Having benefited from fast network infrastructure since the early 2000s, South Korea has been considered a global Internet powerhouse, but the era of the Internet of Things may put an end to that, according to the chief of Cisco Systems Korea.

“Korea used to be far ahead of other nations in terms of Internet capabilities, but it is losing steam and failing to achieve changes, while other nations are quickly catching up,” said Cisco Systems Korea general manager Chong Kyung-won at a media briefing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the U.S.-based network firm Tuesday night in Seoul.

He pointed to the shortage of demand due to economic difficulties as the major reason the nation has lost its growth momentum in the Internet sector.

“Because of low demand, corporate investment in the information technology sector is also shrinking,” he said.

The Korean Cisco chief also urged the government and businesses to quickly adjust to the rapidly changing business environment.

“For years many talked about cloud computing and cyber security, but few have acted in earnest to beef up their competence in the fields,” said Chong, also reiterating the importance of deploying disruptive technology touted by Cisco Systems chief executive John Chambers.

In the face of the IoT era, he said Cisco this year will pour more resources into developing real-time analytics, which will allow data to be gathered and analyzed on sensors and devices, rather than on storage systems. The analytics technology is expected to enable faster analysis of “big data.”

Cisco will aslo reinforce its IoT and Intercloud businesses throughout this year, Chong said. The U.S.-based company invested $2 billion in Intercloud last year and is expected to make further investments in future.

Cisco’s Intercloud initiative incorporates a global interconnection of public, private and hybrid clouds to offer processed data for businesses.

The Korean chief also said the company, which was established in 1984 and is partnering with global telecom and tech firms including Deutsche Telekom and British Telecom, would further expand partnerships, contributing the growth of the domestic IoT industry.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)