Microsoft Corporation is all set to spread its technology goodwill in Korea. In a recent development, New York based real-estate development company Gale International, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the global technology giant. According to the MOU, Microsoft will offer technological assistance and infrastructure for the development of a standard computing environment in the Songdo International Business District (IBD) Project.
The planned international business center at Songdo IBD or the New Songdo City is developed on 1,500 acres of land along the coast of Incheon, 40 miles south of the capital city of Seoul. This is part of the many booming projects in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which is witness to rapid growth in terms of real estate. It is believed that this project will bring technological renaissance and prosperity for the citizens, businesses, and government of the forthcoming Songdo International Business District in South Korea.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority commissioner, Mr. Heon-Seok Lee is highly appreciative to have Microsoft as its technology partner in its bid to develop Songdo IBD, a technology-enabled city. He is confident that Microsoft Corporation will help transcend the lesser-known city of Songdo IBD into the global map, for attracting corresponding investment and business opportunities.
And Microsoft is all set to implement its cutting edge technology in the USD 35 billion project in collaboration with Gale International. In a recent development, Microsoft and the Korean Government have plans to implement Windows Mobile and Microsoft Citizen Service Platform to provide the city with a common interface for connecting to government services.
While Windows Mobile as a compact operating system combined with a suite of basic applications for mobile devices will help in connecting the population of Songdo IBD; the Microsoft Citizen Service Platform can be prove to a major technological asset for Songdo IBD. This pioneering package of Microsoft Citizen Service Platform is designed to help government agencies in Songdo IBD, build and install modern solutions based upon standard Microsoft Products to be delivered to citizens more responsively via the internet.
In a keynote address to the Government Leaders Forum—Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, the then Microsoft CEO Bill Gates expressed his company’s interest in developing the technological infrastructure of a new city like Songdo IBD. He referred to it as a rare opportunity indeed; to design and create an ideal technological infrastructure, with due access to digital capabilities and experiences; to bring a difference in people’s lives.
