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| Shin Yong-wook, CEO of Inprontiv, holds up a Tetra mini-network personal separation computer at his company's headquarter office in Seoul, in this file photo. / Courtesy of Inprontiv |
Like many of his fellow CEOs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Shin Yong-wook gets an average four hours of sleep a day and works virtually throughout the week.
But Shin, CEO of Inprontiv, established in 2010, emits pride in his Tetra network separation small-sized computer that can prevent cyberattacks and data theft. It's a homegrown skill and manufacturing that eyes the growing need for network separation.
Since 2008, the Korean government has been pursuing through laws, regulations and guidelines for public, financial institutions, hospitals and companies that deal with customer and other sensitive information to have separate network for work and for internet access, as cyberattacks mostly happen via the internet.
"When we started out, I felt that Korean firms, the small-and medium-sized firms, should become competitive once again in this market," Shin said in an interview with The Korea Times held at Inprontiv's Seoul office in Seongdong-gu, eastern Seoul.
Korean firms were highly competitive in the late 1990s, but as conglomerates shifted toward cutting edge IT sectors, a void occurred that was filled in by Taiwanese and Chinese makers.
"I wanted to revitalize the once-thriving market," he said. Shin added he also wanted to challenge these dominant manufacturers, which sometimes monopolize the market.
Just how fast and large is the market growing?
"About 500,000 personal computers are required at public institutions every year," Shin said.
The Korea Information Security Industry Association estimated in 2015 the network separation market to grow to 167.7 billion won by 2020, increasing at an annual 30.9 percent. But Shin expects the market to be far larger.
To this market, the CEO wanted to add a competitive edge to his products.
So working with his researchers, they produced the flagship product, in particular the Tetra series' Tetra-DM and Tetra KMDT. The two are the first-ever keyboard, video monitor and mouse (KVM)-integrated mini-PCs that can support one keyboard, one mouse and dual monitors.
"The size of our computers makes for an efficient workspace," Shin said. The speed of the Inprontiv products, at which the user can move from the internal network to the one for the internet is the fastest,Shin claimed.
With Tetra, Inprontiv has been able lead the nation's mini network separation computer market.
The company has other products including Tetra general computers and Tetra-EPS that emphasize energy conservation. Shin said he saw in Japan during the 2011 earthquake the importance of low-energy-requiring computers.
Shin said there was initial resistance from Korean consumers about Korean-made products. He said the company, as an SME, initially encountered difficulties finding buyers and earning government accreditations.
But it was nothing the company could not overcome. Shin said he leads by taking on tasks himself.
On the Seoul office wall are the framed patents and government accreditations it has earned. The company has grown to about 30 employees, more than 90 percent of whom are researchers. Its R&D lab and factory is based in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
Having started out in sales of IT-related products, Shin has been leading Inprontiv since 2010. The development of the Tetra series began in 2013 with R&D investments worth more than 1 billion won.
"Now, that is not a small sum five years ago," he said.
The Tetra series was designated in 2015 as an Excellent Invention by the Korea Invention Promotion Association and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, touting it as a priority product purchase for public institutions.
In 2017, Inprontiv posted 7.5 billion won in sales. It is looking to hit 17 billion won in sales in 2018 and 50 billion by 2020.
Inprontiv recently worked with LG to provide a core technology for its monitors, as well as with KT.
The company exported its products to Singapore last year. Shin said the company is looking to expand to the U.S. and Japanese markets, where separate networks for internet access are legally required at public institutions.
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