Samsung SDS head is looking beyond the slump

Although the information technology industry has been in a slump for the last three years, the chief executive of Samsung SDS Co., Kim In, still has faith that a rebound is coming. “Samsung SDS will have sales of 2.8 trillion won ($2.3 billion), net profits of 200 billion won and 10,000 staff by 2005,” the chief executive of the information technology service company said. Within the next two to three years, Mr. Kim added, improving the firm’s financial status will be the priority to achieving that goal. Mr. Kim said the firm would have to reorganize in an effort to save 50 billion won in management and research and development costs. Samsung SDS last year had operating profits of 10 billion won, compared to 77 billion won in 2001. “SDS will increase its investment in research and development from 2 percent to 5 percent of its budget,” Mr.Kim said. He was appointed as chief executive two months ago. The information technology services market globally was $560 billion last year, according to the U.S.-based industry analyst Gartner Inc. “The global IT service industry is almost three times bigger than the semiconductor market of $200 billion. But the domestic information technology service market is less than 1 percent of the total market,” Mr. Kim said, adding that the domestic market is saturated and he will turn his attention abroad. Mr. Kim also said he wants to redress the lack of women in his organization. He noted that IBM Inc. said female workers make up 32 percent of total industry employment and 20 percent of the industry’s executives are women. “But Samsung SDS’ female workforce is only 14 percent of the total, and none of them are executives,” he said. Samsung SDS is planning to recruit 1,000 workers this year, 40 percent of them women. Mr. Kim said he thought recruiting good personnel was the most important ingredient of success. “And especially when the industry is troubled, the organization has to be full of life and vitality,” he added. by Choi Ji-young