IBM expands cloud footprint in Korea

According to IDC, a leading information technology research firm, the public cloud services market in Korea is expected to grow from USD 445 million in 2015 to approximately USD 1 billion in 2019. The new facility in Pangyo is IBM's ninth Cloud Data Center in the Asia-Pacific region, and part of the company's growing global network of 47 Cloud Data Centers. With access to a local on ramp for IBM and SK Holdings' Cloud services, Korean enterprises and start-ups can accelerate their digital transformation, business innovation and global expansion. "A key part of our cloud strategy is to fuel new ecosystems to spur innovation and collaborate with companies who understand the local market." said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president, IBM Cloud. "That's why we chose to partner with SK Holdings C&C in Korea. Together, we are able to bring the local expertise, platform and data services that gives Korean customers the ability to compete on a global scale." Modeled after IBM's standardized pod design, the new facility in Korea will have the capacity for thousands of physical servers and offer the full range of cloud infrastructure services, including bare metal servers, virtual servers, storage, security services and networking. The new Cloud Data Center builds on the existing partnership between IBM and SK Holdings C&C, with more than 20 local companies already using their joint hybrid cloud capabilities across the gaming, IT, manufacturing and retail industries. As Korean companies increasingly look to extend the value of their existing systems to the cloud, the two companies anticipate a high demand for hybrid cloud services with the opening of the new facility.