Software Park Thailand Newsletter (Eng) Vol3/2012

1. Software Park Thailand’s Flagship
on Cloud and Mobile
Vol.3/2012
Software Park Thailand’s Flagship
on Cloud and Mobile
Vol.3/2012

2. Software Park Thailand Newsletter is produced by Software Park Thailand under the National Scienceand Technology Development Agency,
Address: 99/31 Software Park Building, ChaengwattanaRd., Pakkred, Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand. Tel. +662 583 9992 Fax: +662 583 2884
www.swpark.or.th; www.facebook.com/softwareparkthailand
Sharing the Cloud Computing Bonanza
Software Park aims to make Thailand
a Cloud Outsourcing Center
Second story: Thailand Cloud Alliance
- Anise Asia
Thailand joins world cloud
- Cloud Creation aims to lead the field
Rapid Growth in Cloud Computing
expected in the next few years
- TOT pushed cloud computing
“High potential” seen in serving
SME market
Department ramps up cloud assistance
for SMEs Preparedness for AEC added
to ECIT Program
Forth story: MT2: A fresh mobile-development
initiative Industry joins hands to push
newcomers towards ‘huge’ opportunities
‘Cloud is the present and the future’
Local firms urged to focus immediately
on cloud computing
Editorial
The game is about to change
Embracing the cloud
Keeping abreast of the helter-skelter change that
has lifted us into the digital era has made the last decade
a traumatic time for many business people, particularly
for small-and medium-sized, vulnerable enterprises.
The new era of cloud computing has arrived and, in
a sense, the development of business computing and
information technology has reached a kind of a plateau
where it will sit for some time into the future, allowing us
to get to know it better and to feel more comfortable about
it at a lower, more controllable cost.
Cloud computing is fairly easy to understand if you
think of it as transforming all those software application
products - everything from accounting programs to
customer relationship management and business
intelligence - into software application services. Licence
fees and all those big up-front investment costs for
IT infrastructure are being - at very least - heavily
reduced. If, in the future, your business needs any
kind of software service, then you call someone up
and get it “piped in” - a bit like telephones or electricity.
Pay for what you use, when you want to use it. The
end result will be much lower investments in IT - as much
as 30 per cent lower.
Cloud computing has also brought a new paradigm
to the software-development business. No longer should
our software developers be concentrating on turning out
products that run on in-house hardware; for which they
charge a licence fee. By developing software for the
cloud, they will be aiming to create software-as-a-service
- a service you can arrange to access via the Internet and
pay for as and when you use it. And this will not be for the
domestic market alone, but for the world.
Businesses get lower costs, and costs they can
control, while our many talented software developers get
a world of opportunities.
To support the cloud computing in the country,
Software Park Thailand's direction this year create four
pillars to support ICT industry including promote Cloud
Data Centre Group, promote and enable local software
as a service, promote cloud usage or promote the use of
Cloud Service in SMEs and governments, and develop
cloud outsourcing centre in Thailand.
Software Park Thailand plans to focus on promoting
and supporting the adoption of cloud computing,
particularly by those many small- and medium-sized
enterprises that can find real benefits from using it.
Moreover, we have such faith in Thai talent that we
believe we can develop our software industry into a Cloud
Outsourcing Center over the next five years, designing
and providing software services on world markets.
The newsletter provides information that will
help business people to understand and begin to
use software-as-a-service, so they can forget their
worries about an IT infrastructure and concentrate
on their business. You will find information about
cloud-promoting collaboration from the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation organisation APEC; about
software houses that are developing software on
cloud; cloud service providers; SMEs that have already
adopted cloud computing; and an interview concerning
the Department of Industrial Promotion’s cloud initiative.
The new era of cloud computing is here, and it’s
a whole lot simpler than it might sound.
Table of Contents
3
4
8
10
12

3. Sharing the Cloud Computing
Bonanza
Software Park aims to make Thailand
a Cloud Outsourcing Center
Cloud computing has created a new paradigm
for Thailand’s software industry, enabling software
developers to set aside the old model of creating,
packaging and delivering products and move towards
providing their software as a service.
