Data revolution is the new paradigm shift that will change the way companies do business. Those who best adapt to this new world will thrive and those that don’t will fall behind. This is a great opportunity for Thailand to take the lead in this race for the pole position in this data revolution.
In terms of digital economy, Thailand has already fallen behind many of our neighbors. Singapore is the de facto base for many of South East Asia’s largest tech companies. Many of the large sites and apps are foreign owned. From Line to Grab to Lazada, our country is losing ground on many fronts. For some areas, it will be hard to wrestle this control back and become a regional leader. But for new areas such as data science and AI where everyone is starting from the same place, Thailand has an opportunity to become a regional hub and take a leading role. At Sertis, we believe this is an achievable goal and it is a key part of our company vision.
Data science and AI are not easy fields. Some people say we lack the raw talent to become a leader in these fields. I disagree. Thai people are smart. I have spent many years working abroad for top firms, including London and Beijing. Yes, other nationalities are smart, but so are Thais. We sometimes forget that Thai students are some of the top performers in various Olympiads, winning multiple medals each year. This pool of highly talented people is our greatest asset. What we lack is the right training and opportunity to compete in the global market. At Sertis, we are proud to be training the next generation of data scientists and AI researchers. We have assembled a strong team of specialists graduated from top universities such as Cambridge, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon. Our passion is to pass on our know-how and train the next generation.
Thailand also leads the world in many industries, and these could be the great springboard to grow Thailand into a data science hub. Take healthcare, for example, Thailand is one of the leading destination for health tourism. Each year, Bumrungrad Hospital alone treats double the number of patients as the whole healthcare system of Singapore. There are many opportunities for us to combine such a strong healthcare industry with data analytics to create leading innovations. Other sectors we also lead are agriculture, manufacturing, and retail. With such strong companies, there are many opportunities to leverage these companies’ experiences and data to grow our countries’ capability.
So what can we do to make Thailand the data science hub of South East Asia? 1. More training of students at university level. We need to produce more data scientists and universities in Thailand will be key to this.
1. More training of students at university level. We need to produce more data scientists and universities in Thailand will be key to this. Sertis is starting to partner with many universities in this regard and we recently signed an MOU with Chulalongkorn Business School. We hope to leverage our experience to boost the training quality of students in Thailand. 2. More government support. Thailand 4.0 already gives a lot of support for the growth of the digital economy. We think this is a great start. Opening up government data will give companies access to a lot of useful data that can be used in combination with internal data to create new business opportunities. EGA is currently helping the government implement open data and
2. More government support. Thailand 4.0 already gives a lot of support for the growth of the digital economy. We think this is a great start. Opening up government data will give companies access to a lot of useful data that can be used in combination with internal data to create new business opportunities. EGA is currently helping the government implement open data and Sertis is working with EGA in this area. The government can also increase the demand for data specialists by promoting the use of data in government decision-making process. This way not only will the government boost our competitiveness in the data industry but it will also allow the government to make better and faster decisions. 3. Companies should try pilot programs for data science. At
3. Companies should try pilot programs for data science. At Sertis, we are lucky to work with some top companies in Thailand who have the vision to implement data science at the heart of their organizations. These companies are seeing a big benefit from using more data in their business. We hope to see more companies to give data science a test run, and we believe all will benefit from using data more effectively. EGA is currently helping the government implement open data and Sertis is working with EGA in this area. The government can also increase the demand for data specialists by promoting the use of data in government decision-making process. This way not only will the government boost our competitiveness in the data industry but it will also allow the government to make better and faster decisions.
With all these factors in place, we can make the dream of making Thailand a data science hub of SE Asia will come true!