‘Korea’s IT industry is slow to change’
Cisco Korea General Manager Chong Kyung-won said Tuesday that Korea Inc. has failed to make sufficient investment to adopt advanced technologies in improving work efficiency.
During a meeting with journalists to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Cisco Systems on Tuesday, Chong expressed his regret over slumberous demand for technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and cyber security measures from the country’s IT industry.
“I’m not so sure anymore if Korea is still ahead of other countries in terms of IoT technology. Amid the current economic slowdown in Korea, the nation’s demand for the technology has grown slow, lacking practical changes, while foreign competitors have been quick to catch up,” Chong said during the event at a restaurant in Daichi-dong, southern Seoul, Tuesday.
“Also, the nation has been slower to adopt cloud computing technology compared with other countries. In terms of security technologies, I barely feel that businesses are expanding investment in them despite all the cyber security issues last year.
“Though everyone talks about them, I think the change is not disruptive enough.”
Citing Cisco Systems Chairman John Chambers’ remarks about the importance of proactive change, Chong pledged to take a leading role in the advancement of the local IT industry.
“To survive as one of the Fortune 100 companies, ‘disruptive’ changes, not only in technology, but also in our human resource management, finance and internal processing are essential,” he said.
As a part of these changes, Chong said Cisco Korea reorganized its business divisions, strengthened its sales sector and joined in collaborative partnerships and consortiums with service providers such as British Telecom and Telstra.
Chong said he feels proud of Cisco’s technological initiatives. He mentioned that the company has continued investment in what it calls “Internet of Everything,” instead of the IoT, its cloud computing business represented by the “Intercloud.”
In terms of security, Chong emphasized that measures for the network level became much more crucial than ones for content level, both for the IoT devices and cloud services.
He also stressed the importance of real-time data analytics.
“Cisco is looking for talented data scientists to develop analytics technology that can process data right after it is collected in order to make quick decisions. I believe this technology can finalize preparation for the IoT,” he said.