SK Telecom's solution slashes cloud operating costs up to 40%

South Korea's SK Telecom Co. on Monday said it launched an optimization solution based on Amazon Web Services (AWS) that slashes cloud operating costs up to 40%.

The solution supports transition from servers based on Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) central processing units (CPUs), which consume a lot of power, to those using Advanced RISC Machine (ARM), a low-power and high-efficiency CPU.

The domestic cloud server market is mostly based on Intel and AMD CPUs. In 2021, AWS launched a cloud service using the server Graviton, a self-developed ARM-based CPU.

SK Telecom said that though select companies did try conversion, just a few completed it because simply changing the server caused programs not to work or performance to plummet.

Since last year, SK Telecom and its affiliates have pursued a transition to Graviton-based servers to reduce AWS costs, with about 17% of cloud use capacity converted. In the process, SK Telecom secured many experts in Graviton technology and developed its own conversion solutions.

Last month, the company received from AWS the country's only conversion solution partner certification and just the sixth in the Asia-Pacific region.

For a company to convert an app developed under an Intel and AMD environment to that based on Graviton, the three steps are confirming if conversion is possible, receiving consulting on the process and conducting implementation. Simply by running SK Telecom's solution, a user can check if conversion is possible and automatically convert certain programs within an app.

The company will first provide the solution to small and medium businesses and startups, two types of companies sensitive to operating costs. A promotion allows free trial use until year's end.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com