The new technology is spreading like wildfire
around the world, and the new business model of
providing software as a service via cloud computing
opens up world markets and huge opportunities for
local software developers. Consequently, Software Park
Thailand will direct its efforts towards supporting the
growth of cloud computing in 2012, and over the next
five years, will concentrate on making Thailand into
a Cloud Outsourcing Center, supporting demand from
global markets.
Software Park Thailand director Thanachart
Noomnonda said cloud computing required that
software companies adopt a new business model in
which they delivered their software to customers as a
service, rather like the delivery of a utility such as
electricity, for which the user paid a fee based on their
usage.
In order to promote and support the use of cloud
computing by small- and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs), Software Park Thailand aims to make the
country a Cloud Outsourcing Center, he said. It will focus
this year on two vital areas: pushing the adoption of
cloud computing by both software developers and
end users, and encouraging mobility in the use of
information technology.
The park will urge software developers to create
software that can be offered as a service via cloud
computing, for which customers can pay per use. This
will make these software applications more affordable
for businesses, particularly SMEs, which will be able to
access software via cloud services and data centers,
and will no longer face the need to purchase software
packages and pay licence fees.
As well as promoting the use of cloud computing
and striving to make Thailand a cloud outsourcing
center, Software Park Thailand is also planning to set up
a “Cloud Thailand” Data Center, to promote local
software-as-a-service, Thanachart said.
Assco.Prof. Thanachart Nummonda
Director, Software Park Thailand
3

4. Anise Asia Thailand joins
world cloud
Thailand Cloud Alliance
In setting up the Cloud Thailand Data Center, the
park will work with business software companies and
other software firms, along with software-service and
telecom-service providers to form a local group including
TOT, Netbay, Cloud Creation, True IDC, Anise Asia and
Datapro Computer System. It is hoped the group will
create awareness of local software-as-a-service via
cloud computing and help to educate businesses,
particularly SMEs, who want to use cloud-based
information technology to support their operations. The
cooperative group will also create matches between
businesses and cloud providers to bring the greatest
benefit to users.
Software Park Thailand will also work with the
Association of Thai Professionals in North America and
Canada (ATPAC) to promote the use of cloud services
among SMEs, thereby helping them to reduce both the
cost of investing in information technology and the cost
of operational applications such as those applying to
mobile devices, tourism and e-commerce.
“There are now software companies that develop
‘on premises’ or licensed applications, such as enter-
prise resource planning (ERP) or customization to
support customers’ individual requirements, as well as
pay-per-use software-as-a-service,” Thanachart said.
He said the park would also cooperate with the
Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion
(OSMEP), under the APEC SMEs project, to promote
cloud computing for SMEs.
"I think that we will see newcomers and new
innovations entering the market, and the importance of
cloud computing will drive software developers to
migrate their skills to developing software based on
cloud computing, instead of sticking with the traditional
model for the software business," Thanachart said.
He pointed out that one of Software Park
Thailand’s hopes was to make the country a centre
for training human resources and training the trainers,
so its reputation would attract outsourcing from global
markets and lead to the country becoming a Cloud
Computing Outsourcing Center. This process will create
an ecosystem which in the future will help to support
the free movement of skilled human resources within
the Asean Economic Community and generate even
greater opportunities for Thai software developers to
provide software services via the cloud to the Asean
market, he said.
“With cloud-service outsourcing, the Thai
software industry can become more profitable by
positioning itself closer to an upstream global-service
supply chain. This can significantly impact Thailand’s
economy,” Thanachart said.
In a bid to become the leading provider of
cloud computing and cloud solutions in Thailand and
Southeast Asia under the brand name StarAnise, SSC
Solutions has forged an alliance with Joyent’s Global
Computer Network (GCN) to set up Anise Asia
(Thailand).
The new firm plans to provide cloud solutions
for small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and
for large corporations in Southeast Asian markets.
Anise Asia (Thailand)’s managing director Suphol
Tantisiriwat said the global connections arising from
StarAnise’s alliance with Joyent’s GCN had made it one
of the world’s largest public cloud services. It offers
robust Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-
a-Service (PaaS) and So ftware-as-a-Service (SaaS)
products to support individual customers, supply
chains and even entire industries. Customers will be
able to choose the services that best fit their needs.
