Bangkok--23 Aug--Hill & Knowlton
Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. executives today kicked off the new fiscal year by underscoring their optimism for the growth of the local Microsoft operations and the national IT industry.
During today’s annual business direction press conference, Microsoft Managing Director Andrew McBean shared the company’s plans for expansion across the business, including increased staff, doubling of the Microsoft office space, and larger budgets for marketing, training and development, partner relations, educational grants and social programs to bring IT to the disadvantaged.
McBean also projected an aggressive growth rate of 27 percent for the Microsoft Thailand business in FY07.
“If ever there was an ideal time to be a Microsoft customer, partner or employee, it’s right now,” said McBean. “Microsoft’s wave of innovation, which will continue with new product launches over the next 12 months, will be one of the most exciting times in Microsoft’s history. We’re committed to empowering every customer in Thailand with solutions that will further enable them to work the way they need to work, to drive real business value and to expand the knowledge economy in Thailand. This year will be a great one across the board.”
The new Microsoft software and services scheduled for delivery to customers in the near future include Microsoft Windows Vista?, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office Live and Microsoft Dynamics? CRM Live.
Road Map to Success, Expansion & Growth in Thailand
Set against a backdrop of opportunities for growth, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd laid out its ambitious road-map for 2007. High on the company’s agenda are four guiding principles:
Help companies drive business value by demonstrating the true potential of software and the value it provides to their bottom line.
Make a positive social impact in Thailand by serving the underserved with IT skills, volunteerism and software donations.
Thrive as an industry leader by acting responsibly in business affairs, IT innovations and relations with all people.
Build the local software ecosystem and economy in Thailand, driving jobs and wealth for the entire country.
“Microsoft is incredibly focused on these four guiding principles,” said McBean. “Driving business value, making a positive social impact, being a responsible industry leader and building the local software ecosystem are our top priorities. Everything we do is focused on bringing these principles to life every day.
Creating Customer Value
Ekasit Wiwattanaprasit, director of Strategic Information & Administration, Se-Education Public Company Limited, spoke to the value that software brings to his organization during a segment of the press conference dedicated to customer value.
Citing Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Visual Studio.Net, Microsoft SQL Server and the Microsoft SharePoint Portal as tools used by Se-Education, K. Ekasit said “Microsoft products add value to our business and give us a competitive edge in the marketplace. At Se-Education, we see software as an investment that will help us gain insights into our business, serve customers more efficiently and prosper in a complex business.”
Across all of its business units, Microsoft executives promised to drive home the value of Microsoft solutions as the leaders in creating efficiencies and cost effectiveness for customer organizations.
In addition to focusing on the public sector and continuing to implement .NET technology in FY07, Microsoft executives expressed excitement about the Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization Initiative (IOI), a process that will lead to growth as business leaders and IT managers embrace a new thinking about the value of IT. Analysts from Gartner Research have endorsed IOI as a game changer for businesses.
“Enlisting IOI, Microsoft can show customers how to reap greater profits and value by leveraging IT,” said Derek Brown, marketing director Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. “Under our IOI models, IT infrastructure is no longer identified as a cost and is instead used as a way for companies to grow and increase profit.”
Brown notes that Microsoft is offering workshops and free online assessments for companies that want to learn more about IOI.
Microsoft is also seeing continued positive signs for its Dynamics and Server businesses in 2007. Both recorded strong growth during the previous fiscal year.
Microsoft’s Responsible Leadership
Microsoft executives shared their FY07 plans for a series of dynamic efforts to lead the IT industry in the areas of trustworthy computing, sharing educational expertise, enhancing local security expertise and reducing the cost of entry to computing.
Microsoft executives also shared details of their efforts to cooperate with law enforcement officials in combating cyber crime. Microsoft technical experts recently worked with law enforcement officials during a training course on how to build evidence and track criminals who use the Internet for illegal activity.
“The Internet is a great enabler in so many ways, but sadly it has led to new tools for criminals and a growing problem that needs to be addressed,” said McBean. “Microsoft is dedicated to doing all we can to support law enforcement officials in protecting the online environment for safe use.”
Supporter of Thai Society
In addition to continuing to drive business value and consumer experiences, Microsoft is raising the bar on its commitment to making a positive social impact in Thailand.
Microsoft executives cited expanded emphasis on social programs to engage educators and students, bridge the digital divide for the disadvantaged, enlist technology to support the visually impaired and create technologically advanced libraries among other projects.
On the education front, Microsoft is entering the third year of Partners in Learning, a 2.5 billion Baht program designed to promote lifelong learning in schools and community centers. A total of 29,000 teachers have already received training in ICT skills, and the program aims to reach an additional 20,000 teachers this year.
For the disadvantaged, Microsoft provided 10 Billion Baht in support of IT education to help combat human trafficking. In cooperation with The Mirror Foundation, Microsoft’s grant provides IT skills training to women and children in northern Thailand, through Community Technology Learning Centers (CTLCs) located in high-risk trafficking areas. Included in the Microsoft grant is software that will be used in IT skills training for at-risk people.
“We are grateful that Microsoft has stepped up with this bold initiative to reach out and provide leadership and practical support to addressing this serious problem,” said Sombat Boonngamanong, of the Mirror Foundation. “With IT skills gained through this grant, the people most at risk will have other employment options which will prevent the need to migrate in search of work, the very thing that puts them at risk of being trafficked.”
Driving Positive Economic Impact
Through its business, work with partners and collaboration with independent software developers, Microsoft executives say that the company creates employment opportunities for 20,000 people in Thailand. Executives also said that for every single unit of revenue earned by Microsoft in Thailand, the local economy benefits by eight times this amount.
McBean placed special emphasis on the recent achievements of Thai independent software developers who have successfully gained international certification through the Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) program. Thai developers are posting excellent results in this program with a total of 1,032 certified professionals—more than Singapore and second only to Australia.
“MCAD is evidence that the knowledge economy, new jobs and wealth are closely tied together,” said McBean. “Microsoft is focused on providing Thailand’s best and brightest independent software vendors with the certification, expertise and knowledge that will give them a competitive edge in the global software market.”
Wrapping Up
Even with some speculation about short-term uncertainty in Thailand, the Microsoft team expresses certainly about a bright year ahead. All of the projects slated for the financial year ahead, says McBean, will build on the successes of previous years. In addition, new products, new campaigns and new investments in the IT industry will continue to fuel excitement and growth.
“Even in uncertain times, we expect to Thailand have success in the IT business and growth of the knowledge economy,” said McBean. “Clearly there are challenges, but Thailand has the talent and creativity to overcome this. Our record from previous years is evidence of the ability of Microsoft and the IT industry to grow, and we expect nothing less than more success this year. Microsoft will continue to raise our level of investment in IT, work hard with partners and help our customers grow and reach their goals. We see a great year ahead.”
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Established in 1993, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited provides world-class software that is easy to use and localized to suit the local market’s needs. It also has a compelling and consistent platform to build powerful business solutions that can scale from a notebook computer to a mainframe — class multiprocessor systems using Microsoft technology. For further information, information, please visit the Microsoft (Thailand) website at: http://www.microsoft.com/thailand .
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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