Samsung SDS (018260.KS) has officially announced its entry into the domestic data center design, build, and operate (DBO) outsourcing business.
At its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings announcement on the 22nd, Samsung SDS revealed it will pursue the data center DBO business starting this year. "We decided to enter the data center DBO business to monetize our domestic data center-related operations," said Lee Ho-jun, Executive Vice President of Samsung SDS's Cloud Service Business Division, at the earnings event. "We are already in discussions on several business opportunities."
DBO stands for Design-Build-Operate, referring to a business model where a company undertakes the design, construction, and operation of data centers on behalf of clients. Rather than owning data centers directly, the operator builds and manages facilities commissioned by customers. In Korea, LG CNS (064400.KS) and KT Cloud are considered leading data center DBO operators.
"Samsung SDS has accumulated over 30 years of data center design and operational concepts and technologies," Lee said. "From a cloud business growth perspective, we determined that a separate business was needed beyond our cloud service provider (CSP) and managed service provider (MSP) offerings. We have established a dedicated DBO business organization and will show results in the near future."
Samsung SDS opened its first data center in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province in 1992 and has since focused its data center capabilities on supporting Samsung Group's IT infrastructure. The company currently operates five data centers in Korea: Sangam in Seoul, Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, Dongtan in Gyeonggi Province, Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, and Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province. All of these facilities are used to support IT systems for Samsung Group affiliates and related companies.