SME’s, especially, will benefit from its affordable SaaS
applications, which have already been tested and
launched on both Joyent’s GCN and StarAnise Cloud.
4

5. Suphol Tantisiriwat
Managing Director of Anise Asia (Thailand)
Suphol said that besides selling and implementing
Joyent’s SmartDataCenter (SDC) cloud software to
customers for private, public and even hybrid clouds,
the StarAnise public cloud offers the best performance
SmartMachine, running native SmartOS for UNIX-
based applications, Linux and Windows VM running
Windows Server 2008, both standard and enterprise
editions. All come in small, medium, large and
extra-large packages.
The company expects that medium- to large-sized
enterprises may consider buying its SmartDataCenter
(SDC) and implementing a comprehensive, high-
performance, scalable, secured and cost-efficient
private cloud, whereas SME’s may choose to leave their
IT operations behind and run their businesses on the
StarAnise public cloud.
Suphol said that SDC cloud was “way beyond
traditional web hosting and virtualization”. Compared to
a traditional on-premises IT infrastructure, a private
cloud significantly reduces the footprint of the hardware,
which automatically leaves more room to grow without
having to expand the data center. Its ease-of-use self-
provisioning feature also reduces administrative effort,
he said.
“I think that SaaS totally changes the way some
SME’s, or even large enterprises, do business, with a
pay-per-use model instead of having to invest in ERP,
HR, payroll, e-mail, workflow and many other enterprise
applications. On the other hand, it also broadens the
market for SaaS developers, by allowing them to offer
their software globally through different channels,
especially those that run on mobile devices,” Suphol
said.
He said Anise Asia (Thailand) had also achieved
partnerships with hardware vendors, software providers
and world-class data centers all over the world, to
provide best-in-class services by concentrating solely
on cloud software and focusing on expertise in
professional services.
“Similarly, we look forward to working with local
cloud providers to form cloud alliances in Thailand. This
would benefit the customers of every cloud provider,
because together we could provide a certain degree
of cost-effective high availability. Should a disaster
strike - natural or man-made - causing damage and
outages to their business, their business operations
could be recovered on the DR site of one of our allies,
and continue to run there until the primary cloud
provider’s operations resumed. It would also create
affordable prices for IaaS and PaaS to support
small-and medium-sized businesses, enabling them
to focus on their efficiency and productivity.
“We are committed to participating in every
possible program and activity, especially the ones that
help to bring our ISV’s and SME’s forward using cloud
as their underlying infrastructure to help develop their
businesses. We also fully support Software Park
Thailand’s attempts to form cloud alliances among
local cloud providers like True IDC, Cloud Creation,
Datapro Computer Systems, TOT and Anise Asia
(Thailand), towards an ultimate goal of getting everyone
prepared for disasters,” Suphol said.
5

6. Cloud
Growth
Visith Wattananukoon
Business Consultant of Cloud Creation
Cloud Creation aims to lead the field
Rapid growth in cloud computing
expected in new few years
Local firm Cloud Creation, which began
operations in mid-2011, is now offering public, private
and hybrid cloud services to support all kinds
of businesses.
The company’s business consultant Visith
Wattananukoon said Cloud Creation’s cloud-application
software could serve a variety of industries in terms
of Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), supporting Windows,
AIX and Open Source environments.
The firm, a subsidiary of e-business software
provider NetBay, is offering “Smart Cloud Solutions”
to support both government- and private-sector
customers with a choice of total demand, on demand
or pay-as-you-go services. It is aiming in particular at
organizations in finance and banking and at instant-on
enterprises and small-to medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) wanting to adopt a pay-as-you-go model.
“The cloud service will create benefits for our
customers, allowing them to make use of software on
demand and providing an affordable price for
information-technology infrastructure. They will find it
easy to use as well as supplying all the solutions
they need in a one-stop service. Our next step will
be to support Asean-wide connectivity,” Visith said.
He said the company’s services would enable
SME customers to use cloud solutions to employ plug-in
applications such as e-logistics and e-fulfillment to
support their businesses. Moreover, the firm is also
cooperating with Software Park Thailand to create a
cloud alliance and to help create awareness of cloud
services and support their use by local businesses.
