SK Telecom announced on Sept. 11 that it has launched a solution that can reduce the cost of operating AWS-based cloud services by up to 40 percent.
SK Telecom’s solution is a cloud cost optimization solution based on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It supports migration from Intel- and AMD-based servers with relatively high power consumption to ARM-based servers with low-power, high-efficiency CPUs, which can reduce operating costs by 20 to 40 percent.
Most of the Korean cloud server market is currently built on Intel or AMD CPUs. Since Amazon launched its cloud service in 2021 with the Graviton, a low-power, high-performance ARM-based CPU, some companies have made the switch. However, only a small percentage of companies actually made the switch because simply changing servers can cause programs to stop working or performance to drop dramatically.
In addition, even if the conversion is done through expert consulting, it takes a long time due to the high cost and manual work, so Korean companies are reluctant to choose it.
SK Telecom has been promoting a transition to Graviton-based servers to reduce AWS costs for itself and its ICT family members since 2022, and has converted more than 17 percent of its total cloud usage, the highest level in Korea.
In this process, SK Telecom has acquired a number of experts in Graviton technology to develop its own transition solution. Last month, it was recognized by AWS as the only official partner in Korea. Currently, there are only six AWS-certified transition solution partners in the Asia-Pacific region, including SK Telecom.
With the conversion solution developed by SK Telecom, you can check whether you can proceed by just running it, and some source code in an application will be automatically converted. You will also receive a guide for the remaining source code that cannot be converted, so you can easily convert it. It also provides a function to verify normalcy by comparing functions between a pre-conversion app and its converted app.
SK Telecom will supply the conversion solution for SMEs and startups that are sensitive to operating costs first. To help SMEs and startups focus on service development by reducing the burden of cloud operating costs, SK Telecom will offer a limited-time promotion for free use until the end of 2023.