How Thailand is ramping up its Technological Landscape

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Technology and innovations have been playing a crucial role in Thailand’s recent economic growth. Today, all kinds of businesses are facing enormous challenges in adapting to technological advancements, which would continue to impact every sector over the coming years. A business in Thailand would have to invest significantly in various technologies for the purpose of remaining afloat. Therefore, opportunities in Thailand for IT solutions providers are on the upswing.

Managing an economy today, as big as the Thai economy isn’t easy. But managing the economy for tomorrow? That’s a real test. It’s one which the Thai government is tackling head-on, with several new policies designed to future-proof its industry and workforce, particularly in the automotive, robotics, and agriculture sectors.

These measures, collectively known as Thailand 4.0, are designed for incentivizing FDIs and nurturing innovation in the domestic industries. The aim is to foster a Thai ecosystem that encourages emerging technology, creativity and innovation. The efforts range from Thailand’s present areas of strength—like electronics and automotive industries—to nextgeneration industries like robotics and healthcare.

5G ready

Thailand was one of the early-adopting countries of the 5G technology. Thailand’s 4.0 economic initiative augurs well the digital aspiration which the country has. When it comes to enterprises and industries, Thailand is among the key industrial hubs with numerous potential businesses seeking modernisation of their operations with the help of 5G technology. Thailand needs a programmable, efficient and secure and 5G network which brings opportunities for businesses in this sector for both overseas and domestic.

Thailand’s Focus on HealthTech

Thailand’s rising emphasis on digitalization for promoting and integrating the use of modern technology in its healthcare sector would have a progressive and significant impact. Under Thailand 4.0 scheme, the Thai government has launched several healthcare applications like H4U – a health profile app), Smart Health ID – a cloud service for patient administration and telehealth and telemedicine apps in the last couple of years.

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Thailand offers a favourable environment for investment and business opportunities in Thailand particularly in digital health. The government of Thailand is also using 5G technology and AI (Artificial Intelligence) for combatting the current pandemic. It is helping doctors accurately and quickly diagnose the stages of illness. Thailand is demonstrating success in offering better health services by improving its HealthTech industry. Nevertheless, Thailand still has much to cover in its HealthTech sector to be at par with other neighbouring countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

Thailand’s move towards robotics

Thailand’s brave moves in the automotive sector is demonstrating a blueprint for success in various sectors. Thailand’s robotics industry, certain of its growth prospects and how intertwined automation is with auto production, incentives are being offered for attracting robotics firms. The Thai government is offering incentives in the field of robotics with the objective of overseas as well as domestic investors setting up business in Thailand and building jobs in manufacturing, designing and servicing these new tools.

Manufacturing Adopting IoT

Thailand’s economy, which has been traditionally dependent on agricultural exports, has reinvented itself in the past few decades. To drive the Thai industry forward and preserve its competitiveness, Thailand is looking to move from age-old assembly lines with staff carrying out repetitive tasks to the implementation of smart machines and automation.

Smart manufacturing employs data analytics for improving the performance of the overall manufacturing process and helps develop connected solutions to automate manufacturing operations. For instance, plant managers can access the production data instantly through their mobile phones or access the inventory available with just a push of a button.

Broad Applications of Blockchain

Keeping with Thailand 4.0’s stress on using digital technologies for spurring the country’s economic growth and development, the government of Thailand is exploring the feasibility of blockchain technology for creating value-added services for its mainstream industries. Blockchain technology has thrived not just in the cryptocurrency space but in numerous traditional industries in Thailand.

In 2017, Thailand Post started using blockchain technology for its warehousing, shipping, sorting, and delivery processes for enhancing its operational efficiency. In 2019, Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce started exploring blockchain technology in the areas of agriculture, trade finance and copyright for boosting Thailand’s credibility concerning intellectual property. During that time, Thailand’s Ministry of Finance also started exploring the use of blockchain for tracking tax payments and detecting tax fraud.

Thailand has developed as one of the most interesting and cryptocurrency countries in Asia. As of today, blockchain is increasingly used in food safety, real estate, asset management and intellectual property. Several market players are also exploring the possibilities of employing blockchain technology in managing problems across industries – from manufacturing and healthcare to finance and retailing. Some of the local Thai companies have confidence that blockchain technology would play a crucial part in their business and priority in their planning.

Data Protection and Cybersecurity

As the digital economy of Thailand grows, cybercrimes and privacy rights have turned out to be major concerns. The country currently offers legal protection for specific types of personal data in areas under the Financial Institution Business Act and National Health Act. However, such restricted protection isn’t adequate when personal data is spread via several channels, platforms and devices.

In early 2019, Thailand approved a Cybersecurity Bill and a Personal Data Protection Bill. The Bills are designed to directly govern the use, collection, storage, and processing of personal data. The bills are intended to implement legal safeguards for ensuring national security in cyberspace and protecting the privacy of personal data.

Fuelled by the rising demand for data protection requirements, awareness about data privacy is increasing in Thailand. Consumers are avoiding companies they don’t trust with their data. So, there is a huge demand for service providers in this sector as Thai businesses are facing the huge challenge of protecting their customer information from corruption, theft and unauthorised access.

Thailand’s digital transformation is intensely altering every facet of how businesses in Thailand operate and contest. With the rise of data which enterprises produce, store and manipulate, continues to grow, securing data is becoming a big business in Thailand. Data security services work in tandem with cyber security and network security services for keeping companies safe from attackers and preparing them to effectively respond if any incident occurs. From data protection, backups and recovery to data reuse, there are ample opportunities for cybersecurity businesses in Thailand as organisations want to keep their data secure and available for their operations, products and services.

AgriTech and FoodTech

In 2017, Thailand’s Board of Investment received 215 applications for projects associated with agriculture and agricultural products, worth over $1.9 billion. This illustrates how crucial agriculture is for Thailand. Most of the projects has been greenlighted by the Thai government and would steer the sector towards AgriTech and FoodTech. One of the key components of AgriTech is smart farming, a farming framework driven by technology that uses innovations like GPS, data analytics and automation through robotics for increasing the quality and yield of agricultural products. Over time, this blend of BOI incentives, entrepreneurial initiative and innovative technology, can help Thailand in shaping the future
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Finally
Today, digital disruption has become a major force across industries globally. Hence, the majority of global executives acknowledge that their industries would be disrupted to a transformative extent. In Thailand, it’s interesting to discover how Thai companies implement and develop digital transformation in today’s era of digital disruption. Thailand continues to make great strides towards digitalisation. With a robust industrial policy favouring digitalisation, the country is on the cusp of becoming a digital behemoth through its 4.0 digital revolution.