It is also supporting local software developers by
providing a standard software-development platform
and a cloud-hosting base.
Visith expects that cloud computing will grow
rapidly in Thailand over the next few years because
50 per cent of local businesses have already begun
to use cloud computing to support their operations
and 76 per cent of local business see a move to cloud
computing as a matter of priority.
“We want to be the leader, with the ability to
provide e-business solutions and gateway services
to support business-to-business and business-
to-government transactions, as well as providing an
e-customs gateway. We are also planning to provide
an e-business-solution portal hub to various
organizations, such as finance, insurance and retail
businesses,” Visith said.
Thailand Cloud Alliance
6

7. Jantana Techasirinugool
Vice President of Product Development, TOT Public Co., Ltd.
TOT pushes cloud computing
‘High potential’ seen in
serving SME market
TOT Plc is accelerating its delivery of a range of
software services via cloud computing, with a view to
supporting small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
It claims its range of cloud services will help SMEs
to save between 30 and 50 per cent of their investment
in information-technology costs.
TOT will also take part with Software Park Thailand
in the creation of a Cloud Data Center Alliance, to
promote the use of cloud computing by SMEs.
The company’s executive vice president of product
development Jantana Techasirinugool said TOT had
begun offering cloud-computing services a couple of
years ago. This year, the firm will focus on helping the
operators of small- and medium-sized business to
understand cloud computing and encourage them to
adopt recent information-technology innovations in
order to save investment costs and drive their
businesses.
TOT will invest about Bt300 million this year to
lay down an information-technology infrastructure that
will enable it to provide commercial Internet data-center
and cloud-computing services. These will offer
applications-as-a-service with a focus on SMEs
and multinational companies, including accounting
applications, security, inventory, enterprise-resource
planning and human-resource applications, she said.
"I think we will be able to provide the Internet data-
centre service in the third quarter and cloud-computing
services by the end of this year. Cloud-computing
customers will pay service fees for on-demand services,
or a license-fee charge. Moreover, we will develop,
and are looking for, new applications to support the
government sector," Jantana said.
Meanwhile, TOT is planning to launch a Cloud App
Store, which will provide software services from more
than 10 business partners as well as its internal software
developments, such as a back-office software solution,
via the Internet. It has already launched three new
TOT cloud applications – human-resource management,
accounting and enterprise-resource planning – for
SMEs and larger businesses.
The cloud services are offered in S, M, L and XL
packages. Service fees start from Bt3,000 per user per
month. TOT also provides accounting software designed
to support SMEs such as OTOP businesses with a
monthly cost starting at Bt125 per user.
“I think the SME market has high potential for
growth,” Jantana said. “TOT wants to promote cloud
computing to help them leverage their business and
enhance their business processes, as well as helping
them to reduce investment and operational costs by
as much as 30 to 50 per cent. This will enable them
to focus solely on their business.”
The firm’s cloud-computing venture will cover the
three main categories of managing private clouds,
public clouds and hybrid clouds, as well as offering
cloud applications such as e-mail.
Jantana said TOT would join Software Park
Thailand in the creation of a Cloud Data Center Alliance,
which would be concerned with the provision of software
packages and solutions to support SMEs in Thailand,
enabling them to increase their productivity and
efficiency by using affordable software solutions via
cloud computing.
Thailand Cloud Alliance
7

8. Dr.Pasu Loharjun
Director General, Department of Industrial Promotion
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are
one of the most important elements of Thailand’s
economic development, and the Ministry of Industry’s
Department of Industrial Promotion is a major
government organization providing assistance and
support to SMEs to help them increase their business
efficiency, productivity and competitiveness.
The department’s director-general Pasu Loharjun said
that his department had been providing technology-
assistance programs continuously, to encourage SMEs
to enhance their productivity.
One of its programs with a distinguished reputation
is called Enhancing Competitiveness with Information
Technology (ECIT). It is one of many programs created
by the department to assist SMEs in many aspects
of doing business. However, it is the first in which the
department offers help for SMEs to enhance their
productivity and competitiveness by using cloud
computing technology.
Pasu said information technology was an
important focal area, and the department had provided
a wide range of assistance to Thai enterprises in this
field. ECIT was introduced four years ago and was
aimed specifically at SMEs.
