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Security is an extremely important field in the IT industry, and no more so than in Korea with its highly advanced high speed Internet. Recently, the government and private businesses began cooperating to enhance the security systems of personal computers at the enterprise level.
In particular, the turmoil caused by illegal access to the backbone network on January 25 last year created general awareness of the importance of the security in the network field. Domestic businesses have expressed increasing concerns about the secure management of the VPN and traffic.
Overseas companies dominate the domestic security solution market. So far, only PC security solution providers such as AhnLab have managed to strengthen their position. Recently, though, domestic companies have appeared more competitive than their overseas counterparts.
by Lee Kwang - jae, Reporter / voxpop@ittimes.co.kr
Future Systems was established with a capitalization of US$43,500 in 1978 when the words, 'venture' and 'security' were unfamiliar in Korea. The security solution business was risky because at that time, the Internet was not generally available in Korea. However, Future Systems firmly believed in its future and that the security business would emerge as the key to the future of the IT infrastructure.
Following its establishment, Future Systems made a considerable investment in its own R&D capability to develop customized solutions.
As a result of the efforts, the competence of the company and its technologies now enjoy a high reputation. The honors and awards the company has won include the designation of a Promising Small- and Medium-sized IT Company, the Information Culture Technology Award, Venture Business Grand Prize, Korea Software Products Award and Digital Grand Prize Award.
The company, however, had business difficulties until last year despite of its excellent technological competence and business capability. This was mainly because customers lacked of awareness of the importance of security in the highly developed Internet environment.
Since the second half of last year, the awareness of the need for security began to grow in domestic market. In particular, companies increasingly began to reinforce their security systems to attract more new customers and stimulate the development of new products. The rapid advance of indigenous companies was remarkable. The market was forecast to be stagnant due to the continuing economic downturn, but securityrelated issues stimulated domestic companies to increase demand. Government offices, educational institutions, financial businesses and others placed orders to protect their security systems. Such companies as AhnLab, Securesoft and Future Systems with competitive strengths in technology, finance and brand image recorded noticeable growth.
In the first half of this year, Future Systems generated US$12.87 million in sales, an increase of 39 percent over the same period of the previous year (US$9.25 million). Of this total amount, productrelated sales revenue equaled US$8.61 million, the largest amount ever. The company explained that the remarkable increase was resulted from the stable growth of its VPN sales in the public sector and the explosive sales increase in the enterprise market.
Aiming to be a total security solution provider, Future Systems has participated in the businesses of network security equipment, security software and security consulting. To efficiently drive the business, the company has set up a sales division, R&D division, an overseas business division and a manufacturing plant. The company's product line-up consists of total solutions, including firewall and VPV appliances, VPN client (LAN cards, USB keys and software), and central control software. In particular, the company developed an integrated appliance that combines VPN and firewall with in-house technologies for the first time in Korea and that has now claimed the lion's share of the domestic VPN market. The company also provides equipment that can be applied to SOHO security products of the security systems of large-sized companies. The company has secured 100 or so customers across the public and private sectors, including the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, Korea Telecom, Dongbu Fire Insurance and Hanjin Heavy Industries.
Future Systems said that its own hardware-based firewall was the first in Korea to achieve the K4E certification. Its VPN equipment, the BUD-F achieved the certification of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The company also boasts a security equipment manufacturing plant, the only one of its kind in Korea. The technological competence of the company is also proved by the several overseas certifications, including the ISCA IPSec, ICSA firewall certification, plus official certifications on its firewall by Chinese governmental organizations. The company registered patents on black zone ports and physical Tamper proof functions.
This year, the company is targeting total sales of US$27.83 million and already achieved the 46% of the goal in the first half. Considering that generally many more orders are placed in the second half, the company said the goal would be easily achieved this year.
The company plans to focus its marketing effort on government bodies and financial institutes that usually initiate their projects in the second half of the year. The company also plans to develop overseas markets, in particular, Japan and China. At present, about 80% of overseas sales are made in China. For the future, the company intends to make inroads into the European, United States and Southeast Asian markets. Based on the competence of its technology, the company will diversify its business as an integrated total security solution provider. "Future Systems brings a balance of technological expertise, financial strength and brand image," said Lee Donga, Director of Management Supporting Offices. "It's our goal to become the world's top total security solution provider."
