It has been a great challenge for many small and mid-size software companies to compete in a market with their products alone. While so many high quality software products are available in the market, the trend shows the customer's high desire to find cheap products, and for that, they are sometimes even placed to choose unreliable products. This is good news for venture companies that create competitive software for an affordable price. Yet it is about time for a Miracle Worker to show up and work up some magic to back them up: strengthen the quality of products and give them a reference. Can this dream of small and medium sized companies ever come true ITC 2009 had the answer with the GS Certification Pavilion.
"We are here for the software companies who seek references, and those with high potential yet little capital that seek to test their products extensively before reaching the market," said General Manager Jung Yung-eun of the Software Quality Evaluation Center at Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA). Without any references, the both global and domestic competition is too great in the market especially for many small and mid-size companies. "We evaluate the quality of software very thoroughly and rigorously, the companies often have to fix their errors and return their products to us for re-evaluation before getting certification from us. Once they are certified by our association, they make a huge jump to supply their products to public offices in our circle," Mr. Jung added.
TTA has a software quality evaluation center equipped with extensive testing machines to evaluate and improve software quality. The association opened a Software Quality Evaluation Center in 2001 and has been testing and certifying package, mobile, embedded, security, and game software. Over 1,000 products have been certified. Small and mid-size companies can use its Good Software (GS) certification as a reference that the quality is assured. Also, GS certified products are granted a higher priority for government purchase and additional points are added when reviewed for designation as a Military Service Exception Firm.
The Software Quality Evaluation Center also has a training system to produce more qualified software test engineers with professional equipment and technologies. Currently, the demand for software test engineers is very high while unemployment is growing. The training is available for beginners every quarter and intermediate and advanced training is also available. Further information can be found at www.tta.or.kr.
Ubiquitous Experience at ITC 2009
At the ubiquitous zone, visitors could experience services using cellphones or smart phones. Using RFID Dual tags, called u-Tags, the U-zone service has and endless list of convenient features: finding a user’s current location, searching for nearby stores, giving directions, receiving free coupons, sending maps to friends via text messages, and providing movie information.
The service is available for both CDMA cellphones and smart phones. For using cellphones, users can use the service by accessing the U-zone website, which only costs data transaction fees from one's telecom service provider. By using smart phones based on Windows Mobile, iPhone OS, or Android, users can simply download the application and use the service for free.
Content which was designed to be developed by store owners are a key part of the service. The store owners can upload their own information such as store descriptions, working hours, price, and other info. They can also quickly update that information, and users can get most updated information. If the owner wants to sell products quickly, they can put the items on sale and the change is made immediately. It makes it possible for sellers and consumers to communicate with different aspects of a ubiquitous environment.
Currently, the service is only available in Guwol-dong in Incheon. After testing and building a proper business model, the service is expected to be expanded in the future.