“At that time, cloud computing was a new technology
for Thailand – especially for a government organization
[with a duty] to provide help for industry. We were a
pioneer in this area, offering a program to help with
this technology,” Pasu said.
The initial program will end this year. In the four
years since it was launched, about 360 SMEs have
taken part in the program.
“In total, there are about 2.9 million SMEs in
Thailand. About 500,000 of them are in the
manufacturing field, and these are our target group.
Annually, about 2,000 SMEs join the department’s
30 assistance programs covering a wide range of
business areas, such as financial, manufacturing and
management. IT is one of those,” Pasu said.
Under the ECIT program, the department
collaborates with many other organizations, included
TOT, which provides the cloud computing infrastructure
and facilities, and Software Park Thailand, which
considers the provision of software for the project
from local software companies. The department
considers and chooses SMEs to join the project.
Department ramps up cloud
assistance for SMEs
Preparedness for AEC added to
ECIT program
8

9. “To take part, SMEs have to meet our criteria.
First of all, they have to understand what cloud
computing is and what they want from this technology.
They also have to be ready to deploy this technology
in their existing business process. They come with
problems in doing business, and we help them to unlock
those problems with our program. They are trained and
join workshops. They meet software solution providers,
then they have to deploy the solutions with the
assistance of the software providers. Finally, they have
to maintain the system on their own,” Pasu said.
He said the first years of the ECIT project were
the hardest because participants had to be educated, to
make them aware of how cloud computing technology
could enhance their business processes. They were
aware only of the old model of purchasing software,
rather than the pay-per-use model of software-as-a-
service.
The ECIT program’s cloud computing platform not
only provides software solutions, such as enterprise
resource planning (ERP), accounting and inventory
solutions, but it also offers a software marketplace and
training services.
Pasu said the department planned to continue
with the project by launching a second-phase ECIT
program, lasting four years, from 2013 to 2016. In this
phase, the program will aim not only to help SMEs
enhance their competitiveness, but also to help them
prepare for implementation of the Asean Economic
Community in 2015.
The department expects to use the existing ECIT
program to assist a further 150 SMEs before the end
of this year. In its next phase, ECIT’s cloud computing
platform is expected to help around 1,800 SMEs
before the end of 2016.
“In the next phase, we will expand the software
solutions to include business intelligence and supply-
chain management over the cloud computing platform.
Therefore, we will also have to increase the number
of local software companies who are taking part in
the program. At present, there are 14 local software
companies involved with ECIT. We will also increase
the number of cloud computing platforms, and will
welcome any private data center and cloud computing
service providers to join us,” Pasu said.
He said the beauty of the project was that it
helped both local SMEs and local software companies.
The business effectiveness of SMEs is enhanced by
provision of software tools, and software companies
are offered the local market.
“This year, and for the next phase of ECIT, we will
also expand the project’s scope into provincial centers
throughout the country, with the aim of encouraging
both SMEs and local software companies in the
provinces to join the project,” Pasu said.
9

10. Dr.Supot Tiarawut
Chairman, Mobile Technology for Thailand (MT2)
Thailand’s mobile-software development industry
is preparing to take advantage of the huge opportunities
arising from the boom in mobile computing and rapid
growth of mobile devices such as smart phones and
tablets. Related organizations from both the private
and government sectors have set up a new group called
Mobile Technology for Thailand, or MT Squared (MT
2
).
The aim is to create a regional focal-point or hub for
mobile-software development in Thailand.
The objective of MT
2
is not a simple one: it aims
for nothing less than making Thailand the region’s
pre-eminent centre for mobile-software development.
Its strategy is collaboration. Private companies
and government agencies are getting together to
push the local development of mobile software and
applications and promotion of local mobile-service
businesses. It will begin with the training of human
resources for the intensely technical industry.
Reading like a Who’s Who of Thailand’s information
and communications technology industry, MT
2
’s founding
members include Software Park Thailand, the National
Electronic and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec),
Kasetsart University, King Mongkut's Institute of
Technology Lat Krabang, Microsoft (Thailand), Intel
Microelectronics (Thailand), Samart Corporation and
Spring Telecom.
