Rarely Done Worldwide
Korean Air will be the first large domestic company to stop the operation of its own data center and turn all IT systems into a public cloud. LG CNS has been selected to run the project, and it will be in charge of cloud conversion and system operation for next 10 years.
Korean Air, LG CNS and Amazon Web Services (AWS) held a ceremony on Nov. 6 at the Korean Air's headquarters in Seoul, and Korean Air president Walter Cho, LG CNS CEO Kim Young-seob, and AWS Korea CEO Jang Jung-wook signed a data center outsourcing agreement to start the transfer of the airline’s system to AWS cloud from this month until the year 2029.
The national flag carrier will move all applications and data such as its website, cargo, navigation, enterprise resource management (ERP) and internal accounting control system to AWS cloud from this month for the next three years and operate for 10 years. Korean Air has been operating its own IT system with its own data center with 560 servers. The cost for cloud transfer and operation is estimated to be around 200 billion won (US$180 million).
In particular, LG CNS, a leader of cloud system integration (SI), is determined to create a world-class successful case by combining its SI expertise and cloud technology.
A "big bang-type" of data transfer project, where an entire current system is moved to cloud without a suspension in the operation, has been rarely done worldwide. Moving the current applications to the cloud environment requires complex tasks, such as redevelopment or solution replacement.
Korean Air plans to apply customized services such as AI, machine learning, big data analysis, and Internet of Things (IoT) according to cloud conversion to provide individualized services that are tailored to the needs of global customers.