Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen called South Korea one of the key markets for the company’s strategic shift to its marketing cloud business.

“Korea is in the forefront on a number of technology innovations,” he told reporters in Seoul on Thursday, citing the influence of big companies like Samsung globally and the advanced network connectivity.

“We see a unique opportunity to grow our presence in Korea.”

The CEO visited Korea to meet local employees and clients. He declined to elaborate on his visit. Adobe has partnered with a slew of Korean firms, including Samsung Card, KT and Cheil Worldwide. 

His visit comes as Adobe ― best known as a purveyor of tools for digital artists, filmmakers, webmasters and content creators ― is focusing more on the cloud computing business amid tech industry.

In response to the rise of the cloud, mobile gadgets, social networking and highly targeted online advertising, the company has adopted a monthly subscription model to sell its iconic software.

Adobe Marketing Cloud allows companies to use big data to effectively reach and engage customers and prospects with highly personalized marketing content across devices and digital touch points, the company said.

He admitted that switching the revenue model had weighed on profits in the earlier years but added that revenue has been improving recently. Thousands of brands worldwide including 76 percent of Fortune 50 companies use the solutions with 30.5 trillion transactions a year, according to the company.

In Korea, a market where the cloud model is being embraced at a slower pace, he predicted the adoption could offer companies more business opportunities to work in the fast-growing $20 billion market.

As for growing concerns about privacy and security, he said: “Our marketing cloud meets the needs of all privacy standards around the world and is still evolving to adapt. All the data is owned by customers not by Adobe.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)