Seoul – Mar. 23, 2021 – IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has successfully completed a project to establish an IT Service Management (ITSM) system for Lotte Hotels & Resorts, the leading hotel group in Korea. Through this project, Lotte Hotels & Resorts has established standardized IT service processes and systems for chain hotels around the world and provides more stable IT services to enhance customer and employee satisfaction. In addition, convenient and transparent IT asset management has become possible, while laying the foundation for digital innovation to grow into a global hotel chain.

Lotte Hotels & Resorts, which operates a total of 32 hotels (20 domestic, 12 overseas) in various cities including Seoul, Jeju, New York, Moscow, and Hanoi, has continued to expand by opening a new hotel in Seattle in September last year despite the outbreak of COVID-19. This required Lotte Hotels & Resorts to establish consistent processes and systems to efficiently operate the IT services of all chain hotels around the world.

IBM's Global Technology Services unit (which will become NewCo) analyzed the status of Lotte Hotels & Resorts’ IT services by utilizing its industry expertise and know-how accumulated through collaboration with hotels and travel companies around the world. Based on this, IBM identified 140 service requirements; established standardized IT service policies and processes for each requirement to be applied to all chain hotels; and established IT service management system based on ITSM products from ServiceNow. IBM successfully completed all stages of ITSM consulting, including system building, testing, and employee training, only in 16 weeks by utilizing the Agile Method.

Through this project, employees of Lotte Hotels & Resorts can easily request for appropriate IT services through web or mobile when IT-related problems occur, such as check-in or card key issuance failures or when IT devices are needed. In addition, users are able to check status of their requests anytime. IT managers of Lotte Hotels & Resorts can better manage tasks such as request for authorization grant and data. They can also check the status of IT devices and assets such as PC, servers, and Kiosks scattered in each hotel chain, and manage them more transparently.

“Establishing policies and processes for IT services of a big company requires a deep understanding and expertise of the enterprise’s complex business and its industry. IBM has accumulated industry-specific experience and know-how through the long history of IT outsourcing service business of leading domestic and foreign companies. IBM will help more Korean companies innovate their IT service management systems and further lay the foundation for digital innovation,” said Jungwook Jang, General Manager, Global Technology Service, IBM Korea. “Our leadership in the IT service sector will continue even after the spin-off of our Managed Infrastructure Services that will take place later this year,” he added.