SEOUL, South Korea and ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a collaboration with Busan Bank to create a set of secure, customized mobile apps that will improve employee productivity and decision making to enhance the customer experience.

More than 78 percent of South Korea's 50 million people currently use smartphones. Among 18-24 year olds, adoption is nearly ubiquitous at 97 percent, which is a factor influencing millennial employees' expectations for having the same mobile experience at work as they do in their personal lives.

Busan Bank selected the IBM MobileFirst application development portfolio to create a secure platform that allows developers to create rich, easy-to-use apps for multiple devices. The new solutions empower employees to rapidly on-board new customers and complete transactions from the field to establish more flexible, personal relationships with banking customers.

"To stay competitive, it is critical we offer compelling mobile solutions to both our customers and our employees, while meeting strict security standards," said Oh Nam Hwan, chief information officer, Busan Bank. "With IBM, our investments in mobile are helping to create a more rewarding professional work environment for our employees that not only increases job satisfaction, but also creates new touch points with customers for more valuable, interactive relationships."

Specifically, Busan Bank employees using the new apps can streamline customer on-boarding processes by creating a collaborative, consultative experience that blends customers' personal financial goals with available banking products. Employees will have the flexibility to serve customers where it's convenient for them -- in the branch or in remote locations -- enabling the employee to complete applications, transfer funds and more from a mobile device. The mobile platform will integrate apps with the bank's back-end systems and databases so that customer information is accessible across devices and in real time to further improve customer responsiveness.

"Our mission is to transform the way people work with a designed-for-mobile app approach infused with big data and analytics to drive a new generation of empowered employees," said Glenn Finch, global leader, technology and data practice, IBM Global Business Services. "With the IBM MobileFirst portfolio, Busan Bank is creating a secure, flexible mobile platform to help employees be more productive and responsive, while laying the groundwork for long-term customer loyalty."

Busan Bank employees will have both technology support and training from the mobile services team at the IBM Korean Software Solutions Lab (KSSL).

About IBM MobileFirst
IBM's 5,000 mobile experts have been at the forefront of mobile enterprise innovation. IBM has secured more than 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security, which have been incorporated into IBM MobileFirst solutions that enable enterprise clients to radically streamline and accelerate mobile adoption, help organizations engage more people and capture new markets. Through IBM's partnership with Apple, the two organizations are transforming enterprise mobility with a new class of industry specific business apps. For more information on IBM MobileFirst, visit the press kit or www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. Follow @IBMMobile on Twitter, and see IBM MobileFirst on YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook.

Media Contacts
JK Jeong
IBM Media Relations (Korea)
jk.jeong@kr.ibm.com
+82-2-3781-6742

Tara Tsapepas
IBM Media Relations (U.S.)
tjsucato@us.ibm.com
914-204-9758

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SOURCE IBM