Thailand’s first Big Data plan targets eight critical gaps to build a data-driven economy
The 2025–27 strategy seeks to connect fragmented databases, develop skilled workers and establish a shared data-exchange infrastructure
- The plan targets critical gaps such as siloed national datasets stored across different agencies and the absence of a central open-data repository.
- It aims to address a significant shortage of people with advanced data skills and the low level of public data literacy.
- The strategy will tackle issues related to cybersecurity risks, concerns over the Personal Data Protection Act, and inadequate laws for disclosing high-value data.
- Another key focus is to reduce Thailand's dependence on foreign technology and improve the ineffective application of Big Data for development at the local level.
Thailand’s first national Big Data strategy has identified eight critical gaps that must be addressed to build a data-driven economy and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign technology.
The Cabinet acknowledged the draft Strategy for Driving Big Data Utilisation for 2025–27 on Monday (July 27), following a proposal by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
Prepared by the Big Data Institute (Public Organization), or BDI, the plan is intended to guide the use of large-scale data in driving Thailand’s economy and society over the next three years. The institute is a public agency under the ministry’s supervision.
Eight gaps restricting Thailand’s Big Data use
A BDI assessment identified eight limitations preventing Thailand from making full use of Big Data:
- Important national datasets are stored separately by different agencies.
- Thailand lacks people with advanced data skills, while public data literacy remains limited.
- Cybersecurity risks and concerns over the Personal Data Protection Act affect consent for disclosing information.
- Digital information-disclosure laws do not adequately cover high-value data.
- Big Data has not been effectively applied to development at the local level.
- Thailand purchases and uses more foreign innovation than it develops for export.
- Projects connecting information systems and developing platforms lack sustainable financial support.
- There is no central open-data repository or sufficient collection of successful case studies for other sectors to adopt.
The strategy seeks to address these weaknesses by creating a more complete data ecosystem, covering the development, management, exchange and practical use of information.
Three foundations for a data-driven economy
The draft strategy establishes three main foundations for Thailand’s transition towards a data-driven economy.
The first is to support participants in the data and artificial-intelligence industries by promoting research, innovation and service development.
It also calls for faster development of skilled workers on both sides of the data economy, including people who produce, manage and analyse data as well as those who use it.
The second foundation is the establishment of common technical standards for managing and connecting databases.
These standards are intended to make large datasets easier to analyse and apply while maintaining strict personal-data protection and cybersecurity safeguards.
The third is a shared data-exchange infrastructure that government agencies and private organisations can use immediately.
The central system is intended to reduce duplicated investment and operating costs, while allowing participating organisations to develop new services more quickly.
Government agencies consulted on draft plan
The draft strategy went through consultations with stakeholders, including major government agencies and state enterprises.
Participants included the Department of Business Development, the Revenue Department and National Telecom Public Company Limited, or NT.
The plan was revised following the consultations before receiving approval from the BDI board and being submitted to the Cabinet for acknowledgement.
It will serve as the strategic framework for expanding Thailand’s use of Big Data between 2025 and 2027.
