President Hwang Sung-woo of Samsung SDS speaks at “REAL 2021,” a two-day online conference to share success strategies and exemplary cases on Sept. 8. (Photo: Samsung SDS)

Samsung SDS kicked off “REAL 2021,” a two-day online conference held starting Sept. 8, to share success strategies and exemplary cases under the theme of “Cloud-based Digital Transformation as a Service.”

Marking its 3rd year, the REAL 2021 conference that was held online received pre-registration from over 8,000 participants, including clients and industry officials, who showed great interest in digital transformation (DT).

In his keynote address, Stanley Kang, Executive Vice President and Leader of IT Innovation Business Division at Samsung SDS, presented the four reasons why companies’ attempts of DT fail.

He set forth “Cloud-based Digital Transformation as a Service” as a practical strategy to succeed.

Moreover, Samsung SDS unveiled “DT Cube,” which represents various methodologies in three-dimensions to achieve DT in the cloud environment, stressing that the company will develop it to a platform level in the years to come.

In the following sessions, speakers introduced the case of ABL Life Insurance, which brought innovation to its work process by applying the design thinking methodology that seeks creative solutions through intuitive and analytic thinking, as well as the case of the digital R&D of Samsung Bespoke, which enhanced production efficiency by swiftly reflecting the product design opinions of customers who had experienced virtual products made with 3D technology in the product planning stage.

In addition, there were presentations about the case of DB Insurance that is offering innovative customer experiences, such as the real-time “roboteller” customer service operator, through the setup of the AI-based smart contact center, and about the changes in the way Samsung SDS works in the age of the contactless economy.

On the second day, Scott HJ Koo, Executive Vice President and Leader of Cloud Business Division at Samsung SDS, opened the event with a keynote speech titled “Business Innovation Led by Cloud,” which will be followed by presentations on the key success factors of Managed Service Provider (MSP) seen through customer examples, the introduction of DevOps which simultaneously executes and combines system development and operations, and the measures to strengthen cloud security.

Also, experts of Samsung SDS will share various business innovation cases in details including the implementation of enterprise digital transformation, strategies to implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the age of the cloud, innovative ideas for DT in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and SCM platform strategies, and the case on intelligent logistics automation.

Samsung SDS Announces Second-Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Samsung SDS recorded revenue of 3.2509 trillion won and operating profit of 224.7 billion won in the second quarter of 2021. Revenue and operating profit increased 26.7% and 14.2% YoY, respectively.

IT service revenue marked 1.3919 trillion won, or 5.5% YoY, thanks to recovery of corporate customers’ IT investments, such as cloud migration, ERP business diversification, smart factory system implementation, global business expansion in enterprise mobile management (EMM), video conference solution (Brity Meeting) and DT-based task automation service (Brity RPA) adoption.

IT-platform based logistics business recorded revenue of 1.859 trillion won, which is 49.1% YoY growth derived from increase in volume of goods for IT devices, higher sea freight rates and external business expansion.

Samsung SDS expects corporate IT investment to gradually expand despite the difficult business environment in the remaining year.

In the second half of the year, Samsung SDS plans to focus on providing advanced enterprise cloud services, pursuing external business with next-generation ERP, diversifying industries of smart factory business, and promoting logistics automation services for manufacturing plants and distribution centers.

In the logistics sector, Samsung SDS plans to preemptively provide logistics services in preparation for expected increase in cargo volume in the second half of the year.

The company will also enhance its IT logistics platform, Cello Square, and expand the scope of services to international transportation and fulfillment to strengthen its global logistics business competitiveness with accuracy and visibility.