Onion
Onion Software is a South Korea-based provider of data center monitoring, control, and automation software (MK119 Data Center OpsWare) and proprietary hardware, serving enterprise data center operators across Asia Pacific with turnkey engineering services from offices in Seoul, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Onion does
Onion Software, Inc. is a South Korea-headquartered (Seoul, founded 2000) private provider of data center management, monitoring, and automation solutions for enterprise and large data center operators. Its core product, MK119 Data Center OpsWare, is a vendor-independent, web-based platform that consolidates BMS, EPMS, and DCIM subsystems into a single real-time analysis engine, emphasizing open-architecture integration with heterogeneous DC equipment. The company complements MK119 with a proprietary hardware line — THP10 and T10 environmental sensors, the iPSM54 PDU monitoring module, and the iBSM series of intelligent busway meters with IEC62053-22 accuracy — and a turnkey engineering service covering design, cabling, installation, commissioning, and maintenance. Onion monetizes through a mix of software licensing (one-time plus support), hardware sales, and professional services, delivered via direct enterprise field sales from offices in South Korea, Singapore (APAC HQ), and Malaysia, with reported adoption across 200+ data centers and 150+ customers including Singtel and ST Engineering. The firm is founder-led (Chang Cho, CEO and Founder), holds 21+ patents in DC monitoring/control/optimization, and maintains certifications including ISO 27001, IEC 62443-4-1, bizSAFE Level 3, and Singapore PDPA compliance. Recent strategic activity centers on AI- and immersion-cooling-adjacent data center solutions through MOUs and PoCs with Rockwell Automation, Cisco, MakinaRocks, S-OIL, GST, and WELLMADE.
Onion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Onion
- Legal name
- ONION Software, Inc.
- Website
- https://onionsoftware.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Onion Software is a South Korea-based provider of data center monitoring, control, and automation software (MK119 Data Center OpsWare) and proprietary hardware, serving enterprise data center operators across Asia Pacific with turnkey engineering services from offices in Seoul, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Onion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Environmental Data Management Platforms (EHS/EMS, LIMS, ELN, Compliance Data Hubs) (EUAHAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Managed OT Security Services (MSSP/MDR for ICS/OT) (HDADAJAN)
Keywords
Where Onion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seoul
- HQ country
- South Korea
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices3 records
Markets served
Onion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Software Licenses and Subscriptions (MK119 OpsWare): MK119 Data Center OpsWare is sold as a software solution for data center monitoring and operations, likely through perpetual licenses and/or recurring support/maintenance contracts.
- Hardware Sales (Sensors and Monitoring Devices): ONION sells proprietary hardware including THP10 sensors, T10 sensors, iPSM54 for PDU, and iBSM series for TOU. These integrate with MK119 software to deliver real-time environmental and power monitoring.
- Turnkey Service (Design, Installation, and Commissioning): ONION provides complete turnkey service covering design, engineering, cabling, installation, and maintenance for data center control systems, including test and commissioning support by skilled engineers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Onion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ONION develops and sells MK119 Data Center OpsWare, a unified web-based software platform that consolidates BMS, EPMS, and DCIM subsystems into a single real-time analysis engine for data center monitoring and operations using a vendor-independent open architecture. It also sells proprietary hardware sensors (THP10, T10, iPSM54 for PDU, iBSM Series for TOU) that integrate with MK119, and provides turnkey design, installation, and commissioning services for enterprise data centers.
Product overview
ONION Software provides a unified platform-plus-modules architecture for data center infrastructure management. The core offering is the MK119 Data Center OpsWare, a web-based software platform that consolidates all monitoring subsystems into a single real-time analysis platform for vendor-independent data center management. This software integrates with ONION's hardware portfolio including the THP10 Sensor (environmental monitoring), T10 Sensor, iPSM54 for PDU (power monitoring), and iBSM Series for TOU (intelligent busway metering). The company also offers Turnkey Services covering design, engineering, installation, and maintenance. The product suite supports temperature, humidity, and power monitoring through plug-and-play sensors with seamless integration into the MK119 platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- MK119: Data Center OpsWare - A world-class unified monitoring platform for data center management, consolidating all monitoring subsystems into a single real-time analysis platform
- iBSM Series
Products and services
- MK119 Data Center OpsWare Unified web-based software platform for data center monitoring and operations that consolidates all monitoring subsystems (BMS, EPMS, DCIM) into a single real-time analysis platform, providing vendor-independent solutions through open architecture. Designed for enterprise data center operators and facility managers seeking unified infrastructure visibility and tenant service management.
- THP10 Sensor Environmental monitoring sensor for temperature and humidity measurement in data centers, designed to plug-and-play integrate with the MK119 platform. Targeted at data center operators needing accurate environmental monitoring.
- T10 Sensor Environmental sensor for data center monitoring, designed to integrate with MK119 for real-time environmental insights.
- iPSM54 for PDU Intelligent power monitoring sensor designed for Power Distribution Unit (PDU) integration, providing real-time power monitoring that integrates with the MK119 OpsWare platform.
- iBSM Series for TOU Compact and flexible intelligent busway meter integrated into Tap-Off Units (TOU) for power monitoring and energy efficiency analysis in data centers. Supports cascading up to 64 iBSM10/iBSM20 units, with 0.5 Class Accuracy meeting IEC62053-22 Standards, embedded temperature sensors, Sag/Swell detection, and harmonic reactive power monitoring in THD (%).
