KT makes aggressive investment in cloud service market dominated by foreign companies

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- In a bid to end dominance by foreign tech giants, KT came up with an aggressive investment package to vitalize South Korea's cloud computing industry which has been relatively sluggish compared with the United States and other advanced countries.

KT said in a statement on Tuesday that it would provide tailor-made cloud computing services integrated with 5G technology which specially targets smart factories and the artificial intelligence (AI)-based emergency medical industry.

The cloud computing service is an on-demand service of computer resources. It can be used for data storage or computing power. Devices and computers can be hooked onto a cloud network using mobile and cable data connections. It is widely used because of its convenience and saves costs as it shares resources which can be normally achieved by connecting low-cost computers to a data center.

The global cloud computing service market is projected to reach $623.3 billion, according to global market research firm MarketsandMarkets.

Despite its world-class IT capabilities, South Korea has a relatively small cloud computing market which stood 27th among 33 OECD countries. Many local businesses favor their own cloud computing networks while others are afraid of adopting convenient connect-from-anywhere technologies because setting up infrastructure is too expensive and complicated.

For five years until 2023, KT promised to invest 500 billion won ($421.7 million) into its cloud business and nurture some 1,000 cloud specialists. "We will strengthen our position as the number one business in this field with cloud services customized for public and financial services," said KT's IT Planning Office vice president Shin Soo-jung.

Restrictions on public and financial sectors will be eased this year, prompting KT to expand its presence in the domestic cloud computing service market which has been dominated by American tech companies Google, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft. "Public and financial markets are very sensitive to privacy and security, and it is difficult to leave them to global companies," Shin said.

The telecom company will start servicing its cloud system with security control for financial services. KT will also provide cloud infrastructure-lending services for public companies or help them set up their own cloud infrastructure.

"Cloud is now becoming means of innovation for companies as it moves away from simple infrastructure services and converges with technologies such as AI, big data and blockchain," Shin said, adding KT would fully utilize its tailor-made cloud computing and 5G services to become a true companion of businesses which wish to innovate.

KT plans to target ordinary companies which have various forms of IT infrastructure. KT would launch "Connection Hub" service, which connects a variety of IT infrastructure to a network and provides virtual solution services through a partnership with VMWare, an American virtualization company.

The establishment of 5G networks in South Korea triggered a flurry of business cooperation in various industrial sectors, especially in robots and smart factories, while mobile carriers have tried to develop 5G edge cloud-based solutions for businesses.

In February, KT teamed up with Cognex, an American developer of machine vision, to commercialize a 5G-based edge cloud-based machine vision solution. Machine vision technology uses software and sensors in automated manufacturing facilities to identify parts, detect defects and guide assembly robots.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

KT makes aggressive investment in cloud service market dominated by foreign companies

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