Gartner recently announced that it has increased its presence in the Korean market by transitioning to a direct sales channel. As part of a business expansion strategy for the North Asia region, Gartner will now provide dedicated client management and business development functions previously conducted by its sales agent, Quality Consulting.

Gartner will continue to operate from its office in Seoul, Korea. In March, Gartner hired its first sales associate in Korea, Mr. Kyung-Kiu (KK) Lim, to lead a new dedicated Gartner sales force and has since hired five additional sales associates. In addition to sales, five Gartner research analysts are based in Seoul, covering markets including printers, PCs, servers, storage, IT services, outsourcing and semiconductors.

Establishing a direct sales organization is designed to enhance personalized service to Gartner’s growing client base in Korea, and is in line with Gartner’s international strategy to expand its operations in high growth regions.

“This strategy has proven to be successful for Gartner in other Asia Pacific markets,” said Mike McCarty, group vice president and general manager for sales agent operations at Gartner. “At the beginning of 2007, we transitioned to direct sales in Taiwan and last year it was our fastest growing market in Asia Pacific year-over-year.

“In Korea, the time is right to take our business to the next level. Building on our existing client relationships, we can now direct additional investment into the local office, recruit more client-facing personnel and offer a broader range of services,” concluded McCarty.

Derek Seow, Gartner’s regional vice president, North Asia, said the appointment of a dedicated Gartner sales force is an important milestone in the company’s history in Korea. “Our clients in Korea will benefit from Gartner’s increased investment in the region as well as from our integrated sales and delivery approach,” said Mr. Seow. "As home to some of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, Korea plays a critical role in the global IT industry and is rightly regarded as a high-tech nation. Gartner will continue to provide insights to technology users and providers that will help these local businesses grow.”

According to Gartner forecasts, IT spending by Korean enterprises is expected to reach US $43.4 billion in 2008 and almost US $50.8 billion by 2012, with a compound average growth rate for the five year period 2007-2012 of 5 percent.

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