- ONION Turnkey Service Complete implementation package covering supply and installation, including design, engineering, cabling, and maintenance for data center control systems, from control system design to test and commissioning support. Handled by ONION's skilled engineers and targeted at enterprise data center operators requiring end-to-end delivery.
Companies that use Onion
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Onion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Onion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- S-OILcoreONION Software and S-OIL launched a next-generation data center immersion cooling Proof of Concept (PoC), validating cooling efficiency and stability in AI data center environments.
- GSTminorONION Software, GST, and WELLMADE partnered for an immersion cooling PoC validating cooling efficiency and stability in AI data center environments.
- WELLMADEminorONION Software, GST, and WELLMADE partnered for an immersion cooling PoC validating cooling efficiency and stability in AI data center environments.
- Rockwell AutomationcoreONION Software, Rockwell Automation, Cisco, and MakinaRocks signed an integrated MOU to improve data center operational efficiency and reliability through AI, automation, and IT/OT integration, strengthening data center stability and security with advanced network infrastructure and cybersecurity.
- CiscocoreONION Software, Rockwell Automation, Cisco, and MakinaRocks signed an integrated MOU to improve data center operational efficiency and reliability through AI, automation, and IT/OT integration, strengthening data center stability and security with advanced network infrastructure and cybersecurity.
- MakinaRockscoreONION Software partnered with MakinaRocks, a specialized industrial AI company, to collaborate on enhancing data center operations through AI-driven monitoring and optimization solutions, combining ONION's OpsWare with MakinaRocks' AI capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Onion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ABB: ABB provides data center infrastructure monitoring and control (including ABB Ability) as part of its industrial automation portfolio, comparable to ONION's BMS/EPMS monitoring capabilities for mission-critical facilities.
- Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure IT): Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure IT/Data Center Expert is a leading DCIM and monitoring suite embedded in a much broader portfolio of power, cooling, and rack systems; the dominant incumbent that ONION competes against in APAC enterprise deals.
- Vertiv: Vertiv offers integrated DCIM (Trellis, Geist) alongside power, thermal, and IT systems for data centers; a broad incumbent with globally established presence that competes with ONION across hardware sensors and monitoring software.
- Honeywell (Data Center Solutions): Honeywell provides BMS and integrated data center facility management through its Connected Enterprise portfolio, competing with ONION in facility-level monitoring and OT/ICS integration for enterprise DCs.
- Siemens (Data Center Solutions): Siemens offers data center infrastructure management via its Building Technologies/DESIGO CC platforms, with global scale and IT/OT integration capabilities comparable to ONION's MK119 in large enterprise environments.
Direct peers
- Sunbird Software (dcTrack): Sunbird's dcTrack is one of the most established DCIM platforms globally, offering unified monitoring, capacity planning, and asset management — directly overlapping with MK119's value proposition for large enterprise data centers.
- Device42: Device42 offers DCIM and IT asset management software for data center infrastructure, including power, environmental, and connectivity monitoring — a comparable platform-based competitor to MK119 in mid-market and enterprise segments.
- Nlyte Software: Nlyte is a pure-play DCIM software vendor offering asset management and monitoring for data centers; it is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Onion's MK119 in the DCIM software category, serving similar enterprise and colocation customers.
Emerging players
- Raritan (Legrand): Raritan (now part of Legrand) provides intelligent PDU and environmental sensors with PX platform that overlap with ONION's iPSM54 and sensor hardware product lines for power and environmental monitoring.
- FNT (Command Center): FNT provides data center infrastructure management software (Command Center) focused on asset, connectivity, and resource management; comparable to ONION's MK119 in DCIM software functionality for enterprise and telecom customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Onion social profiles
Digital presenceOnion compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Onion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Onion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Onion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Onion M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Onion
What does Onion do?
ONION develops and sells MK119 Data Center OpsWare, a unified web-based software platform that consolidates BMS, EPMS, and DCIM subsystems into a single real-time analysis engine for data center monitoring and operations using a vendor-independent open architecture. It also sells proprietary hardware sensors (THP10, T10, iPSM54 for PDU, iBSM Series for TOU) that integrate with MK119, and provides turnkey design, installation, and commissioning services for enterprise data centers.
Is Onion a public or private company?
Onion is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Onion founded?
Onion was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Onion based?
Onion is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, in the Asia region.
How does Onion make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Licenses and Subscriptions (MK119 OpsWare) is the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales (Sensors and Monitoring Devices) and turnkey Service (Design, Installation, and Commissioning).
Who are Onion's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ABB, Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure IT), Vertiv, Honeywell (Data Center Solutions) and Siemens (Data Center Solutions). Direct peers are Sunbird Software (dcTrack), Device42 and Nlyte Software. Emerging players are Raritan (Legrand) and FNT (Command Center).
Does Onion have an API?
No public API is recorded for Onion.
What industry is Onion in?
Onion's product category is Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHAKAA, Environmental Data Management Platforms (EHS/EMS, LIMS, ELN, Compliance Data Hubs), with a secondary code of HDADAJAN, Managed OT Security Services (MSSP/MDR for ICS/OT). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7373.