IBM and Korea Exchange Renew Integrated Maintenance Service Contract for Third Consecutive Year

SEOUL, KOREA .- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has renewed a contract for integrated maintenance services with the Korea Exchange (KRX). IBM has been providing integrated maintenance services to KRX since December 2006.

IBM is offering comprehensive maintenance and contract management services to KRX, ranging from system hardware, software, middleware, network, facilities and equipment. IBM provides KRX with integrated maintenance and management for system-related services that ensures a single point of contact to users and IT support departments.

By standardizing and integrating infrastructure maintenance under IBM, KRX is able to address complicated internal communication and management challenges. This has resulted in better problem solving and error analysis; provision of various management information on overall service operations and maintenance; and establishment of a regular inspection system of business situations for a more systematic decision-making process.

According to KRX, the integrated maintenance services of IBM have allowed the company to adjust to the continuously changing IT environment in a smarter way. IBM’s services considerably reduced the burden on KRX’s contract management work, which is becoming more complicated each day. This in turn helps KRX improve its cost effectiveness.

The KRX was created in 2005 through the integration of the three Korean spot and futures exchanges -- Korea Stock Exchange, Korea Futures Exchange and KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations). To effectively respond to the rapidly evolving changes in the highly volatile financial market, KRX spearheaded a new-generation system migration project in 2008. It required a partner to manage its overall system operations that consist of technology and equipment from several vendors. KRX chose to award the maintenance service contract to IBM over other vendors, including Hewlett Packard, because IBM’s delivery excellence exceeded KRX’s expectations in the last two years.

Won-jong Kim, General Manager, IBM Global Technology Services in Korea, said, “The renewal of the contract for the third consecutive year proves that our client has trust in the integrated services of IBM. We will continue to support KRX so that it can efficiently manage IT resources and focus its competencies on key tasks.”

The latest contract was signed in November 2008.