Leverage AI and HCI to Power the Future of E-Commerce with Arcfra
Overview
ConnectWave is a leading e-commerce solutions provider in South Korea, offering a comprehensive suite of services for online sellers and consumers. From online store management to product advertising and price comparison services, ConnectWave is at the forefront of digital commerce.
To maintain its competitive edge, the company is actively modernizing its IT infrastructure while integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations. A key part of this transformation is PLAi, ConnectWave's generative AI initiative designed to drive synergy across its diverse services. Alongside this AI-driven evolution, ConnectWave has adopted hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) to replace legacy systems, optimize efficiency, and ensure seamless scalability.
“Arcfra takes the time to review even difficult requests, and if feasible, they implement them—even if it takes time. This aspect impressed me greatly. It reflects Arcfra's cultural strength—paying attention to every customer request—demonstrated by its proactive employees.”
Hongchul Kim
General Manager of System
Division
ConnectWave
Challenges
As ConnectWave continued to expand its e-commerce ecosystem, it faced several IT and operational hurdles:
Legacy System Limitations
- Existing infrastructure in the company's Internet Data Center (IDC) struggled with operational inefficiencies and high maintenance costs.
Scalability Concerns
- Traditional virtualization lacked the flexibility to integrate modern container-based applications and cloud-native technologies.
High Infrastructure Costs
- Running an extensive physical server environment resulted in significant IDC operational expenses.
AI and Data Integration Needs
- With the development of PLAi, ConnectWave required an infrastructure capable of supporting high-performance AI workloads.
Reliability and Stability
- As a provider of critical e-commerce services, ConnectWave needed a highly stable infrastructure to prevent downtime and maintain customer trust.
Solution
To overcome these challenges, ConnectWave implemented Arcfra Enterprise Cloud Platform, replacing inefficient legacy systems with a modern, software-defined architecture. The initial adoption took place with a small-scale deployment, followed by a scale-out.
Key Benefits
Enhanced Efficiency & Cost Reduction
- After deploying Arcfra's HCI solution in 2024, ConnectWave reduced IDC operational costs by approximately 15% while consolidating outdated physical servers.
Improved Scalability & Cloud Integration
- The new architecture allows seamless integration of external PaaS and SaaS solutions, offering a cloud-like experience within ConnectWave's private infrastructure.
AI-Ready Infrastructure
- Arcfra provides the computational power and flexibility required for PLAi, ensuring efficient AI model training and deployment.
Kubernetes Deployment Simplification
- ConnectWave can now run containerized workloads internally, similar to AWS EKS, streamlining operations.
Reliability & High Availability (HA)
- The HCI-based system ensures high availability while reducing hardware and personnel requirements compared to legacy environments.
Future Plans
Encouraged by the success of its initial HCI deployment, ConnectWave is expanding its investment, including deepening AI integration and strengthening IT partnerships with Arcfra.
By embracing AI and hyperconverged infrastructure, ConnectWave is not only modernizing its IT backbone but also positioning itself as a technological leader in the e-commerce space. This transformation ensures that ConnectWave remains agile, cost-efficient, and prepared for the future of digital commerce.