Thailand's information and technology (IT) spending is on track for double-digit growth this year, helped by the national e-payment scheme and the development of a value-added economy of innovation and creativity or Thailand 4.0, says an industry expert.
The growth is to come from both the public and private sectors, especially the financial sector, said Supakit Tiyawatchalapong, managing director of Computer Union, the IT service arm of SET-listed Saha-Union Group.
Despite the economic slowdown, he said state agencies and private firms are increasingly moving towards modernising their legacy systems to survive in the new era of competition and growth.
Modernising data infrastructure, especially data centre updates and consolidation, adopting cloud computing technology and big data analytics can cut costs and enhance business agility and productivity as well as enable greater efficiency.
Mr Supakit said the government's move to grant corporate income tax exemptions for companies that invest in computer software and machinery to improve their business operations will be another boon for IT spending.
He said Computer Union expects to maintain single-digit growth this year, in line with GDP growth.
Businesses are shifting their IT budgets to software and IT services to enable infrastructure management, rather than only hardware.
Thailand's computer server market was valued at US$48 million in the first half of this year, compared with $60 million for all of 2015.
Mr Supakit said Computer Union's sales revenue from software and services accounted for 60% of its total last year, with hardware representing the remainder.
Computer Union, in collaboration with Lexmark International Inc, a US-based laser printer manufacturer and enterprise software provider, recently opened the Lexmark Executive Briefing Centre.
The facility will demonstrate cloud-based document management solutions and document management planning, as well as display the latest printing solutions.
Andrew Yeong, general manager of Asia-Pacific for Lexmark International, said the company has shifted from a consumer inkjet printer maker to a laser printer manufacturer. It also offers enterprise solutions to help users manage their document workflow and content.
"A mobile workforce needs access to information any time, anywhere. More and more employees rely on mobile devices to do their work. Companies, therefore, must ensure that they provide secure printing from mobile devices in order to protect their sensitive and critical information," he said.
Mr Yeong said while the global commercial printing sector has seen an annual contraction, the mobile printing sector remains robust.