Sipa says it will consider and revise plans
The private sector of Thailand's information and communications technology industry has delivered a "suggestion white paper" to the government's Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), with the aim of having its ideas incorporated in official policy.
Sipa is committed to using the suggestions in a revision of its software-industry development plan, which is expected to be launched in the near future.
Preparation of the white paper was proposed by the Association of Thai Information and Communication Technology (ATCI), representing the industry's private sector, following a group discussion involving seven associations and Sipa late last year. It aims, in a wide range of recommendations and opinions, to give Sipa a private-sector view of the current market and industry, as well as outlining the needs and requirements of private operators.
In the paper, ATCI says its main suggestions cover the overall atmosphere of the industry, its supply side and its demand side.
They include rolling out a solid and clear software-promotion policy; creating a good atmosphere in the software industry; helping to create and to strengthen local software companies; and creating markets for them.
ATCI president Bunrak Saraggananda said that Sipa should first formulate a promotion policy with criteria and key performance indices in order to provide guidelines that the industry and the private sector could follow. Such a clear policy will also help to create a good atmosphere in the industry, he said.
"A clear policy means that Sipa should unveil its action plan for what areas of the software industry are its priorities; how it will provide support and according to what measurements it will distribute its budget," Bunrak said.
Moreover, to encourage the industry, Sipa should work towards creating simpler processes for both local and global software companies to run their businesses. For example, the agency should remove difficult processes that arise when software companies ask for support. It should also coordinate with other government organisations to provide incentives for software companies, such as tax cuts.
Bunrak said Sipa should help to develop the supply side of local industry to give it strength, for example hosting a competition to encourage the creation of the best potential applications. This kind of activity would help the government agency to spend its annual budget effectively, he said.
He gave as examples the Thailand Information and Communication Technology Awards and the Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology Awards, saying that many Thai software companies had good products that should be given broader opportunities through Sipa's support.
Moreover, he said, there were several existing projects for which Sipa could offer its support, such as the ICT Human Resources Certification Programme and the IT Training Cluster in the northern region, both of which were initiated by the private sector.
Finally, the ATCI wants Sipa to help create markets for local software vendors by creating demand in both the government and private sectors. This, it says, will help strengthen Thai software businesses and improve their competitiveness before they attempt to enter foreign markets.
Bunrak said there were many activities that Sipa could support in order to help build demand for local software to match supply. He gave as examples the ICT Industry Summit, the SME-ICT Engagement Network, ATCI's bi-annual conference, CIO Networking Night, the Government ICT Forum 2010 and Education ICT Forum 2010.
"ATCI is working to arrange the Regional Software Summit 2010 and Thailand is likely to be the host country for APRICOT [Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies] 2012. Sipa could play a role in supporting the Thai software industry on the global stage as well," Bunrak said.
Sipa's chairman Jeerasak Pongpisanupichit said all requests and information in the white paper would be considered at a meeting of Sipa's board, at which the agency's policy would be revised. It is expected that the revised policy will be completed and launched in the not too distant future, he said.
