A group of leading software-industry organisations is to stage the first Bangkok Software Summit this month in an effort to demonstrate the readiness of the local industry to serve both government and private-sector customers.
The Association of Thai Information and Communication Technology Industry (ATCI) and Software Park Thailand, with the support of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), hope that their software-industry showcase will reveal the skills and expertise of local companies.
ATCI president Bunrak Saraggananda said the first Bangkok Software Summit would be held on September 22 and September 23 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. It will aim to promote local software technology - in particular the recent winners of Thailand Information and Communication Technology (Ticta) Awards - to potential customers and stakeholders through the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) - a group of IT-industry associations from countries in the Asia and Oceania region.
"This kind of event is not new. We held such an event as a part of the Information and Communications Technology Ministry's ICT Expo. But it is the first year under the name 'Bangkok Software Summit'. And we plan to continue arranging it as an annual event," Bunrak said.
The summit will feature both conferences and technology booths, with government and private organisations taking part.
Conferences will cover the future of technology trends, IT- and software-related business and implementation of e-government. Speakers are coming from 11 countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Canada and Japan.
Meanwhile, the booths will showcase local software solutions and services, many of them winners of Ticta Awards over recent years.
"We expect that about 1,000 people will visit the summit from the private and government sectors of about 11 countries in Asia, to attend the conferences. We want this event to be a landmark for the software industry in Thailand," Bunrak said.
The concept for the Bangkok Software Summit is 'Software: the Untold Value Maker'. As part of the event, Software Park Thailand will announce the creation of 'Software Park Thailand: Hall of Fame 2010', to recognise distinguished local software firms.
The cost of the event - about Bt4 million - will be supported by Sipa and Software Park Thailand.
One of the main objectives of the Bangkok Software Summit will be to provide a stage from which local software and ICT companies can meet potential customers from overseas. As well, it will promote the use of ICT in Thailand's government sector through case studies of e-government projects in other countries. It will also aim to build confidence among business investors.
"There are a lot of good local software solutions and services that are not only commercial, but have also been certified by the Ticta awards. We want to promote these local software products to potential domestic and overseas targets attending this event," Bunrak said.
ATCI aims to build the Bangkok Software Summit as an international event recognised among Asian countries, he said.