AIBP Thailand Media Workshop Takeaway: Collaboration is key to Advance Industries for Thailand 4.0
A media workshop was held last week as a preview to the 31st edition of Asia IoT Business Platform Thailand. Media partners were invited to learn about real-life examples of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in Thailand, and delve into industry specific discussions with our key partners, including Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), Dell Technologies, and SAS Software.
Opening the media workshop, Irza Suprapto, CEO of Industry Platform, shared the preliminary results of Asia IoT Business Platform (AIBP) Enterprise Survey, which showed how various industries across Southeast Asia are embracing new technologies in order to remain competitive.
(Leave a comment with your email address for more details of the survey)
“The manufacturing sector will continue to contribute to a large proportion of Thailand’s economy and labour market. The survey shows that local businesses in this sector are fairly competitive when it comes to adopting digital technology to enhance their operations. However, businesses within the services sector in Thailand seem to be slower than their peers in the rest of the Southeast Asian region in going digital, which could hamper their competitiveness and overall growth in Thailand’s economy.” said Irza.
Private Public Collaboration to Drive Smart Cities in Thailand
Dr Supakorn, EVP of depa, spoke about Thailand’s progress in smart cities development. Using Phuket as a “sample smart city”, the government has leveraged on private-public collaboration to achieve its goal of developing a sustainable tourism industry (Read more on smart cities in Thailand).
As a key partner engaged by depa, Dell Technologies shared their experience creating digital cities worldwide, and brought attention to the success of neighbouring country, Singapore.
According the Martin Yates, CTO of Dell Technologies’ Global Digital Cities Office, Singapore is a much smaller city than Thailand and is less varied geographically. This has enabled the country to be able to maximise their data management efficiently and become a Smart Nation over a relatively short time.
(Dr Supakorn and Martin addressing questions from the media)
Combining various technologies, Dell aims to help Thailand create an international environment for business and tourism. Quoting Martin - “Smart City is not just on the internet - It’s about creating a lovable city that people want to come back to.”
Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to Drive Digital Economy
Based on the AIBP Enterprise Survey, adoption of digital technology within the Retail Industry in Thailand lags behind Southeast Asia.
However, SAS Software has shown success of their clients who have leveraged on Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to maintain services and public attention.
Citing successful case studies from local retailers like HomePro and The Mall Group, Nutapone Apiluktoyanunt, Managing Director of SAS Software Thailand pointed out that retailers need to take into consideration a variety of factors including clean databases, timing and relevance to launch a successful campaign.
Combining data collected from online to offline (leveraging sensors in malls to understand buying patterns of shoppers) will help retailers stay relevant in the digital age.
Driving Digitalization Ecosystems in Thailand
(Special thanks to Irza, Dr Supakorn, Martin, Nutapone for joining us at the media workshop!)
Many of the initiatives required to achieve Thailand 4.0 would need to integrate newer technologies to ensure efficiency and usher Thailand into the future.
Endorsed by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) and co-hosted with the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA), the 31st edition of Asia IoT Business Platform on July 31 & August 1 aims to bring together public and private enterprises to discuss the opportunities within each sector, and to explore the potential of digitization in building smarter cities and efficient businesses.
Key sessions that will be discussed include:
- Designing an IoT Roadmap Architecture
- Best Practices & Overcoming Resistance
- Digital Factory & Connected Plant
- Supply Chain Management
- Smart Mobility, Energy & Management
- Smart Governance & People
- Smart Economy & Living
We look forward to engaging more partners and case studies at the upcoming activity. \(Read about Thailand 4.0 here. )
If you're looking to be involved and connect with the key enterprise leaders, or want to have a chat on Thailand’s enterprise digital market, please feel free to drop me a note at [email protected]