The group’s members will combine their strengths
and technologies to build the elements of a mobile-
software development center. It will boost available
manpower in software development, point to success
stories involving commercial mobile-software products
and services, and generally build up the local mobile
software business.
Software Park Thailand’s director Thanachart
Numnonda said the mobile-application software market
was "very huge", and represented a big opportunity for
Thai developers as it went beyond the domestic market.
MT2
represents a center for all stakeholders in
Thailand's mobile-application development ecosystem,
pooling the resources and contributions of all founding
organizations. It will provide technological know-how,
development facilities, training and assistance to
commercial software developers.
It will also develop a database of Thai mobile-
application developers and provide them with facilities
such as technology tools, training and workshops, a
mobile application-testing center, business matching
and marketing assistance both at home and overseas.
The leader of MT
2
, Dr. Supot Tiarawut, who was
formerly a director of the Telecommunications Research
and Industrial Development Institute (Tridi), said there
were many factors supporting local developers and
their companies, the most obvious of which was that
mobile devices like smart phones and tablets were
“increasing like crazy”.
MT2: A fresh mobile
development initiative
Industry joins hands to push newcomers
towards ‘huge’ opportunities
10

11. Putchong Uthayopas
The Head of Kasetsart’s Department of Computer Engineering
The group hopes to produce 50,000 mobile-
software developers in Thailand over the next three
years to help the country reach the forefront of the global
mobile-software market.
It has three main tasks: building the availability of
human resources in mobile-software development,
building the number of mobile-software entrepreneurs
and successfully introducing both developers and
entrepreneurs to markets.
MT
2
will execute these tasks through its local
and global partners. For example, to produce human
resources, the group has been working with universities
such as Kasetsart, Sripatum and King Mongkut's
Institute of Technology Lat Krabang.
To build the number of local entrepreneurs, MT
2
is offering business-incubation services to develop
newly established software companies. This includes
working space from Software Park Thailand, tools and
technology from IT vendors who are partners of MT
2
,
and business ideas and know-how from MT
2
and
its partners.
The group is also collaborating with partners to
encourage local mobile-software developers to achieve
commercial success through contests such as the
Samart Innovation Awards (SIA) and the National
Electronics and Computer Technology Center’s New
Entrepreneur Development program, and international
roadshows.
Dr. Supot said opportunities for mobile-application
development included outsourced projects and Thai
brand building, and targeted markets were not limited
to Thailand, but covered the rest of the world, so the
opportunities were huge. In order to “catch up” with
these opportunities, MT2
felt a need to build massive
numbers of mobile developers, mobile software and
applications.
He said the three main potential market areas for
Thai mobile-software developers - and therefore the
priority - were tourism, healthcare and education or
e-learning.
Kasetsart launches Mobile Development Center
As a founding member of MT
2
, Kasetsart
University has opened a Mobile Development Center.
The head of Kasetsart’s Department of Computer
Engineering, Putchong Uthayopas, said the center
provided facilities such as high-speed Internet
connection, computers and mobile devices, including
both smart phones and tablets across the Android, iOS
and Windows Phone platforms.
The center also provides training courses in
technology and business matters. It is not open solely
to Kasetsart’s students who are skilled in mobile-
application development, but also welcomes programmers
and people who are interested in mobile development,
who can use the center as a “factory” to develop mobile
apps and then commercialize them.
“We expect to be a starter and role model for other
universities to set up facilities for their students to
develop mobile applications and software,” Putchong
said. “We will work with the industry to bring knowledge
of technology and business know-how to our students
as well,”
He said the move was part of MT
2
’s activities
to promote and encourage local mobile-software
development and developers.
Mobile Monday Thailand connects the dots
The chairman of Mobile Monday Thailand, Ville
Kulmala, said that as a part of global Mobile Monday,
his organization’s role was to encourage and support
mobile business and technology development in
Thailand by helping the facilitating and coordinating
stakeholders in the ecosystem to know one another
and to keep in touch.
“The things we do are called connecting the dots.
We set up events that enable people in the mobile
industry, including mobile operators, advertising
agencies, developers, designers and so on, to meet in
a causal atmosphere to share and exchange their
business and technology experiences. We believe that
‘more is more’. The more people you know, the more
opportunities and more knowledge and know-how
you might gain,” Kulmala said.
