NHN Cloud "This Year's Sales Target 200 Billion Won... Confident in Global Competition"

CEO Kim Dong-hoon "Not Concerned About Public Sector Entry Like AWS"
Continued Growth in Public and Finance... Targeting Japan and North America

Kim Dong-hoon, Co-CEO of NHN Cloud, is holding a press conference on the 22nd at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

Kim Dong-hoon, co-CEO of NHN Cloud, expressed confidence regarding the possibility of global companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) entering the public cloud market, stating that they are "in a position to compete with global companies."

On the 22nd, NHN Cloud held a cloud technology strategy conference, ‘NHN Cloud make IT 2023,’ at COEX in Samseong-dong and announced its growth strategy at a press briefing.

"Confident in Competing with Global Companies like AWS"

At the event, when asked about the increased possibility of global companies entering the public cloud market due to the government's revision of the ‘Cloud Service Security Authentication Program (CSAP),’ CEO Kim responded, "We do not pay much attention to global companies entering the market."

He cited NHN Cloud's price competitiveness as a strength. Kim explained, "In the public sector, budgets for the next year are prepared in the previous year, so it is difficult to pay additional costs due to sudden exchange rate hikes or unexpected traffic spikes. While global companies use fixed-rate pricing plans, NHN Cloud operates flexible pricing plans, allowing for agile responses."

NHN Cloud holds a leading position in the public sector cloud transition market with a 39% market share based on contracted institutions achieved last year. Additionally, it completed the cloud transition of a total of 161 public-facing systems under Gyeongsangnam-do this year and is carrying out the transition of 207 public-facing systems under Jeollanam-do and Gwangju Metropolitan City, demonstrating its strengths in the public sector.

NHN Cloud Make IT 2023 event presentation scene. (Photo by NHN Cloud)

Revenue Target of 200 Billion KRW This Year... Accelerating Global Expansion

NHN Cloud, which spun off as an independent corporation in April last year, achieved its first-year revenue target of 160 billion KRW. This year, while focusing on the public and financial markets, it aims to accelerate its entry into the global market and achieve 200 billion KRW in revenue.

CEO Kim said, "Although external conditions are unfavorable, we have secured cloud customers in the financial sector and plan to expand various services. We are steadily growing in the public and financial sectors, so achieving the revenue target of 200 billion KRW seems fully attainable."

Regarding the initial public offering (IPO), Kim stated, "It is not a situation to discuss immediately. It will depend on market conditions."

NHN Cloud is targeting the Japanese and U.S. markets. In Japan, it plans to provide NHN Cloud’s SaaS products such as commerce and security based on the business network established by NHN Tecorus, one of the top five local MSPs (Managed Service Providers). NHN Cloud’s security service, AppGuard, is already used in popular games like ‘Final Fantasy’ and ‘Yo-kai Watch.’

The European market will be targeted through collaboration with GCore, a European CSP (Cloud Service Provider) with which a business agreement was signed last April. Kim explained, "In the North American market, we will initially focus on helping Korean companies enter the U.S. market. With GCore, we plan to expand not only into Europe but also into Southeast Asia through cooperation."

Leading Efforts to Increase AI Utilization Among Domestic Companies

NHN Cloud is building the ‘NHN Gwangju National AI Data Center,’ which is expected to become a cradle for AI technology development in Korea, with a target opening in October this year. The NHN Gwangju National AI Data Center will rank among the top 10 AI data centers worldwide, with computing power of 88.5 petaflops (PF) and storage capacity of 107 petabytes (PB). It will meet the demand for ultra-high-spec computing resources for AI development by companies, research institutes, and universities.

NHN Cloud also plans to lead the ‘K-Cloud Project,’ promoted by the government to enhance cloud competitiveness and activate domestic AI semiconductors, as a core CSP.

CEO Kim said, "We feel a heavy responsibility as NHN Cloud is recognized as a core CSP in the market. We will continue to showcase NHN Cloud’s unique value in the global technology competition environment triggered by digital transformation and AI technology disruption."

Meanwhile, the ‘NHN Cloud make IT 2023’ event, held for the second time this year, attracted more than 4,000 attendees, more than double the number from the first event. The event featured six tracks and a total of 26 presentation sessions covering cloud infrastructure strategies and the latest technology trends.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.