http://www.antennasoftware.com () —
Antenna, enabling business transformation through intelligently designed mobile applications, today announced that Korea Telecom (KT) has launched KEMP (KT Enterprise Mobility Platform) powered by the Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP). The leading mobile telecoms operator will use the KEMP mobile enterprise application platform to market and sell both native and Web-based mobile applications (apps) to Korean corporate and multi-national customers across all of the major vertical markets, including Financial Services, Retail, Consumer Packaged Goods, Manufacturing, Life Sciences, and Automotives. Apps will be rolled out using a variety of models, from a fully hosted KT offering to a 'switch in the cloud' over which enterprises will be able to commission and provision their own apps to end users.
KEMP is based on AMP 3.0, a robust, highly scalable and versatile mobility platform for building, deploying and managing mobile enterprise applications, over which the operator can create and execute top-down mobility strategies on behalf of its enterprise customers. KT and its ecosystem of developer partners are building localised apps with a rich and graphical user interface via AMP's integrated development environment (IDE). KEMP allows the same app to be propagated over disparate operating systems -- be it Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Windows Mobile or Windows laptop -- resulting in a faster time-to-market for KT and a more satisfying user experience for its customers.
KT will utilise AMP Gateway, AMP Enterprise Connect and AMP Management Center, integral features of AMP, to build-out the KEMP service. AMP Gateway governs all bi-directional communication, maintaining the secure, redundant connections between KT and the enterprise customer back-office systems, and providing store-and-forward technology to allow users to work in disconnected mode and seamlessly transmit data when connectivity is resumed. AMP Enterprise Connect, a platform-independent means of communicating with host systems, will mobilise enterprise data from existing back office systems and provide access to Groupware shared workspace solutions. AMP Management Center provides a central point of control from which KT can deploy and manage users, devices, applications and systems and carry out administrative and real-time reporting functions.
KEMP comprises a range of enterprise mobility packages, from a fully-hosted service, with apps supplied on-demand over a multi-tenanted or dedicated single server, to an on-premise offering with AMP located behind the corporate firewall, to even a remote cloud-based offering. The latter will operate as a 'switch in the cloud,' allowing enterprises to virtually provision and control apps while enjoying the scalability and cost-savings of a hosted solution.
South Korea is one of the most saturated mobile markets in the world, with 45 million users in a population of 49 million. The smartphone market has been stimulated by the Apple iPhone, launched in November 2009 and exclusively licensed to KT, as well as the subsequent launch of the Nexus One. According to the KCC (Korea Communication Commission), smartphone penetration rates are expected to increase from 1.2% in June 2009 to 20% of all mobile phones (equivalent to 4 million units) by 2013. Demand for enterprise mobility services is expected to follow suit as smartphone devices proliferate.
As of the end of June 2010, KT had 840,000 iPhone users out of a total of 1.2 million smartphone customers and the operator is in the process of rolling out smartphones to 130 organisations, including public sector bodies such as the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation and large corporations such as the Kolon Group, Doosan Group, and Shinhan Bank. KT intends to commit 5.1 trillion won (4.3 billion dollars) to expanding its network to meet demand, to be invested in 3G, LTE, WiFi, WiBro, and cloud computing infrastructure over the next four years.
"We selected Antenna after assessing the strategic success and technical merits of a number of enterprise mobility solutions. Antenna won out because of its best-of-breed pedigree and advanced technology, specifically the platform's ability to perform multiple integration with backend systems, its customer management capabilities and its versatility in enabling us to support multiple devices," explains Young Hui Lee, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Customer Strategy, KT. "We can now capitalise upon the success of the iPhone and the predicted growth in smartphone penetration with KEMP over AMP, responding to demand with apps that can truly transform the enterprise."
The partnership between KT and Antenna will enable enterprise customers to use KEMP to leverage their existing investments in back office systems and gain traction in their respective markets, increasing sales and productivity and building brand awareness. By automating and extending business processes, both their employees -- and their customers -- will enjoy a more responsive and immersive experience.
KT and Antenna will continue to cooperate and make their marketing and sales resources available to customers with combined sales advice and technical support.
"The explosive growth of smartphones in Korea has set the pace for widespread mobile application adoption that can now be supported by KT's diverse go-to-market strategy for KEMP," said Jim Hemmer, President and CEO of Antenna. "Mobility presents a real opportunity for enterprises to engage with their employees, partners, suppliers and consumers with apps that change the way people live and work. Together, Antenna and KT can help advise these organisations on how best to harness and leverage the incredible power that is mobile."
About AntennaAntenna enables business transformation by developing human-centered apps that run on any mobile device, anywhere. Only Antenna apps are backed by the most advanced enterprise-class mobile platform that makes all the hard stuff like security, integration, performance, scalability and management look easy (even though it's not). Millions of people love to use Antenna apps every day. That's why leading Global 2000 companies rely on Antenna to be their trusted mobility partner. Founded in 1998, Antenna is headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., with offices around the world. Visit www.antennasoftware.com (http://www.antennasoftware.com) and follow @AntennaSoftware on Twitter (http://twitter.com/antennasoftware (http://twitter.com/antennasoftware) ).
