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Cloud & Edge computing

Edge computing revolution to fuel Korea’s growth over the next decade

Korean firms are working closely with global edge computing solution providers such as Intel for growth opportunities

By Jun 30, 2021 (Gmt+09:00)

4 Min read

Edge computing allows storing and processing data near or at where the data is generated.
Edge computing allows storing and processing data near or at where the data is generated.

Korea’s leading firms across multiple industries, from consumer electronics to agricultural equipment, are widening the use of edge computing technology in their business for new growth opportunities.

Edge computing is the practice of storing, processing and analyzing data near or at where the data is generated, unlike the currently popular cloud computing model that uses a network of remote internet servers.   

Cloud computing, which globally became prevalent in the 2010s with the spread of high-speed internet access, has allowed firms to outsource data storage and management to cloud operators such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google.

More recently, however, the growth of contactless services that require a tremendous amount of data processing has raised doubts about time efficiency of cloud computing.

Cloud computing is essentially a centralized data management system that requires users to send data to the cloud and receive commands back, meaning that a much longer time is needed for larger data. Such practice is unsuitable for environments where real-time data processing and decision-making are needed, such as autonomous driving and manufacturing at smart factories.    

Experts say that edge computing will become the industry norm within the next decade by supplementing the shortcomings of cloud computing, as this new practice allows near-instant data processing at or near the data source.

EXPANSION OF EDGE COMPUTING IN KOREA

Korea’s range of products that have adopted edge computing technologies includes Samsung Electronics Co.’s JetBot 90 AI+, the industry’s first smart robot vacuum cleaner powered by Intel’s edge AI solutions. An edge AI solution combines edge computing with AI technologies.

Utilizing a high-precision light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor similar to those used in self-driving cars to detect distance and track location, the vacuum is capable of avoiding items as large as furniture and as small as cables, according to Samsung.

Samsung’s Bespoke JetBot AI vacuum cleaner.
Samsung’s Bespoke JetBot AI vacuum cleaner.

Hanwha Techwin Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hanwha Aerospace Co., also showcased a surveillance system using edge AI solutions earlier this year. Hanwha Techwin is the security camera market leader in Korea.

The country’s agricultural equipment market leader Daedong Corporation is also developing edge AI-based tractors, rice-planting machines and combine harvesters.

Industry sources say that the edge AI solutions used in Samsung, Hanwha and Daedong products are all designed by Intel.  

2020 Korea Edge AI Forum hosted by Intel Korea with representatives from Hanwha Techwin and Daedong.
2020 Korea Edge AI Forum hosted by Intel Korea with representatives from Hanwha Techwin and Daedong.

Moreover, the three telecom players in the country, namely SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus, are quickly expanding the size of their mobile edge data centers based on their 5G network operations.

According to computing experts, having a fast and stable 5G network infrastructure is necessary for electronic devices, autonomous vehicles and smart factories to locally process large amounts of data through edge computing.

SK Telecom has partnered last year with Amazon to commercialize 5G edge cloud services.
SK Telecom has partnered last year with Amazon to commercialize 5G edge cloud services.

EDGE COMPUTING MARKET PROSPECTS

Not only the major manufacturing firms like Samsung are adopting more edge computing technologies in their factories and products, but also the global solution providers such as Intel and Nvidia are quickly expanding the industry ecosystem by launching a series of different edge computing solutions.

The global research firm MarketsandMarkets reported that the edge computing industry will grow to $15.7 billion by 2025 from last year’s $3.6 billion.

Edge computing market projections (Courtesy of MarketsandMarkets Research)
Edge computing market projections (Courtesy of MarketsandMarkets Research)

Another research and advisory company Gartner projected that while only 10% of all corporate data are currently processed by edge computing, the portion will surpass 75% by 2025.

Recently, the major global players including Intel, Nvidia and IBM have also highlighted edge computing at major global tech conferences, such as Computex 2021 and Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021, as a technology that will shake up the industry landscape.

Computex is the world’s largest conference on computer technologies, annually held in Taiwan, while MWC is the largest on mobile technologies.

“Edge computing will become the key technology in the era of hyper-connectivity,” agreed Intel, Nvidia and IBM representatives at these two major tech events.  

Industry watchers note that the competition among edge computing solution providers is getting more intense. The market players currently include multiple big-name tech firms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Red Hat, Intel, Nvidia and IBM.

“Adopting more edge computing technologies will enable Korean companies to create new business opportunities in both the domestic and global markets”, said Intel Korea CEO Kwon Myung-sook.

Write to Min-jun Suh at morandol@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.
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