Thai firms embracing cloud services
THAILAND'S "digital economy" initiative will create new business opportunities using cloud computing technology for both start-ups and established companies, according to Rick Harshman, Amazon Web Service's head of Asean markets.
He said the Thai policy would bring about a new competitive advantage for the country, which was one of the five key markets for AWS in Asean.
“We’ve seen a big demand for our training programme for cloud services in Bangkok,” he said, adding that AWS is also providing training and certification on the latest technology in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and Manila.
He said the demand for cloud services, in which computing capacity, storage and related information-technology services are provided and paid for as a utility like electricity, is evolving rapidly in the 10-country Asean market.
Among the benefits of cloud technology are speed, agility, and lower cost for users, as they do not have to invest substantially upfront in IT infrastructure to start Internet-based or digital businesses.
In Thailand, Ascend of the Charoen Pokphand Group is one of the major users of cloud services for e-commerce, e-payment, financial and other digital services.
In Malaysia, iFlix, a movie-streaming subscription service, has also turned to cloud technology to serve various markets in Asean, including Thailand.
Harshman said a Singapore-based shipping company had moved its on-premise IT infrastructure to the cloud, while Singtel was providing on-demand TV using cloud services.
“In the Philippines, our customers include telecom, retailing, and fast-food companies. In Indonesia, the Wilmar conglomerate is a major customer,” he said, adding that many corporates have turned to cloud technology for new services while keeping sensitive or strategic data on their premises.
The widespread use of social-media apps in Thailand and other Asean countries will further accelerate the adoption of cloud technology.
He said the 600-million-people Asean grouping also had relatively high Internet and smartphone penetration rates, resulting in a fast-growing demand for new digital and mobile services.
Ash Crick, chief technology officer of Malaysia-based iFlix, said the company would launch its monthly movie subscription service in Thailand shortly.
Without cloud technology, it is not feasible to launch such an operation in multiple cross-border markets with a relatively low IT investment cost, he said.
Besides Malaysia and Thailand, iFlix is expanding into the Philippines with a focus on Hollywood, Southeast Asian and local movies in these three markets where cable and satellite TV services are still pre-dominant. He added that movie-streaming services would shortly catch on like in US and other markets where Wi-Fi and Internet access is widely available.
Eric Tsai, chief technology officer of KKBox, a Taiwan-based music subscription start-up, said cloud technology allowed the company to launch its service quickly across national borders with a relatively low investment cost.
KKBox currently provides its service in six markets, namely Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.
In Thailand, it has teamed up with GMM and Advanced Info Service for a monthly subscription service costing Bt89. With a database of more than 20 million Thai, Asian and Western songs, customers are allowed to download music to a maximum of three devices.
In Thailand, Tsai said, KKBox shares its revenue with GMM and AIS as most customers buy the subscription via mobile phones.
“In the six markets, we now have a combined 2 million monthly subscribers. Unlike Spotify, which provides mainly Western music, KKBox’s focus is on local songs.
“About 80 per cent of our usage is for local music while the rest is a mix of Western and other music,” he said, adding that the target groups in Thailand are urban consumers aged 22 to 35.
