‘Naver’s 2nd data center to cater to cloud computing’
Naver will build an additional data center specializing in cloud computing services as the growing cloud market and the introduction of fifth-generation (5G) networks are expected to create even more data, the company said Wednesday.
The nation’s largest internet portal service provider said its new data center will provide the level of computing power for securely storing and processing data, which is produced by various kinds of devices connected to each other.
The company plans to build the energy-efficient and sustainable data center by adopting state-ofthe-art technologies.
“The Naver data center for cloud will serve as the foundation for future cutting-edge businesses in 5G, robotics, AI, big data usage and much more,” a Naver official said. “It will also help secure data sovereignty by guaranteeing safe data storage and management activities.”
For the design of the data center, Naver is holding an international competition, encouraging anyone with architectural expertise to apply as independent or joint bidders.
The winner will be announced Dec. 9, the company said, noting that the designer of the winning proposal will be granted preferential negotiating rights to conclude the design contract with the company.
The construction budget will be about 540 billion won ($460 million), while a location has yet to be decided, according to the firm.
Naver opened its first data center, called GAK, in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, in 2013, to effectively manage Naver’s ever-expanding IT infrastructure and guarantee safe user data storage.
Besides the web search engine, Naver offers various global services including LINE messenger with over 200 million users from around the world as well as the SNOW video app and the digital comic platform Naver Webtoon.