Software powerhouse Microsoft has set an ambitious mission to encourage local firms to bring out innovation and creativity, under the "Born in Thailand" concept, a shift from "Made in Thailand", while supporting them with advanced tech and pursuing digital upskilling and reskilling.
Microsoft Thailand also aims to increase its workforce by 20-30% to support local entrepreneurs with necessary solutions geared towards business transformation and digital drive.
"As a technology firm, we aim to drive Thailand into the next decade's competition from 'Made in Thailand' to 'Born in Thailand' by encouraging more businesses to embrace technologies to innovate products and services themselves," said Dhanawat Suthumpun, managing director of Microsoft Thailand.
Microsoft has co-created and co-innovated with large enterprises and startups to use advanced technology for tech-related products and services.
Mr Dhanawat said Microsoft Thailand will increase staff by up to 30% in fiscal 2023 to respond to surging demand among customers for digital transformation and digital strategies.
Such an investment will mainly support its "Customer success business unit" in co-creating solutions and security tools, he said.
"We are in a challenging economy but the technology sector still continues to be in growth mode as it can serve all aspects, such as reducing costs, increasing productivity, acquiring new customers and bringing new business models," said Mr Dhanawat.
According to him, the bank sector is quite active in the use of tech, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) to reach out to unbanked people.
The manufacturing sector also leverages tech to detect carbon emissions to support its sustainable journey and reduce costs, he said.
"Our offering is mostly cloud-based that can lower customers' investment," he said.
In order to support the Born in Thailand mission, Microsoft supports entrepreneurs with hybrid work solutions, including video calls by Microsoft Teams, which saw a surge in usage, employee engagement platform "Viva", as well as the metaverse and mix reality technologies.
The company also supports businesses with Microsoft Azure cloud computing services, he said, adding the power of quantum computing can propel its cloud to reach work optimisation, such as optimisation for traffic routing and simulation, he said.
Azure Confidential Computing can also support online security, such as that for digital wallets, Mr Dhanawat added.
Microsoft also supports low-code development tools that help developers create applications with ease.
On the security front, Microsoft continues to develop technology to combat online threats.
Mr Dhanawat said data shows 1.2 million devices in Thailand have come into contact with malware over the past 30 days, highlighting the importance of security defence against online threats.
Global security business generates US$12 billion to 15 billion a year, he said.
Microsoft also aims to upskill and reskill 10 million Thais by 2024. Over the past 18 months, it has engaged in training 3 million Thais through collaboration with partners.
Additionally, Microsoft has been working with many organisations over the use of its cloud for sustainability solutions, which will help the nation work towards its goals of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050 and Net Zero in 2065.
