CHON BURI RECEIVES IBM 'SMARTER CITIES' GRANT
Thailand has been selected as one of 20 growth countries that IBM will focus on intensively for investment, with Chon Buri chosen to receive an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant, following the grant awarded to Chiang Mai last year.
Tim Wong, vice president for General Business, IBM Asean, said that the company will focus on medium-sized enterprises in six growth markets in Asean, as they are one of the fastest-growing segments of the Asean economy and one that is generating strong demand. Roughly 50 per cent of the IT opportunities in each country are located outside the capital cities, Wong said.
“This year, IBM’s business strategy is to concentrate on 20 countries selected for focused investment. There are only 20 countries chosen from among 140 countries in IBM’s growth markets. And they include six major Asean countries,” Wong said.
According to IBM, growth markets generated 22 per cent of the company’s global revenue last year, and the company aims to have 30 per cent of its total global revenue come from growth markets by 2015. IBM identified 140 countries from a total of 170 where IBM has a business presence.
He added that the company would focus more on 25 existing cities as market footprints in six countries. Four of the cities are in Thailand: Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima and Songkhla. Its strategy is to work with local business partners including distributors, independent software developers, application developers and solution providers to offer the right solutions for prospective customers. The company’s studies show that medium-sized businesses need four main solutions: business analytics, cloud computing, collaboration systems and mobile solutions.
“We are expanding our business beyond major cities. We are working to spur innovation in this segment, and across our footprint of 25 cities, by delivering advanced IT solutions, once reserved for bigger businesses with bigger budgets, through increased local presence and strong relationships with local business partners,” said Wong.
He added that IBM is looking to grow the existing 25 branches in the coming months. The opening of the new branch offices across Asean will give a boost to IBM’s business in the region, enabling it to strengthen its relationships with clients and partners and provide solutions and services in high-growth areas such as information management, IT security, cloud computing and business analytics, he said.
“Asean is a region of opportunity and growth. It will be an economically integrated free trade zone by 2015. This region also has seen urbanisation explode at 1.5 times the global average. IBM is committed to market expansion for the long-term in this region. We have built our foundation of 25 remote city locations to accelerate our growth in the years ahead,” Wong said.
IBM Thailand’s general business manager for non-metropolitan areas, Wiboon Thanandornsuk, said that this year IBM Thailand is focusing on the upcountry market. It will operate through its four “lite” branches in Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Nakhon Ratchasima and Songkhla, and its two satellite branches in Hat Yai and Khon Kaen. The company this year is also working with local partners to turn Chon Buri into the company’s second Smarter City, following Chiang Mai.
Last year, Chiang Mai was one of 24 cities worldwide selected to receive IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants. The grants provide the cities with access to IBM’s top experts to analyse and recommend ways they can become even better places in which to live, work and play, the firm said.
The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant programme in which IBM is awarding a total of US$50 million (about Bt1.5 billion) worth of technology and services to 100 municipalities worldwide over the next three years. Teams of specially selected IBM experts will provide city leaders with analysis and recommendations to support successful growth, better delivery of municipal services, more citizen engagement and improved efficiency.
This year, Chon Buri has been selected to receive an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant. It is the second consecutive year that Thailand has been selected. Chon Buri’s industrial and tourism sectors are seen as has having potential to be involved in the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge.