Opportunities are out there for mobile-related
businesses, especially software developers, with web
apps and HTML5 opening room for them, he said.
Mobile Monday is working with Software Park
Thailand and MT2
to promote local mobile-related
businesses both within Thailand and abroad.
“It is great to see the government paying attention
to support and encouragement for mobile development.
The things they are doing are similar to ours: connecting
the dots,” Kulmala said.
11

12. Adirak Patitus
President , Association of Thai ICT Industry (ATCI)
‘Cloud is the present and
the future’
Local firms urged to focus
immediately on cloud computing
After a few years of phenomenal growth, cloud
computing is now playing a vital role in IT business around
the world, and global figures show that the growth spiral
is not going to slow down any time soon.
In Thailand, IT-industry leaders are pointing to events
overseas in an effort to impress upon local IT companies
that cloud computing is their present and their future.
Independent global technology and market-research
firm Forrester Research says the global cloud computing
market will grow from a value of US$40.7 billion in 2011
to $241 billion in 2020.
The US Federal Government’s IT infrastructure is
changing at such a rate that its own cloud computing
market has entered double-digit growth, and is expected
to record a compound annual growth rate of 16 per cent
over the five years from 2013 to 2018, to reach an annual
value of $10 billion by 2018. As if that’s not big enough,
there’s a helter-skelter scramble by private firms to match
the changes, or risk missing out on federal contracts.
Covering the nearer future, the world cloud-
computing market is currently expanding at a rate of 26.2
per cent, with the expectation that it will reach a value
of $121.1 billion in 2015. Software-as-a-service (SaaS)
is the largest segment of the cloud-computing services
market, accounting for 73 per cent of the market’s revenue
in 2010.
The “wake up” call to Thailand’s IT companies,
especially software firms, has taken on a sense of urgency,
with industry leaders urging an immediate focus on cloud
computing.
Association of Thai ICT Industry (ATCI) president
Adirak Patitus, who contends that cloud computing is
actually a transformation of Internet services, says cloud
computing offers windows of opportunity for all kinds
of IT enterprises, including hardware vendors and
software firms. It should be of particular benefit to software
companies with their own software or applications that
can be offered via cloud platforms.
“Cloud is confirmed as the key technology for IT
business, now and for years into the future,” Adirak said.
“Local IT and software companies need to be aware of
its importance, and ask themselves: how can we add
value to our assets or strengths by applying them to the
cloud-computing trend?”
As well as its own extraordinary growth, cloud
computing also assists the growth of related businesses,
especially Internet, data center and data recovery center
services, he said.
“The advent of the cloud-computing era has provided
plenty of room for enterprises. It depends on each IT
and software business, whether they can find a place
somewhere on the cloud computing platform and value
chain. If they don’t, they may wither and die,” Adirak said.
Thai Software Export Promotion Association (TSEP)
president Pirasan Punyagupta said cloud-computing
technology provided key tools to help the association’s
members expand their business abroad at less cost,
but with more efficiency. Normally, he said, expanding
into an overseas market meant more investment
in resources, including people, time, infrastructure and
facilities. Cloud computing technology helps by removing
these obstacles and offering the power of expansion
with lower investment costs.
Currently, four TSEP members are offering cloud
versions of their software. They are Comanche, CT Asia,
Synature Technology and Touch Technology.
“Cloud computing allows us to provide software
services to overseas customers seamlessly. We do not
need to invest in setting up a local office and there is
no need for a lot of travel. We can provide and maintain
a high standard of services with lower costs because
of cloud computing technology,” Pirasan said.
In an effort to encourage more of its members to
adopt cloud computing, TSEP is planning to arrange a
seminar at which cloud service providers can meet
software firms. It is part of an awareness campaign
through which TSEP hopes more of its members will
see the benefits of cloud and accept its offer of cloud
technology resources.
“Software firms have to invest more in data centers
and Internet hosting, but it is a lower cost than setting up
local offices abroad. They then have to create cloud
versions of their software solutions. This is the beauty of
cloud computing,” Pirasan said.
He said his association aimed to encourage 10 more
member companies to adopt cloud computing by the
end of this year.
12