Bangkok--27 Nov--Hill & Knowlton Thailand
With the current economic situation preying heavily on everyone’s minds, Microsoft Thailand has today unveiled an urgent ‘Crisis Turning Point’ campaign to help local business organizations in Thailand weather the uncertain economic climate. By working closely with its partners and customers, the technology leader has laid out a clear ‘3P’ approach for businesses to save costs by focusing on enhancing people, processes and policies.
Speaking on the aims of this new campaign, Ms. Patama Chantaruck, Managing Director, Microsoft Thailand said, “The success of any business has long relied on its ability to adapt to changing environments, so it was clear that we had to act quickly and respond to the current economic crisis that is currently affecting all corners of the globe. In October this year we launched a ‘Big 5’ program, with a series of five events for IT developers, partners and customers that aimed to demonstrate how the latest Microsoft products can be used to help reduce costs and improve efficiency in the workplace. However, with this emergency ‘Crisis Turning Point’ - campaign, we are now aiming to help users achieve these goals by also utilizing their existing IT resources.”
“There is sometimes a temptation to view IT as a luxury that should be cut back on during times of economic downturn, but in fact it is technology that will play a critical role in helping businesses and the national economy to overcome these difficulties,” continued Patama Chantaruck. “We want to reinforce Microsoft’s commitment to the entire local IT community so that they can proceed with confidence even in this uncertain economic climate. As an industry leader we are taking the initiative in establishing a plan of action, but it is important to note this is a highly collaborative campaign that requires everyone involved to help each other.”
“Many people believe that the best way to survive the crisis is simply to cut costs. Of course this is true, but in order to save costs and still maintain business growth, people need to work faster and more efficiently — which is where IT solutions come in. Software Park is establishing a model plan for software developers and the industry that can jointly develop software to better match the needs of the Thai market. This in turn will then help businesses in all sectors survive the global economic downturn,” said Mrs. Suwipa Wanasathop, Director of Software Park Thailand.
The ‘Crisis Turning Point’ campaign can be broken down into three core educational components: (1) How to utilize existing investments, (2) how to use IT to help reduce costs and (3) how to consolidate.
“For each component we remain focused on the ‘3Ps’ of people, processes and policies,” explained Patama Chantaruck. “So for helping businesses to utilize their existing investments, this first means providing training, support and readiness preparation to all staff so that they can implement changes smoothly and become more productive. We can then help them to ascertain which organizational processes can be adjusted in order to make full use of existing IT hardware and software within the company and finally what policies can be implemented to ultimately reduce costs and enhance business capabilities.
“With IT playing such a crucial role in companies’ long-term success, we know that business decision-makers are still seeking appropriate solutions that will help them run their business smoothly. As such, Microsoft is offering 3 key components that can act as guidelines during these difficult times. Firstly, they should consider their existing resources within the company and how these can be utilized most efficiently. Secondly, they should look for ways that IT and technology can help reduce costs and thirdly, they should then consolidate their people’s capabilities, business processes and IT usage within the organization in order to ensure maximum productivity in their business,” continued Patama Chantaruck. “Microsoft is often only associated with being a software provider, but as a technology leader we want our partners and customers to know that we are also committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise in software and business management, through comprehensive training, advice and support.”
Indeed to support the campaign, Microsoft Thailand has filmed a series of video presentations that will be available to Microsoft partners and customers, outlining ways that businesses can use IT to reduce their costs and defend themselves against the current economic crisis. Furthermore, Microsoft Thailand is launching a new page on its website which can be viewed at: www.microsoft.com/thailand/crisis , where visitors will be able to find information on the solutions, case studies, webcasts and tools for all the three main components of the campaign.
“To successfully achieve your business goals during this time when the world is facing such this economic crisis requires utilizing the best resources available to suit these unique circumstances, said Mr. Somkiat Ungaree, Director of the Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI). “The recent U.S. Presidential election, and Obama’s emphasis on technology, is one outstanding example of how more and more people are recognizing that IT is the key to future stability and growth. As such we appreciate any efforts to support the sustainable growth of local businesses and ISVs, and we hope that many organizations can learn how to grow their businesses through better management, without the need to invest heavily.”
“At Microsoft, we believe that, by taking a proactive approach, companies can not only sustain their business during these trying times, but also make progress towards achieving their long-term objectives. Nonetheless, we understand that to achieve this we must be closer than ever before to our customers in order to help and guide them. By working together with both our private and public sector partners, I am confident that this knowledge can ultimately be used to help businesses in Thailand consolidate their people, policies and processes in order to achieve greater productivity and steer Thailand towards economic recovery,” concluded Patama Chantaruck.
For further information, please contact:
Suphada Chaiwong
Hill & Knowlton Thailand
Tel: 0-2627 3501 ext 209
Fax. 0-2627 3510
Email: [email protected]