“With the adoption of cloud-based IT Service Management (ITSM), we were able to optimize an inconsistent work environment and reduce costs—achieving both goals at once.”

Oh Choong-ho, Head of Business Operations at Emlook, made this statement while introducing the case of building a cloud-based ITSM environment for subsidiaries of the Zeniel Group.

Emlook is a company specializing in mobile outsourcing, developing intelligent field management mobile solutions such as mLook and automation bots. As a Zeniel Group affiliate, it currently provides a mobile groupware system that enables comprehensive outsourcing management for the entire Zeniel Group.

This year, Emlook, in collaboration with STEG Inc., will integrate the Zeniel Group’s ITSM environment and migrate it to the cloud. Previously, the environment was divided by subsidiary, making management and operations difficult.

Oh explained, “Zeniel Group consists of 13 subsidiaries and about 8,000 employees, with many branches located in provincial areas. The problem was that request management processes differed by subsidiary and task, often resulting in unstructured workflows.”

At that time, Zeniel Group had more than 27 different request management processes for service requests, outsourcing, and equipment management across its subsidiaries.

Oh continued, “Since each group company lacked a systematic management system and relied on phone calls or internal and personal messengers for communication, system development was often delayed. Moreover, handling requests via phone meant data could not be converted, making system improvements for workflow enhancement difficult.”

To address this, Emlook migrated and integrated all subsidiaries’ request management processes into ITSM.

Oh stated, “Now that the request management process has been unified, workflows have been improved to allow centralized management in the cloud. We can resolve common issues across subsidiaries at once and reduce unnecessary tasks.”

Emlook plans to gradually transition all Zeniel Group infrastructure to the cloud and adapt applications to fit the cloud environment.

He added, “Although it’s still early in the adoption phase and difficult to provide numerical evaluations, employee satisfaction has increased, and work efficiency has clearly improved. The server management department, which previously had to manage servers for each group individually, is particularly satisfied.”

Integrated Request Management Process by Emlook

Security issues were also improved by establishing redundancy and backup systems in the cloud. Oh explained that previously, there was no separate backup system, so any server failure posed a serious risk.

He noted, “I understand there are concerns about security in cloud environments, such as external attacks. While we pay close attention to internal security, major cloud providers offer enhanced security measures, so we believe collaboration will allow us to maintain a high level of security.”

Oh emphasized that building the ITSM environment in the cloud was the most suitable approach to encompass subsidiaries spread across different regions.

He continued, “Especially this year, due to COVID-19, we faced significant challenges visiting local branches in Daegu, Busan, and Gyeongnam. With the growing need for remote work and telecommuting, migrating to the cloud was the right decision.”

Cost considerations and rapid technical support also influenced the move to the cloud.

Building an integrated management environment on-premises would require significant initial costs for server purchases, space rental, and staffing. In contrast, the cloud eliminates the need to purchase servers, reduces initial implementation costs, and minimizes the need for on-site personnel, easing the financial burden.

Oh added, “We were also satisfied with the speed—after development at Emlook, a single update could be applied across all Zeniel Group systems without manually updating each region’s servers.”

ITSM Environment Adopted by Emlook

Emlook plans to launch the cloud version of its work management platform, mLook, within this month. In the cloud environment, it will support integrated enterprise management, including attendance, payroll, finance, and HR.

Optimized for the cloud, the platform can be used without restrictions on devices or environments and will facilitate collaboration and communication among multiple subsidiaries.

Additionally, Emlook plans to introduce Robotic Process Automation (RPA) into ITSM to minimize repetitive tasks such as receipt processing and complaint handling, thereby improving work efficiency.

The ITSM system incorporating RPA is applied to SNU Bot, an AI-based conversational messenger robot developed by Seoul National University.