The Korea Post's Desktop as a Service (DaaS) establishment project, considered the largest public DaaS project, is getting back on track. Considering that the project was first ordered in 2024, it seems to be properly starting after about two years.
With KT Cloud selected as the preferred bidder, prospects are that it will become a turning point for the expansion of the public DaaS market.
According to the industry on the 8th, Korea Post evaluated proposals for the cloud-based Internet PC (DaaS) establishment project from 1:00 p.m. today and selected KT Cloud as the preferred bidder. Two companies, KT Cloud and NHN Cloud, participated in this bidding.
An official from KT Cloud said, “As Korea Post is an institution that performs core tasks for the public such as postal services and finance, KT Cloud will provide a safer and more stable work environment in this DaaS project based on our existing project execution experience.”
The core of this project is to build a work Internet environment for Korea Post by introducing DaaS provided by a private cloud service provider. It is a project to establish a cloud-based work environment where up to 11,000 employees, including those from Korea Post, its affiliated organizations, and post offices nationwide, can connect simultaneously. The project scale is about KRW 12.6 billion, and the project period is until 2031.
DaaS is a service that builds a virtual desktop on a cloud server and supports users to access the work environment from various devices such as PCs, laptops, and tablets.
Previously, the Korea Post DaaS project has undergone ups and downs for about a year. In February last year, Naver Cloud was selected as the preferred bidder, but negotiations broke down on the grounds that supplying SK Broadband's DaaS solution violated the “subcontracting prohibition” clause. Afterwards, NHN Cloud, the next-in-line negotiation partner, continued prior negotiations, but Naver Cloud raised an objection, and the project entered a re-announcement procedure.
As the project re-announcement came out this year, the project budget was allocated KRW 12.6 billion, up about KRW 5 billion from KRW 7.6 billion last year. The ordering conditions, which were an issue last year, were also reorganized. It attached a proviso that subcontracting is allowed, but a Cloud Security Assurance Program (CSAP-DaaS) certified Cloud Service Provider (CSP) must win the contract alone. It is a structure that does not allow joint supply among cloud computing service providers.
However, industry participation decreased compared to when the operator was selected last year. Last year, five operators, including Naver Cloud and NHN Cloud, competed for the Korea Post DaaS project, but this year it decreased to two companies, KT Cloud and NHN Cloud. This is because the corporate burden relative to the project budget increased this year as infrastructure demands considering the utilization of graphics processing units (GPUs) increased, and equipment prices such as servers and memory also rose.
With this selection of the preferred bidder, evaluations come out that the project, which had been delayed for a long time, has secured driving force again. Korea Post plans to carry out system establishment and transition work after signing a final contract through negotiation procedures. Korea Post also plans to support the establishment to proceed smoothly as the project has been delayed for a long time.
An industry official said, “The fact that the Korea Post DaaS project has entered the official track after twists and turns is of great significance to the industry as a whole,” adding, “There were some regrettable points in the process of promoting the project so far, but we are paying attention to the fact that the largest reference in the public sector has finally taken its first step.”
The official added, “If the Korea Post case settles successfully, expanding the size of the public DaaS market and further activating the related ecosystem, we expect it will be a good opportunity for the overall domestic cloud industry to leap forward to the next level.”
