Factory for open-source programming

Soon, a factory will lead the push for development of open-source code software  for Thai industries, locally.

The Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI), the Industrial Promotion Department, the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), Microsoft (Thailand), Rangsit University and 20 local software companies have joined hands to set up the country's first software factory.

ATSI president Somkiat Ungaree said the software factory is expected to open in the next two months. It will be housed at Rangsit University. The factory will receive Bt3 million in funding from the Industrial Promotion Department and Bt2 million from Sipa.

The factory's first project will be developing a prototype of small-size manufacturing resource planning (MRP) software used in small and medium manufacturing plants.

A number of software companies have agreed to send in experts who will be part of the software-building team at the factory.

He said 100 programmers from the 20 local software companies, would be trained in Microsoft's .Net platform at the factory. They will then develop open-source code software two days a week at the factory.

Microsoft (Thailand) will help train the local programmers in .Net technology. The programmers will get a certificate from the company at the end of the training period.  

"For the first three months, programmers will be trained to design MRP software. After the training is over, the programmers will work collaboratively on programme coding for three months to develop MRP software," he said.

The association hopes that the factory will come out with an MRP software prototype by the end of the year. The open-source code software, Somkiat said, would allow local software companies to design additional features to suit the needs of a manufacturing plant.

"We hope that the move will not only give small and medium-sized manufacturing plants the tools to improve their work processes, but also give a software-product base to local software companies. The software companies can tailor the open-source software as per the demands of the industry," he said.

There are more than 10,000 manufacturing plants in Thailand which are yet to adopt information technology to manage their production process.

The project will take new technology to the plants and help them improve manufacturing efficiency, Somkiat said.

The association hopes that after the project, at least 2,000 manufacturing plants will install MRP software. This will help them build a stronger supply chain.

After the first .Net-based MRP project, the factory will extend training to cover other technology platforms, Somkiat said.

"We hope the factory will serve as a model for software development for the industry," he added.

      At a glance

n The software factory is expected to open in the next two months.

n It will receive Bt3 million in funding from the Industrial Promotion Department and Bt2 million from Sipa.

n The factory will serve as a model for open-source code software development.