THAI SOFTWARE INDUSTRY
Local group pushes into Asia-Pacific

By Asina Pornwasin
The Nation
Published on July 7, 2009

Now is time for overseas sales – association Members of the Thai software industry are intensifying their efforts to export to countries of the Asia-Pacific region, in the hope of generating more income for Thailand.

One of the goals of the Thai Software Export Promotion Association (TSEP) is to achieve sales amounting to more than Bt400 million in Japan this year, following an expanded presence in that country.

The TSEP is a group of local software companies that have joined forces to take their products to global markets. According to a strategy created when it was formed in 2007, the association began its campaign into export markets in Southeast Asia. It is now moving to the Asia-Pacific region and plans to reach Europe within five years.

Last year – about one and a half years after its establishment – TSEP achieved sales of Thai software and services worth about Bt400 million in Vietnam – its first market destination. This revenue was earned by eight of the group’s members, including CT Asia, a Thai computer-telephony provider selling call-centre software; Wealth Management, a leading Thai financial-consulting and software company; Freewill Solutions, a securities and brokerage software company; and Longkong Studio, a local firm developing software for construction bidding, accounting and cost-control systems.

TSEP has established an office in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Its members share the office space as well as a call centre for their daily operations and split the operational costs. The association says the office creates more confidence for customers and allows the Thai firms to be closer to their clients.

TSEP’s is now gearing up for new destinations, including Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

TSEP president Chalermpon Punnotok said the association was tapping into these countries with marketing activities and roadshows. The push began in Japan a few months ago and will continue to Indonesia and the Philippines in the second half of this year.

“We expanded our business presence in Japan in the 19th Software Development Expo, called SODEC. Our members got some customers from that event. Next, we will set up an office there, similar to the one in Vietnam,” he said.

In the second half of this year, TSEP will take its roadshows to Indonesia and the Philippines, but unlike in Japan, it will not expect immediate sales. Japan has already been successful because of its huge size and high demand, Chalermpon said.

TSEP is confidently aiming to generate about Bt400 million from the Japanese market this year, adding to another Bt400 million from its members’ existing business in Vietnam. So by the end of this year, TSEP will be helping to generate about Bt800 million in export income.

At the same time as it expands its export efforts, the association is also increasing its membership, with new Thai software companies joining the group as they become ready for sales to overseas markets. TSEP currently has a membership totalling 20 Thai software houses, up from 14 last year.

Chalermpon said the global economic downturn was not an obstacle to software exports. In fact, the present could be the best time for a country like Thailand, which has some strong software companies with strong products, to be campaigning in overseas markets. Customers there require efficient software and solutions from suppliers in emerging countries that offer lower costs than those in developed Western countries, he said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/07/07/technology/technology_30106816.php