New IT systems to revitalise TOT

TOT is to enhance its back-end IT infrastructure and develop an enterprise information system (ENTIS) to improve the quality of its services, support its organisation and customers and provide for new services in the future.

 Senior executive vice president Kittipong Tameyapradit said that because TOT was a large organisation it had to deal with huge amounts of information, and in TOT's case, this information was scattered. Therefore, the company aims to develop the enterprise information system to improve its database management and the quality of its services.

The ENTIS is an integrated data warehouse and data-mining system capable of providing analyses and helping executives to make business and operational decisions. The system will also assist in management of TOT's finances, human resources and networking. It will break down the complexity of the organisation's reporting requirements, replacing more than 1,700 reports with about 200 in future. It is expected to save the cost of TOT's annual investment-related report, involving 453 branch offices and delivering around Bt60 million to the company's head office every year.

Moreover, TOT is adopting technology to change the management of its 1177 call centre, which handles complaints. Geographical information (GIS) and customer-relationship management (CRM) systems are being integrated into the call centre's technology. Information will be recorded in a database and customer locations monitored so services can be provided efficiently and the location of calls displayed on a monitor screen.

The changes will also enhance the company's provision of service-level agreements with large customers.

"We have now integrated GIS into the system in Phuket and plan to invest Bt180 million to integrate GIS into the system in six more provinces, so that staff are able to monitor information and the location of customers without the need to go into the field before services are provided. Meanwhile, executives will able to access real-time information from their computers," Kittipong said.

 Formerly, when customers reported a breakdown in services from fixed telephone lines or other network infrastructure, TOT had to send staff into the field to check the condition of the network. With the new system, staff will able to monitor the customer's problem and location, and the state of the network infrastructure, from display monitors in the office. As result, the company will be able to provide services in 15 minutes, rather than three days.

TOT expects to invest around Bt1 billion next year to develop billing management and customer relationship management systems to support existing and new services.

 Under the billing management system, it aims to deliver a single bill to customers covering a range of services. 

"We have already integrated service-fee charges for new 3G telephone services and existing ADSL as well as fixed-line telephone fees. As result, customers will able to pay for all these services with just one bill," Kittipong said.

TOT is also planning to enter business partnerships, both international and domestic, to develop Internet-protocol TV services in the near future, he said.