One of the changes brought by COVID-19 is the work environment. Remote work, once considered a specialized work setting, is now common, and digital work environments such as video conferencing and collaboration tools have become standard. However, in institutions like public agencies, public enterprises, quasi-governmental organizations, and government-funded research institutes, where security and implementation procedures are stringent, it is still challenging to introduce new software. As a result, the fragmentation and obsolescence of software can affect corporate culture.


The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) recognized the importance of digital transformation early on and has been promoting work culture innovation through software transition. KITECH, a government-funded research institute focusing on technology for innovation and competitiveness in South Korea's manufacturing industry, aids small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies in adopting and commercializing innovative technologies for actual product production. Min-ki Lee, Director of Digital Information Innovation at KITECH, discussed the current state of KITECH's digital transformation and the innovation of institutional culture through collaboration tools.

KITECH aims to provide AI capable of growth from manufacturing technology support

Min-ki Lee has been with KITECH for 12 years. Before joining KITECH in October 2013, he worked in analysis and design at a mid-sized domestic system integration (SI) company. When asked about the main tasks of the Digital Information Innovation Office, Lee explained, "The Digital Information Innovation Office is comprehensively responsible for computing, infrastructure, security, and network for implementing the comprehensive information system necessary for operating the institution. It also performs planning and projects related to digital work innovation."


KITECH consists of three core research centers: the Intelligent Root Technology Research Center, which studies root and next-generation process technologies; the Human-Centered Production Technology Research Center, which develops manufacturing and robotics technology collaboration and textile solutions; and the Sustainable Technology Research Center, which researches sustainable energy technology and recycling systems. It has seven practical headquarters nationwide as on-site technology innovation hubs for regional specialized industry support. There are also six national mandate centers and four overseas organizations under its umbrella. Given the institution's nature of having research centers and headquarters nationwide, digitalization is essential for smooth communication and productivity improvement, and the Digital Information Innovation Office plays a managerial role in facilitating the use of systems.

How do they communicate across regions? Min-ki Lee stated, "Monthly strategic meetings, issue consultations, and research general review committees are regularly held with research center directors, headquarters directors, and department heads participating. Face-to-face meetings or video conferences are also held between regions," adding, "Before COVID-19, everything was conducted face-to-face, with external messengers or emails used as supplements. After COVID-19, non-face-to-face meetings became the norm, and tools like Dooray messenger, email, and video conferencing began to be actively used."

"SaaS adoption instead of on-premises, ultimately positive results"

KITECH adopted Dooray in August 2021. At that time, companies were just beginning to adopt collaboration tools, and it was rare to find cases of adoption in institutions. However, the email system was too outdated for remote work, and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) supported the use of Software as a Service (SaaS) through a private cloud leading utilization support project, leading to the adoption of Dooray.


Min-ki Lee explained, "The existing email system was on-premises and had been used for over ten years, reaching its replacement period. The capacity was only 5GB, and the mail server frequently went down. At that time, NIA supported the transition, leading to the decision to adopt NHN Dooray. Initially, we only intended to replace the email, but there were many features that could assist with work sharing, such as drives or emails for researchers, so we adopted the collaboration tool as well."

Since the adoption of collaboration tools within the institution was in its early stages, the introduction was cautious. The Digital Information Innovation Office first tested whether SaaS was suitable for internal services for two months, and two months later, the mail server was moved. Min-ki Lee stated, "There were technical issues with the existing mail system and concerns about security. By using SaaS, the latest security is continuously maintained, freeing us from these issues. The internal response was also enthusiastic. The mailbox capacity increased from 5GB to 30GB, and data could be accessed on mobile without complex procedures like VPNs."

"The largest number of licenses among government-funded research institutes, took a year for full expansion"

KITECH currently holds about 3,000 licenses, the largest among the 25 government-funded research institutes. Despite the large scale of adoption, email and messenger were adapted at the enterprise level immediately, and features like projects, calendars, and wikis were sufficiently expanded within a year. Although there was no formal training on usage at the enterprise level, users were well-versed in usage methods through user guides and promotional materials.

Min-ki Lee said, "Researchers and IT departments particularly use drives and projects a lot. Electronic research notes are still used separately due to the need for performance linkage, and electronic approval also uses a self-developed program due to system linkage characteristics. However, researchers' projects or task collaborations are written and shared through Dooray projects. Additionally, the calendar is set to share the schedules of key positions like the president and vice president with major position holders, significantly reducing work confusion due to absence."


He continued, "Our team is the department with the highest utilization. Due to the nature of the IT department, we conduct about 7 to 8 information service projects a year, creating events and folders for each project using Dooray projects and drives, designating participants, and sharing and managing work by version. Related personnel can be added immediately to check previous work for handover, and there are no data loss or security issues."

Although there were many difficulties in the early stages of adoption, there were no major problems since the service was already quite complete at the time of adoption. Min-ki Lee said, "Since SaaS services are provided commonly to all adopters, no custom features are developed for a single place. Fortunately, Dooray itself was capable of adoption, and since the institution was in the early stages of adoption, many of the features we requested are now sufficiently implemented. Particularly, if problems occurred during work, they would come directly to help even on weekends, and when specific features were requested, they provided the exact manuals to resolve them."

Institutional SaaS adoption aids in internal culture improvement and digital transformation

Min-ki Lee stated that there have been changes in various aspects, from internal culture to future scalability, over five years of using Dooray. He said, "Although there is a vertical culture with a rank system, there is a clear change in organizational culture. Previously, one had to send emails and request confirmation separately or even visit in person, but now notifications are automatically sent through the Dooray app integration. Various security issues that could arise during the data sharing process have now been resolved, and many repetitive administrative tasks have been simplified. The stability and convenience provided by the service make the organizational culture more convenient."


President Sang-mok Lee has emphasized empathic digital management encompassing artificial intelligence, business process management, and data analysis platforms since his appointment, recognizing the importance of information security, security, and integrity by setting up an information security team directly under the president. "To innovate empathic digital management, we plan to gradually achieve data-based administration and derive high-level utilization plans through AI adoption," he conveyed.

Finally, Min-ki Lee offered advice to other institutional managers considering the adoption of collaboration tools. He said, "For institutions that have previously utilized on-premises servers, SaaS can be unfamiliar. While on-premises systems are used for about ten years once adopted, SaaS involves ongoing costs, which can be burdensome. However, due to the nature of SaaS, which is updated to match the latest environment, employee satisfaction and work efficiency are greatly improved, and security issues are significantly reduced. In the long term, there are definitely benefits, so I highly recommend considering it."

IT Donga Reporter Nam Si-hyun (sh@itdonga.com)

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