South Korea stands as Asia’s fourth-largest economy, rapidly advancing among the world’s most developed nations. This dynamic growth is driven by its robust high-tech and manufacturing sectors, with global giants like Samsung and LG, two of the top 10 electronics companies worldwide, leading the charge. South Korea’s remarkable technological prowess is further exemplified by its position as the world’s fifth-largest e-commerce market, supported by some of the most advanced broadband and mobile networks globally.
A highly connected population underpins this economic and technological vitality, with an impressive 97 percent of South Koreans having internet access. In fact, every household in the country—totalling 21.36 million—enjoys internet connectivity, underscoring the nation’s commitment to digital inclusion. With a staggering 47 million active internet users, representing 93 percent of the population, South Korea’s embrace of technology is not just widespread but deeply ingrained in everyday life.
Furthermore, South Korea leads the region in cloud adoption, boasting the highest rate of public cloud usage in Asia. The government’s proactive stance in promoting digital transformation is evident in its digital platform, designed to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies. This combination of government support, technological infrastructure, and a tech-savvy population makes South Korea a pivotal gateway for businesses aiming to expand into the Asia Pacific region.
Cloud Landscape in Asia
The cloud landscape in Asia is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards full cloud migration on the horizon. By 2024, an impressive four in five businesses across the region are planning to transition entirely to cloud-based operations. This trend is driven by a combination of factors, including the need for enhanced security, reliable local support, and competitive pricing, all of which are critical considerations for organisations looking to optimise their digital infrastructure.
In 2023, cloud adoption is expected to gain even more momentum, with 84 percent of current cloud service users planning to increase their investment in this technology. As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of the post-pandemic world, the move to cloud services has become essential for managing workloads efficiently and maintaining operational resilience. This growing commitment to cloud strategies reflects the increasing importance of cloud technology in enabling business continuity and driving innovation across the Asia Pacific region.
Connecting to Korean Clouds
Connecting to South Korean cloud providers through dedicated Layer 2 MEF-certified Ethernet services offers a streamlined and efficient solution for businesses looking to integrate with the region’s leading cloud platforms. This setup, available through Epsilon, allows for direct connections to major providers like KT Cloud and Naver Cloud, ensuring secure, reliable, and high-performance connectivity. The scalability of bandwidth, starting from as low as 50Mbps, provides flexibility for businesses of all sizes, enabling them to adjust their cloud infrastructure as their needs evolve without requiring additional hardware or complex infrastructure changes.
In addition to scalability, Epsilon’s use of a private global network enhances security and reduces latency by bypassing the public internet. This direct access to cloud providers minimises potential vulnerabilities and ensures that data transmission remains secure, which is vital for industries that handle sensitive information. Overall, these benefits make connecting to South Korean cloud services through Epsilon a practical approach for businesses aiming to leverage advanced cloud infrastructure while maintaining control, security, and scalability.
Data Centres and Colocation in South Korea
Colocation services in South Korea are critical for industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology, where secure and scalable IT infrastructure is a priority. With access to strategically located data centres, businesses can safeguard their mission-critical systems while ensuring efficient operations. For financial institutions, this means having a secure environment for sensitive data and ensuring compliance with local regulations. Healthcare providers benefit from reliable access to patient information, which is essential for providing timely and effective care. Additionally, Epsilon’s colocation services facilitate business expansion into new markets by leveraging a global network fabric that covers 500 data centres.
One of the significant advantages of these services is the ability to directly connect to global cloud infrastructure from the data centres. This is particularly beneficial for technology companies and other businesses that require low-latency, high-throughput connections to support critical applications. Whether it’s for ensuring smooth operation of cloud-based services or maintaining the performance of latency-sensitive applications, having direct access to cloud providers through a secure and reliable connection is essential. Epsilon’s colocation services also offer flexible commercial options, allowing businesses to start with just ½ rack and expand as needed. With 24/7 support and the ability to customise private suites, businesses can scale their infrastructure efficiently while maintaining operational continuity in a highly competitive environment.
Our Focus Areas Moving Forward
As CEO, I will be focusing on three key strategies to elevate our growth in the near future:
- Extend Our Global Reach
Epsilon already has a substantial global network footprint, and we will continue to meet the increasing global connectivity demands due to the widespread adoption of clouds. It is also important that we continue to invest heavily in our infrastructure and expand our ecosystem of partners. This will further improve our geographic coverage, enabling us to deliver cost-effective and high bandwidth connectivity, promptly and on demand.
- Grow Stronger with KT
Our work with KT is continually evolving, and we will strengthen this collaboration even further to benefit our customers. We will work closely with KT and enable them to grow their international customer relationships with our global networking solutions. Additionally, our customers will be able to gain seamless access to KT’s telecommunication ecosystem in South Korea, as well as KT’s presence worldwide.
- Evolve with Customer-Centricity
Besides strengthening our relationships with carrier customers, we will also expand our focus on enterprise customers, providing end-to-end services, overlaying with SD-WAN and SASE on our network services. As a customer-centric company, we will continue to focus on our customers’ requirements, evolving our approach based on developing strong customer relationships, providing strategic consultancy, and enhancing our award-winning NaaS platform Infiny.
Looking Ahead
Our overarching goal is to deliver an excellent customer experience for both our customers and partners.
The following motto resonates deeply with me: “Be inspired by the possibilities, rather than confined by limitations”. This ethos has shaped my belief that all employees should be innovative and willing to explore new ideas.
As a leader, I encourage an open, transparent and collaborative work environment. Three key aspects are particularly important to me as a CEO: maintaining a clear vision for the company, fostering open communication for employees’ feedback, and providing strong motivation to keep everyone inspired.
Together with all my team members, we are committed to providing outstanding services to our customers. At Epsilon, we “Interconnect the World”.
