Korea expanding presence in cloud computing
To brace for the hyper-connected online and mobile era, tech titans here and abroad are going all-out to secure safer and faster cloud computing infrastructure.
Cloud computing refers to a remote-controlling network environment where massive datasets can be processed at a rapid pace. Cloud infrastructure has, for this reason, become a new necessity for tech players in any industry. Handling real-time datasets anywhere is also increasingly necessary for cloud computing.
The technology has gained relatively less attention than other emerging ones, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things and driverless vehicles. But cloud infrastructure must be established for the full-fledged operation of all of the aforementioned technologies, observers point out.
Against this backdrop, many experts call AI algorithms a brain, and the cloud computing infrastructure a body.
Korea, however, is a latecomer in the cloud business, compared to such leading companies in the United States. Currently, Amazon Web Service (AWS) has secured a dominant cloud leadership around the globe.
The global top e-commerce player developed its cloud service in 2006, in its bid to offer a more stable and faster online commerce service for its users. AWS has since grown exponentially to serve as the firm’s major cash cow, taking up more than 30 percent of the cloud market share globally.
Other influential outfits include Google and Microsoft, both of which realized the importance of establishing their own cloud platforms to expand their businesses in the data-driven tech era.
AWS tapped into Korea last year, forming ties with a group of leading tech and finance giants here, such as LG CNS and KB Kookmin Bank.
Homegrown cloud players
The local cloud market will be worth 7.02 trillion won ($6.18 billion) in 2020, according to market research Gartner.
As the cloud computing industry is still in its infancy here in terms of market size compared to other developed countries, a group of Seoul-based tech firms are rapidly increasing their presence in the potential-laden business.
KT, the nation’s dominant fixed-line operator, was the first Korean firm to jump on the cloud bandwagon in 2011. The company acknowledges it started its cloud business by benchmarking its overseas counterparts such as AWS.
Starting in 2014, the network operator started building its cloud identity with the focus on meeting diverse “local demand” as its key differentiation point from its overseas counterparts.
This was made possible, as the Seoul-based company is one of the nation’s biggest data collectors through its user base of more than 19 million for its wireless business. The company also offers business-to-business (B2B) level services, such as network base stations and enterprise-level networks.
KT’s cloud computing business is characterized in three categories: public, business and finance sectors.
The cloud computing industry is among the most heavily regulated, as its potential fallout could cause an astronomical amount of losses for a country.
“KT has, for this reason, focused on winning a variety of security certifications from the government, as part of a strategy to enhance the credibility of our cloud services,” KT Vice President Kim Sang-gon said.
“Our decades-long expertise in managing and analyzing big data enabled us to roll out industry-wise cloud platforms focusing on enterprise-level customers.”
The company won the nation’s first license as a public cloud service operator last October. The achievement allowed the company to take on hundreds of government-driven cloud projects in areas such as government R&D centers, according to the company.
In the finance sector, the company signed a partnership with NH Nonghyup Bank last year, supporting a group of fintech startups working on the lender’s research facilities.
But its cloud platform is most widely used for enterprises here. For example, a number of clients in the game industry take advantage of KT’s cloud service, as they have to remain agile in dealing with unexpected online traffic congestion.
Other outfits, which have to manage “burst” traffic frequently, also collaborate with KT. They include the nation’s leading travel agency, Hana Tour.
Cloud computing is also expanding its penetration into the medical sector. A growing numbers of hospitals, mostly small- and medium-sized ones, are taking advantage of the technology, as they have insufficient info-tech management systems for their patients. For instance, hospitals can track patients’ information by using KT’s cloud-based electronic medical records.
“KT aims to continue positioning itself as the nation’s leading on-demand cloud computing operator by continuously expanding its coverage into other industries,” Chung said.
Naver, the nation’s top portal service operator, is also eyeing the new yet potential-rich cloud business.
The company launched Naver Cloud Platform this April. The Naver Business Platform, the cloud and data management subsidiary of Naver, has since expanded its service coverage to wider areas such as enterprise-level networks, security and data management.
Despite the belated start, the company said it is has since secured a similar level of cloud coverage that can rival overseas cloud giants.
NBP CEO Park Won-ki said when launching the cloud business: “The key to success for all the emerging industries lies in how to store, analyze and process enormous amounts of data in the fastest and most precise way.”
One underlying common feature of the new tech areas, he says, is they constantly produce datasets and create values out of them.
“All the procedures can only happen in a cloud computing environment,” he said. “A new era will arrive when all business activities cannot be done without cloud platforms.”
For overseas users, Naver is most famous for its photo-editing app, SNOW. The company’s messenger app operating subsidiary, LINE, also boasts dominance in Asia with more than 200 million users.
“We have secured years-long knowhow and expertise in managing such global services under the cloud infrastructure,” a company official said. “For smooth cloud operation, Naver has also obtained source technologies to use at a time when data traffic surges.”
The key to success for all the emerging industries lies in how to store, analyze and process enormous amounts of data in the fastest and most precise way.