As digital transformation accelerates, user experience is now a key element of enterprise competitiveness. In particular, in the e-commerce industry, stable service provision and quick response to issues have become the most important criteria.

What is STCOM located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul A company that specializes in building and operating e-commerce platformsAs a result, it is a company that is responsible for overall IT operations so that customers can focus on sales. Operation of web and app platforms for major commerce brands such as North Face, Vans, and TimberlandI'm in charge of It is one of the companies that actively uses WhaTap for efficient IT operations for e-commerce companies that generate large amounts of traffic.

Today, I met with General Manager Jeong Kwang-jo, who is leading the infrastructure department of STCom, to hear more about how the operating environment has changed since the introduction of WhATap and what results have actually been achieved through this. Let's check out stories from the field about how WhaTap is contributing to actual IT operation improvements beyond a simple monitoring tool.

📌 Order of articles

• Company profile: 'STCOM' is responsible for e-commerce brand IT operations
• Introduction background: WhATap ahead in terms of cost, functionality, and support
• troubleshooting: Beyond structural limitations, with real-time and systematic monitoring
• Future strategies: From EC2 to Kubernetes, expand WhATap in line with infrastructure transformation

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Company introduction: 'ST-COM' is responsible for e-commerce brand IT operations

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‍Hello, Manager Jeong Kwang-jo, please give me an introduction.

I'm Jeong Kwang-jo, in charge of infrastructure and DevOps at STCOM. It's been about 5 years since I joined STCom, and I have been responsible for overall infrastructure operations until now. Even when I first joined, there was no infrastructure organization, and IT operations were also dependent on outsourcing. As we gradually began managing the system ourselves, the importance of monitoring naturally grew. In the process, WhaTap was introduced, and it has received great help in stable service operation through continuous use until now.

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What kind of business does STCom do?

STCom Responsible for overall IT operations from e-commerce brand web and mobile platform operations to delivery systems (WMS), membership management (PRM), and cloud infrastructureIt's a losing company. We operate online platforms for major brands such as North Face, Vans, and Timberland, and recently launched AI centers and new projects for large corporate affiliates. From a brand perspective, you can think of technology-based operations as a structure managed in an integrated manner by STCom so that they can focus only on sales growth.

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Background of adoption: WhATap was ahead in terms of cost, functionality, and support

Did you join STCom and start using WhaTap to set up an infrastructure organization?

That's right. To be more precise, in the process of transferring the system operated by our existing management agency, we naturally introduced WhaTap as well. At the time, the operator was already using WhATap, and I also had experience using WhATap during my time at Lotte Commerce, so I had a certain level of trust in the product.

However, in the transfer process at the time, if the system was left unattended or not properly used, WhaTap's Customer Success Management (CSM) personnel visited in person for training and consultingThanks to you, I've been able to make good use of it since then. Currently, we Use WhaTap's APM, DPM, SMS, and URL monitoringI'm doing it.

I heard that they also reviewed other monitoring tools at the time of introduction

That's right. In fact, at the time of the transfer, we also reviewed other solutions. In the case of some foreign platforms, there were a lot of features, but we felt that it was rather excessive from our point of view, and above all else, we decided that they were not suitable due to the high threshold in terms of cost.

Whatap, on the other hand Intuitive UIwith Works with various 3rd-party systems The possible part, and above all The CSM team is dedicated to helping build according to our environmentWhat you gave me had a big impact. Thanks to this, I've been able to continue to use it well since it was introduced, and I've been using it for 5 years, but I don't think I've ever regretted it.

Problem solving: Beyond structural limitations, with real-time and systematic monitoring

What technical or operational difficulties did you face before using WhaTap at STCom?

Before implementing WhaTap, the biggest challenge our team faced was a “structural limitation” where identifying the cause of a failure was delayed, and response time was lengthened as a result. There was a lack of such a system that could quickly recognize and act on issues that could occur in both applications and infrastructure. Naturally, the operating burden was bound to increase.

In particular, at the time of an event where traffic was concentrated, the delay (delay) caused by this acted as a risk directly linked to brand credibility. like this Technical debt has accumulated, and operating personnel are limitedThat was it.

Due to the nature of e-commerce platforms, there was a need for a structure that could grasp the number of concurrent users, transaction flow, and resource usage in real time, but at the time, there were no tools that could systematically monitor this. Our infrastructure manager responded by manually browsing logs and restarting individual servers directly after a failure occurred. When I think about it now, I remember that it was difficult for everyone at the time due to the heavy operational burden.

