Networking major Cisco announced that it will pick up a
minority stake in kc smart service (kcss), a KT subsidiary, which will offer
managed services for smart buildings and smart city projects.
kc smart service will be operational by January 2012. kc
smart service will have the ability to incorporate the technologies and tools
of KT and Cisco.
kcss will be funded with starting capital of US$30 million
from KT and Cisco, with Cisco holding a minority stake. KT will
contribute intellectual property, human resources, and other non-monetary
assets in the company.
The initial overall valuation of kcss is over $60 million.
The company will initially be formed with 30 staff members including experts in
smart space (smart building/city) solutions, with the potential to increase to
70 by 2012.
KT will be in charge of the overall operations management of
kcss, which will be headquartered in Korea. kcss will initially target 14
countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, China and Southeast
Asia, with a focus on smart cities, buildings and tenant services.
“This isn’t a one-off release or consulting partnership,
but a way of developing a long-term cooperative business model, which is by far
the more meaningful. Through this project, KT’s core aim is not just the
commercialization of smart space solutions, but the accumulation of business
experience and the fostering of talented human resources and many other goals
in other business fields also that can be accomplished through the
strengthening of our global competencies,” said Suk-Chae Lee, chairman,
CEO and president, KT.
The collaboration with KT is also aligned closely to several
of Cisco‘s five
priorities, including core networks and services, architectures and cloud
computing.
“Cisco and KT have a long history of collaboration, and
we share a common belief that the network is the foundation for the development
of smart buildings and smart cities. We look forward to expanding our
collaboration with KT as new business models evolve, such as cloud
services,” said John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco.
kcss will utilize KT’s developed smart-space combined
platform Ubi-Cahn (Ubiquitous City Administration Hub with Network) and Cisco’s
Unified Service Delivery Platform, which together offer a comprehensive
blueprint for smart buildings and smart cities.
Through its application of Ubiquitous Sensor Networks,
Broadband Convergence Networks, and Machine-to-Machine technology, kcss will
design new spaces that address all aspects of city life from parks to
buildings.
By Telecomlead.com Team
