World`s biggest cloud computing service enters Korea
May 16, 2012
Amazon Web Services, or AWS, a cloud computing service that allows companies to borrow servers from Amazon.com instead of buying such expensive network equipment, has entered the Korean market.
Companies can save on computer facility investment through the service. For instance, an online game developer had to purchase high-priced equipment to service its games. Unable to forecast how many users it will have, the company just bought servers to accommodate hundreds of gamers.
AWS comes in handy for such companies. The service charges a company for usage by users who have played games. This is beneficial to companies because they need not make an excessive investment…
Amazon began the cloud service in 2006. With the size of its business growing in the mid-2000s, the online retailer significantly expanded IT facility investment to serve the rapidly growing number of users, but many such facilities soon remained idle.
IT infrastructure is similar to electricity. If demand is high, large-scale facilities are necessary, but if demand declines, they are not used, causing waste of resources. So Amazon came up with the idea of AWS to rent excess resources to other companies. With the cloud service business showing faster-than-expected growth, Amazon’s use of its servers was similar to that of a company that leases the servers.
AWS is popular among global IT companies that pursue cost-effectiveness. AWS Vice President Andy Jassy, who visited Korea in time for the launch of AWS` Korean-language service, told The Dong-A Ilbo, “We have decreased usage fees since 2006 instead of increasing them,” adding, “Since Amazon, a distribution company by nature, is strong in a business that increases sales and rakes in small profit, we will continuously decrease prices down the road.”