Right people taking government agency jobs - industry experts
Private-sector organisations in the software industry are hoping to witness the dawn of a new era in their industry over the next couple of months with changes of top management at the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) and Software Park Thailand.
The change at Sipa took place last week when the resignation of the agency's board of directors, including chairman Jeerasak Pongpisnupichit, took effect. The change at Software Park will occur in October when a new director, Thanachart Numnonda, takes office. He will replace Suwipa Wanasathop, who is to become assistant president of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), overseeing marketing, training and developing technology entrepreneurs and finding sources of funding.
Association of the Thai ICT Industry (ATCI) president Bunrak Saraggananda said the new Software Park director, Thanachart Numnonda, suited the role as he understood the software industry well, he had a lot of experience in both government and private sectors, and he had experience in the kind of work undertaken by Software Park.
He said the growth of the software industry needed not only collaboration, but also a good attitude in working together between the government and business sectors.
"We hope these changes will increase collaboration between the government and private sectors so that we can work together to drive the software industry forwards," Bunrak said.
Thai Software Export Promotion Association (TSEP) president Chalermpon Punnotok said the changes would bring a better time for the country's software industry because they were positive changes.
Thanachart's appointment was a good sign because he was the right person coming at the right time. His experience in the software business could strengthen Software Park in terms of managing its international and local resources because of his wide connections within the country and overseas.
Chalermpon also spoke of the imminent selection of a new board of directors for Sipa by ICT Minister Chuti Krairiksh as "another good sign." The new board was expected to include the right people, who not only understood the industry, but also had the knowledge and intention to drive it forward. Once Sipa gets the right board of directors, the right person will be appointed as its new president, he said.
"Organisations like Sipa and Software Park need the right people. They must understand information technology and the software industry, which is changing very rapidly, and understand its market game," Chalermpon said.
Thai Embedded System Association (TESA) president Apinetr Unakul said Software Park's new director Thanachart Numnonda was a suitable person to continue the good work of Software Park, even though it was a small organisation with a limited budget. Thanachart has a lot of experience in the software industry and understands it well.
As for Sipa, Apinetr said he hoped the agency would get a director with plenty of knowledge and who understood the industry well enough to begin the job immediately.
"This time we need the right person who can work immediately. This industry is changing so rapidly that we cannot wait for a good person who does not understand the industry to learn the job. The changes at both Sipa and Software Park will open up more chances for the Thai software industry," Apinetr said.
Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI) president Somkiat Ungaree said his association believed that the new board at Sipa would follow the existing direction in promoting the software industry.
"We want the Software Industry Promotion Agency to support the software industry and promote the use of local software in Thailand.
"We also expect Software Park Thailand's role to be one of facilitating infrastructure for local software companies and helping local software firms to make products with high quality and international standards. This will help to create competitiveness for the country. Meanwhile, the government agencies should support and promote a supply chain to support the software industry and [the creation of an] Asean community in 2015," Somkiat said.
Thai Animation and Computer Graphics Association (TACGA) president Luk Tachawanchai said he believed the changing executive roles would affect the industry because some projects which had been given approval might be stopped or delayed.
"We want to ask the new executives to develop a direction or a roadmap for supporting the industry and helping to create both domestic and international markets. The government should also support animation companies by providing television air time so the companies can provide TV animation programmes that will promote the industry throughout the country," Luk said.
TACGA tries to drive the industry and develop infrastructure to support the government's key performance index.
"The new executives should support a continuation of existing projects so that they will run smoothly until they are finished," Luk said.
Thai Game Industry Association (TGA) president Permbun Aimsupasit said his association did not want to see any changes in direction for existing projects, because the resulting delays would affect the entire industry.
The government should develop a direction for the ICT industry and promote use of local software by government agencies in order to create a market for local software.
Meanwhile, it should encourage wider use of software and support local companies in their efforts to achieve products measuring up to international standards, he said.