IT DISTRIBUTORS EYE SMART DEVICES, CLOUD

Two giant IT distributors in Thailand – The Values Systems and Synnex (Thailand) – will focus their businesses on smart devices and cloud computing to support the new lifestyle and behaviour of customers. 

 

Somsak Pejthaveeporndej, president of The Value Systems, said the company has divided its business into three main areas – distribution, enterprise and solutions. The firm is targeting expanding its business by supporting the modern lifestyle of businesses and customers. It plans to become a distributor of smart-phone products and also provide cloud service to businesses. 

 

As a distributor, the firm provides hardware, software and peripheral products to the consumer market through some 3,500 dealers and modern trade outlets nationwide. The firm also sells Dell smart phones. It also aims to be a distributor of other smart phone brands such as Samsung and Nokia in the near future. The revenue ratio in the distribution business is 55 per cent consumers and 45 per cent commercial market. 

 

In 2011, the lion’s share of the company’s consumer revenue came from the Bangkok market, which accounted for 70 per cent, while 30 per cent came from upcountry. It expects to boost revenue from upcountry to 35 per cent by the end of this year. In the commercial market, the firm earned 85 per cent of its revenue from Bangkok and 15 per cent from upcountry. It aims to boost upcountry revenue to 20 per cent this year. 

 

The company’s enterprise business provides Unix, hardware, software security software solutions as well as consultancy to businesses. This year, the firm is also expanding into new business areas by setting up a cloud services team. It is also joining hands with Internet Thailand to provide public cloud to support businesses and the commercial market. The solutions business provides fixed notebooks, implements IT projects and provides consultancy for enterprise businesses. 

 

“This year, we will focus our business on the retail market and drive business upcountry to tap the high potential there. Also, 80 per cent of Thai people live upcountry. Therefore, it is a huge opportunity to expand our businesses,” said Somsak. 

 

The company expects revenue growth in single digit this year due to the impact of the floods last year. 

 

He said the company has 10 service centres nationwide – Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Phuket and Rayong provinces. The firm will open a new service centre in Nongkhai province within this quarter. 

 

Supant Mongkolsuthree, president of Synnex (Thailand), said that the high growth of smart devices this year will bring incremental revenue from the normal growth rate. The commercial segment growth will be more than the consumer segment growth. Software solutions such as security and protection will grow more than ever due to Internet usage and cloud computing.

 

Supant said the overall IT market in Thailand will continue to grow but may not be as strong in the first quarter of this year. From the second quarter until the end of the year, the growth rate should be back to as high as 10-15 per cent when compared to 2011. Computers and software solutions will continue to be refreshed due to technology changes in hardware and software. Faster computers at affordable prices will help IT departments make decisions to increase the company’s competitive edge.

 

He said growth be less than 10 per cent in the first quarter. Synnex aims to grow at about 15 per cent. Although the global economic situation could have some impact, it should be minimal to the IT industry in Thailand due to low penetration of desktops and notebooks. The political situation will have only minimum impact as IT has become one of the most critical components in GDP growth and the government needs to maintain or increase budget for IT spending, he said.

 

He said business growth this year will be driven by smart devices such as smart phones and tablets that create incremental business and the need of corporates to upgrade their computer equipment to gain competitive advantage. 

 

“I think smart devices will continue to grow substantially, especially the android market which is seeing continuous growth and has become the market leader in the US market. The world economy will be a negative factor this year as the situation in Europe cannot be solved easily.

More smart devices will increase overall IT spending as mobile computing and Internet usage continue to play an important role to our lives. Cloud computing and storage will grow more this year as consumer behaviour changes, accessing information anywhere and anytime from any devices,” said Supant.