its 45,000 workers.
“Our goal was to increase productivity by working smartly and sharing individual knowledge more easily across the organization,” says CK Kim, director of KT’s cloud business department. “To make this happen, we needed an IT environment that would keep data secure and simplify IT management.”
KT leaders decided the best way to accomplish their goal was with desktop virtualization technology. After reviewing solutions from several vendors, the company chose the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops solution and other Citrix technologies to improve productivity, lower costs, and, ultimately, speed innovation.
Productivity, anytime, anywhere
The Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops solution changed KT’s work culture virtually overnight. By deploying Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops technology at its campus in Seoul, KT optimized personalized desktops for each employee.
With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops virtualization, KT employees can work productively and securely, while enjoying a user experience that gives them anytime access to critical applications. And Citrix HDX technology, a key feature of the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops solution, makes it easy for workers to take advantage of high-speed printing and increase productivity with high-resolution videoconferences.
KT has also supplied Apple iPads to about 32,000 employees in locations outside of its Seoul campus. Citrix Workspace app enables these workers to access Windows applications, documents, and other resources over the network whenever they want, wherever they are. They can access any number of company applications that are in the virtual environment.
“All employees—even those who don’t have a virtual desktop—can carry out company work anytime from anywhere by using Citrix Workspace app technology, which provides the ability to view important work in a virtualized environment,” says Hyun Joo Lee, executive director of KT’s global business group.
To take advantage of the productivity increases that mobility delivers, without compromising security, KT implemented the Citrix Endpoint Management solution. Because KT was already using other Citrix products, it could seamlessly integrate Citrix Endpoint Management technology into its environment. It required no modifications to any of its existing infrastructure.
Lower costs, easier management
Since introducing desktop virtualization, KT has cut costs by more than $100,000 a year. Part of this savings is a result of simplified desktop management. Using the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops solution, the IT team manages the desktop operating system, applications, and user profiles for virtual desktops as a single image in the data center. They can apply policies uniformly, as well. Previously, software administration tasks such as upgrades and patches took a great deal of time.
High-performance public cloud
The Citrix solution was also instrumental in the launch of KT’s public cloud service, uCloud, which provides enterprise customers with prompt, stable, and high-quality cloud server resources. It was imperative that uCloud deliver high-performance technology at a low cost.
The easy integration and flexibility of the Citrix solution speeded uCloud’s time to market and now helps keep costs down for customers. uCloud is delivering stability, security, and convenience, all advantages that will be critical to the success of KT as more of the world moves to the cloud.
“After engaging with the Citrix cloud team and learning about their innovative technology, we knew we had found a solution that satisfied everything on our list,” says Jung-Sik Suh, chief executive of KT Cloudware Corporation. “The team has extensive experience and the technology allows us to bring a cloud service quickly and cost-efficiently to market.”
