IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Thailand is set to launch an ambitious digital roadmap that will propel its digital industry forward, empower workers and position it at the forefront of the global digital revolution.

The strategic plan comprising eight projects under the “Digital Infinity” concept is being launched jointly by the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa).

A group of IT professionals have opened a research center for information and communication technology (ICT) in Thailand to aid the country's ICT masterplan, Smart Thailand.

“This is to promote cloud awareness and encourage local developers to provide more software as a service (SaaS) on cloud. Currently, thai software companies don’t seem to be aware of the importance of being on cloud platform, so there are only a few thai software available under SaaS model,” said Software Park’s Director Dr Thanachart Numnonda.

Dr Sak Segkhoonthod, President and CEO of the EGA announced that the EGA’s focus in 2013 will be to provide more Software as a Service (SaaS), creating a Government Application Centre (GAC), and pushing forward Open Government IT project to further integrate data and services for citizens, and lastly implementing ‘Smart Box’ programme to connect with and deliver government services for remote communities.

The topic of G-Cloud attracted wide attention from the audience as a response to its nationwide implementation starting in April. Many agencies are on the waiting list to use the G-Cloud facility provided by Electronic Government Agency (EGA). Therefore, the forum was the first occasion for government ICT decision makers and executives to gather at the same venue for in-depth discussions about G-Cloud’s prospects.

As the government sharpens it focus on ICT, a digital drive is taking shape in Thailand, underpinned by plans that include incentives for investors and improved communications infrastructure.

While the push to accelerate ICT development in Thailand remains at an early stage, several key targets have already been announced, including plans to extend internet access to all households and businesses by 2017 and boost storage capacity.

Top exec says NT ready to facilitate the transition

National Telecommunications Plc (NT) is preparing to expand its support for government agencies transitioning their systems to cloud platforms under the "Go Cloud First" policy of the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, which aims to migrate all government systems to the cloud by next year.

The new platform will offer a complete range of cloud services to both the public and private sectors.

A collaboration between the leading carrier-neutral data centre and cloud service provider in Thailand and the Thailand branch of a massive e-commerce company has produced the country’s first in-country interactive and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled cloud platform.

Instead of waiting for the people to request the government procurement information, the initiative optimises and integrates reliable data from government agencies, performs data analytics and presents it in easy-to-understand formats including dashboards, maps and infographics via a single digital channel.

As Thai citizens are obliged to pay direct and indirect taxes to the Thai government, we always ask ourselves, “How does the government spend my taxes for my or the country’s benefits”? or in short “Where do our taxes go”?

Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital has digitized as many aspects of hospital work as it can, enabling it to more than double the number of patients it can handle each day, increase safety and cut its patients' bills. "It's made a significant difference," said Chang Foo, the hospital's chief technology officer.

Thailand is pushing ahead with its ambition to become a regional digital economy hub as global technology giants seek a strategic destination to invest in data centers and cloud-related services, the country's Public Relations Department said on Wednesday.

According to Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI), the Southeast Asian country has so far approved 37 projects involving data centers and cloud computing services, with a combined investment value of 98.53 billion baht (2.69 billion U.S. dollars).

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES) on November 20 incentivised smart city development by offering a 50% cut in corporate tax for three years.

DES Minister Prasert Chanthararuangthong announced the move during a seminar titled “Thailand Smart City 2024” in Bangkok.

Prasert said the Pheu Thai-led government is focusing on developing provincial hubs into smart cities in seven fields – transport, energy, economy, citizen, living, public services, and the environment.

The flood map, which the Ministry aptly called the Thai Crisis Planner and Reporter, was developed by the Chulalongkorn University. It is an open-source geographic information system and can provide floodwater details and water levels for all 50 districts of Bangkok.

The launch of the e-CMS system for the government — called “e-Saraban as a Service on G-Cloud” or “e-Saraban” in short — was announced in the seminar for public hearing about the CMS standard, organised by the Electronic Government Agency. ICT Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Chaiyan Peungkiatpairote presided over the event in front of the government officers in charge of operating CMS system from different agencies.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two parties at the International academic Conference 2013 on “Education for Thailand’s Future” between June 23 and 25. The development will be a part of the OEC’s effort in producing educational indicators that would allow the government a better management on education.

Some e-services will be tried out and the entire province will be connected to wireless broadband for residents and tourists, said ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap.

He said the government is on track to make the country Smart Thailand as all elements, including network, cloud, content or services, and security are being done to support the e-government. And Nakhon Nayok will be a pilot project to demonstrate the possibilities of the Smart Thailand initiative.

Somphob Amatayakul, chairman of the Office of the Civil Service Commission's sub-committee on the development of e-government systems, said the survey was aimed at encouraging countries to improve their e-government systems to serve the public more efficiently.

Depa has signed a MoU with Silpakorn University and Dassault Systèmes to foster smart city development and enhance the digital skills of the Thai workforce.

The MoU is designed to help position Thailand as the smart city hub of the Asean region

Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa), Silpakorn University in Bangkok and technology company and digital twin platform specialist Dassault Systèmes have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster smart city development and enhance the digital skills of the Thai workforce over the next three years.

After an MOU was signed between the MICT and Ministry of Tourism and Sports last year, Krabi has been selected to be the first province to embark on this pilot project, and be the first step towards installing up to 1,615 hotspots at 100 tourist attractions across the country, said MICT Permanent Secretary Chaiyan& Peungkiatpairote.

Thailand is planning to build a $37 billion smart city in an industrial hub near Bangkok that’s already drawn billions of dollars of investment pledges from global automotive, robotics, healthcare and logistics companies.

A master-plan to build the city in Huai Yai subdistrict of Chonburi province, some 160 kilometers (99 miles) southeast of Bangkok, was approved by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Monday. The yet-to-be-named city will be spread over 14,619 rais (2,340 hectares) of land and will cost 1.34 trillion baht ($37 billion) over the next 10 years, officials said.