Bangkok--13 Feb--Hill & Knowlton
NECTEC and Microsoft sign research and development MOU to position IT as catalyst for Thailand’s sustainable economic growth
New collaboration will bring together NECTEC research and development with the latest Microsoft technologies in order to encourage long-term investment and growth in Thailand.
The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) and Microsoft (Thailand) Limited have signed a MOU that will pave the way for greater collaboration in software research and development in order to jointly promote Thailand’s long-term growth through the combined use of NECTEC’s research and Microsoft’s technology. To kick off the agreement, a range of initial projects have been launched, including Accessible Technology, Digitized Thailand, software solutions for tackling city traffic, system testing and applications for government and private sector use, in order to enhance interoperability of Microsoft’s servers with other platforms. As the collaboration gathers momentum, it will also expand to other related IT projects that will boost the country’s industry and investment growth.
Sustaining innovative research and development and encouraging greater technology investment is critical for Thailand’s future since these areas offer valuable job opportunities and skills that can safeguard the country’s economic stability and growth. Nonetheless, during this time of worldwide economic recession, many companies are focusing on protecting themselves by saving costs, making major investment by any one organization alone problematic. As such, the MOU also serves as a positive example of using collaboration to not only share the burden of investment, but also share expertise in different fields and in turn share the inevitable rewards.
Dr. Pansak Siriratchatapong, Director of NECTEC said, “As a governmental agency focusing on research and development and implementing policies and infrastructures, NECTEC is continuously striving to expand its research and development cooperation with both government and private sectors. In the past, different cluster divisions within NECTEC have collaborated together, but today we are taking this to the next level by collaborating with an external party and implementing Microsoft technologies that can heighten our research standards and drive the country towards success with a range of challenging and innovative IT projects.”
In the first stage, the collaboration between NECTEC and Microsoft on software research and development will focus on two key elements:
- Accessible Technology — striving to help disabled people and those with visibility, hand movement, brain or speech disorders to gain greater access to technology that can help them lead normal and fulfilling lives. ‘Save as Daisy’ technology, which is designed to be compatible with Microsoft Office Word 2007, offers the visually impaired an opportunity to create content on regular files. Users can easily convert MS Word document into the Daisy XML format, under the standard of Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY). Currently more than 300,000 people in Thailand are benefitting from projects under this category.
- Digitized Thailand — endeavoring to prepare the country for a digital world and to support a creative economy by encouraging more people to experience the benefits of digital content. One such use is the transferring of traditional Thai culture to younger generations through the use of accessible and attractive digital content. Popular topics include folk wisdom, Thai herbs, local games, traditional Thai dancing, art and yoga. By keeping all the information in digital form, this knowledge will be preserved for future generations, while businesses involved in these areas can also make use of the information to add value to their products and services.
The second phase will then see the collaboration strive to use software to tackle city traffic problems, as well as developing new software for system testing and interoperable software for government and private sector use. Furthermore, it is hoped that the MOU signing will not only increase local software development opportunities, but also help to improve the country’s credibility and attractiveness to potential investors.
Ms. Patama Chantaruck, Managing Director, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited said, “As a technology leader, Microsoft is continuously cooperating with various parties - namely the government, private sectors, Microsoft partners, business organizations, educational organizations and NGOs in order to understand the needs of each party and bring the expertise to support each other. This is also in line with Microsoft’s commitment to grow together with partners, customers and society. In fact, ever since establishing our office in Thailand, Microsoft has been committed to using technology as a means of helping to develop the country, so this is the next logical step as we focus on interoperability of different technologies to create limitless innovations that will benefit businesses and end-users in Thailand alike. Without a doubt this MOU signing is an important milestone in Microsoft and NECTEC’s mutual goal of driving forward Thailand’s long-term growth by bringing together NECTEC’s research expertise with our own Microsoft technologies.”
Khun Ying Kalaya Sophonpanich, Minister of Science and Technology, who oversaw the MOU signing added, “The importance of the projects arising from this collaboration should not be underestimated. In particular, Accessible Technology is a great example of how equal access to technology for all can bring about not only social benefits, but real long-term economic benefits. Indeed, even though many local and international industrial analysts are predicting that the IT industry will be hard hit by the global economic crisis, projects such as these demonstrate that there is still great opportunity to strengthen and develop Thailand’s software industry by utilizing local expertise and initiating collaborative technology projects.”
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.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
About NECTEC
The National Electronics and Computer Technology (NECTEC) was established on 16th September, 1986 after a cabinet resolution. Its main responsibilities are to undertake, support and promote the development of electronics and computer technologies in Thailand.
Over the next 3 — 5 years, NECTEC aims to boost Thailand’s economy through its research and development activities and expand beyond the software, microchips and electronics industries. This 3 — 5 year timeline focuses on building partnerships for three flagship projects: (1) Digitized Thailand; leading the country towards a creative economy through digital content and preserving the valuable culture of the country, (2) Smart Farm; increasing productivity, saving costs and improving farming standards and supply chains through the use of technology, electronics and ICT and (3) Smart Health; using technology to promote good health and ensure the best possible health services.
For further information, please contact:
Suphada Chaiwong
Hill & Knowlton Thailand
Tel: 0-2627 3501 ext 209
Fax. 0-2627 3510
Email: [email protected]