With cloud computing technology advancing at a rapid pace, South Korean companies are also transforming the way they handle their data and operations.
SK Group’s IT service affiliate SK C&C said Monday it plans to convert 80 percent of its parent company’s business operations to a cloud-based system. For this, it has acquired about 20 percent stake in local cloud service provider Glucose.
The decision is designed to integrate Glucose’s Microsoft Azure cloud computing service with SK C&C’s ecosystem for massive data management. Cloud platforms of Amazon, Google and others will also be incorporated into SK C&C’s cloud ecosystem, the company said.
“By providing a multicloud environment that can fit our clients’ diverse needs, we are going to accelerate our digital transformation efforts,” said Lee Eung-sang, who leads SK C&C’s business strategic planning department.
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SK C&C is not the only tech company supporting its parent firm’s cloud computing transformation. Samsung and LG Group’s IT service providers have also been making similar efforts.
In March, LG CNS said it will transform about 90 percent of LG Group’s business management into cloud-based platforms by 2023. The integrated cloud infrastructure will be delivered through CloudXper, which was released in June.
Samsung SDS, for its part, has been accelerating its efforts to expand its cloud computing transformation beyond internal business operations. Having transformed 90 percent of Samsung affiliates’ IT system, the company aims to provide cloud solutions to outside vendors.
“Along with cloud infrastructure, we will offer comprehensive services to help our clients build an optimized business environment,” Yoon Shim, who leads Samsung SDS cloud business, told reporters in September when the company unveiled its new data center in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
Carmakers, retail giants and other big manufacturers are also adopting cloud computing technology to transform their business management system. Hyundai Motor Group, Lotte Group and Korean Air have established a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system.
Industry sources expect that cloud transformation is a part of the Korean conglomerates’ efforts to become more flexible in the challenging business climate, in which global tech giants are enhancing competitiveness with agile business management.
“While it took years for the Korean companies to adopt new IT infrastructure, Amazon changes its IT system codes almost every second,” said an industry source. “The ongoing cloud transformation will help Korean conglomerates make business decisions much faster.”
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