I'm curious about how WhaTap solved the operational burden and structural limitations

After using WhaTap, we were able to promote operational efficiency in earnest.

First, I linked the real-time notification function with Slack to automatically send notifications when an issue occurs. In addition, we also built an automated system linked to Slackbot using webhooks. Currently When a notification from WhaTap is sent to Slack, Slackbot recognizes this and issues a command to AWSIt is operated by

In the past, when an issue such as thread saturation occurred, it was necessary to connect directly to the server and take manual action. Now, when the set conditions are met, the system automatically restarts the server, and even the action results can be checked via Slack. This has reduced repetitive manual work and greatly reduced the operational burden.

Furthermore, in addition to simply “receiving notifications quickly,” they are using WhaTap to quantitatively improve infrastructure and applications. For example, during an event Monitor the number of contestants in real time when the number of participants increases rapidlyI can do it, Predict when to scale based on memory usage or CPU loadAs a result, resources can now be managed flexibly. Thanks to this, we are preventing unnecessary overprovisioning while also reducing costs.

Our clients frequently receive requests about server status and traffic trends during the event season. Extract real-time CPU, memory, and player count data directly from the WhaTap dashboardI often deliver the sun. If you deliver it that way, I think the customer will also be satisfied.

Even on a qualitative side after using WhaTap The level of data awareness among internal developers has increased I think I can talk. Beyond simple notifications, we're directly finding application improvement points based on transactions. All developers are actively participating in WhATap training, and recently they are also planning method-level monitoring. In the future, we plan to establish a more detailed monitoring system to improve both operational efficiency and service quality.

‍What features of WhaTap were helpful in the troubleshooting process, and do you use them frequently?

As well as WhaTap's alert/notification features Use heatmap and transaction statistics functions frequentlyI'm doing it. You can immediately recognize problems when they occur, and you can quickly identify the cause by tracking sections where errors occur frequently based on statistical data. As mentioned above, the real-time number of participants is frequently provided as a request from the customer brand, and this data also helps determine scaling.

Honestly, at the time of introduction, I even conducted tests to build my own internal monitoring system using open source tools. UI or data visualization aspectsI wasn't as satisfied with WhaTap In particular, I like the fact that the WhaTap heatmap is intuitive, and I still use it well.

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‍📌 Summary of STCom's problem solving using WhaTap

• STCom faced a “structural limitation” where identification of the cause of the failure was slow and the operational burden was high
• After implementation, achieve operational efficiency and cost savings through automated integration with Slack, real-time metric-based response, and traffic forecasting
• Various functions, including heatmaps and transaction statistics, enable quantitative analysis and application improvement

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Future strategy: From EC2 to Kubernetes, expand WhATap in line with infrastructure transformation

I heard that you are planning to expand the use of WhaTap in the future

In the second half of 2025, STCom will use the existing AWS EC2-based infrastructure Preparing for a gradual transition to the Kubernetes environmentThis is it. First, the infrastructure will be converted to a container-based approach, and then the application will be gradually moved to the MSA architecture. WhaTap is already Monitoring optimized for Kubernetes environments It is equipped with functions, and we plan to expand it stably by applying it from the PoC stage.

In addition, URL call distribution, influx channels, customer trends, etc. in response to customer requests Also review customised report automation for each brandI'm doing it. It is expected that by utilizing WhaTap's flexible dashboard configuration and API integration functions, it is expected that not only the quality of reports but also the efficiency of generation can be greatly improved.

Last question. What kind of businesses is WhaTap right for?

For companies struggling with operational inefficiency and technical debt, I think WhaTap can be a starting point for systematic problem recognition and improvement. More than simple monitoring, The flow of “real-time notification → automated response → data-based analysis → code improvement → operational efficiency”This is because I experienced it and experienced its effects firsthand.

According to an interview with General Manager Jeong Kwang-jo, STCom is not just using WhaTap as a monitoring tool Use as a core platform for improving operational efficiency and service qualityI was able to confirm that it was being done. By systematizing the entire operation cycle, from real-time monitoring to automation, analysis, and improvement, we have secured an environment where customers can focus more on their business. In the rapidly changing e-commerce market, STCom is a prime example of transforming IT operations into competitiveness. I'm looking forward to seeing STCom actively use WhaTap in addition to education in the future.

What about a company like STCom that wants to resolve technical debt by improving actual IT operations? 👉Inquire about implementation