The Korean government is shifting from fragmented ministry-level work systems to OnAI, an integrated workplace platform combining artificial intelligence, collaboration tools and internal network security.
With the government planning to expand OnAI to 47 central administrative agencies by the end of the year, competition between Samsung SDS and Naver Cloud to supply collaboration solutions to dozens of ministries and agencies is expected to intensify in the second half.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said July 21 that nine central administrative agencies had completed the adoption of OnAI as of that date.
OnAI is a digital work environment established by the ministry last year to allow government agencies to use the latest private-sector AI technology and communication and collaboration tools, including instant messaging, for administrative work.
The platform is designed to integrate work tools that had previously been operated separately by individual ministries using private-sector software-as-a-service products. The government began expanding the platform across central administrative agencies this year.
The first phase of the rollout is expected to be completed by the end of July, bringing the total number of agencies using OnAI to 19. Agencies joining the platform include the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The second phase is scheduled for September and will cover 15 agencies, including the Board of Audit and Inspection, the National Police Agency, the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel Management.
A third phase will follow in November for 13 agencies, including the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Customs Service.
The ministry began expanding OnAI because existing government work systems were fragmented by ministry, making it difficult to connect or expand systems and limiting the use of administrative data in AI services.
Through OnAI, the ministry plans to enable government employees to continue working securely outside government offices while maintaining the security of internal networks.
As the number of agencies using OnAI increases, competition is intensifying between Naver Cloud and Samsung SDS, whose products were selected as the platform's official collaboration solutions.
Agencies adopting OnAI select either Naver Cloud's Naver Works or Samsung SDS's Brity Works based on their work environments and operational needs.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety have adopted Naver Works, followed by the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Rural Development Administration.
The National Data Agency has also selected Naver Works and is scheduled to introduce the service on July 22.
The Ministry of Planning and Budget has selected Brity Works, followed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
The Overseas Koreans Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are scheduled to adopt Brity Works on July 24.
Both companies are stepping up efforts to win public-sector customers by emphasizing their respective strengths.
Samsung SDS is promoting Brity Works' compliance with public-sector security standards, its experience operating large-scale enterprise services and its integrated collaboration environment across PCs and mobile devices.
Samsung SDS describes Brity Works as an enterprise collaboration solution combining services including email, messaging, meetings and file storage. The official English product name is Brity Works.
Naver Cloud is highlighting Naver Works' integrated collaboration environment and its experience providing services to public-sector organizations, including the Busan city government and Jeju Provincial Government.
With agencies continuing to select their preferred solutions through the end of the year, competition between the two companies for contracts is expected to intensify in the second half.
Both companies are expanding field marketing in Sejong, where many central government ministries are based. Their campaigns include outdoor advertising on buses and additional seminars and briefing sessions for public institutions.
Industry officials expect the expansion of OnAI to shift competition in the public-sector AI market from the construction of individual systems to integrated workplace platforms.
The ability to support a broad range of administrative work by combining internal network security, cloud infrastructure, collaboration solutions and generative AI models is expected to become a key competitive advantage in the public-sector AI market.
