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COVID-19 pushes digital transformation across Thailand

Despite wreaking havoc around the globe, COVID-19 has become a key accelerator for digital transformation among organisations who must ensure their work continues during this difficult time.

The Executive Director of a tech training and research organisation stated that this outbreak, unlike others in the past, has affected many countries at once and is expected to carry on for a long period. This will broaden digital adoption and accelerate digital transformation.

Soon it will become more natural for businesses and individuals to embrace digital technology, such as mobile payment, e-wallets, video conferencing and collaboration tools, he said. Many will also pivot towards 5G, high-speed networks, remote working and e-learning.

During the crisis, the biggest lesson in Thailand is “communication in crisis”, which needs to be faster and accurate, he said. The government’s message needs to be simple and reach as many citizens as possible, which helps ward off public confusion over disinformation shared online.

New technology continues to be developed to fight the spread of the coronavirus. In Thailand, it is in the early stages of developing apps that locate risky areas for Covid-19 and places where masks are sold.

Tech deployment

The Founder and Chief Executive of an e-commerce platform stated that he launched the Thailand Covid-19 Digital Group (TCDG) as a social media community page for tech fellows willing to collaborate to combat the outbreak using technology.

There are nine subset groups under the TCDG to ensure work is executed speedily.

Many are working on a platform to track infected people or those requested to self-quarantine to allow health authorities easier monitoring.

Others are handling chatbots for Covid-19 consultation with the public, technology that can identify the location of drugstores, a tool that can gauge the volume of available masks and alcohol-based gel, as well as communication channels for ways to combat the disease, promoted by influencers.

The TCDG also recently developed a site, which shows the updated status of infections in Thailand and at-risk locations.

The Executive Director of the National Innovation Agency (NIA) stated that state agencies have worked together on a new app called DDC-Care that helps people self-assess whether they have contracted Covid-19 and tracks people who travelled from at-risk countries that require self-quarantine for 14 days.

The app was jointly developed by the NIA, the National Science and Technology Development Agency, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the Digital Government Agency, Thammasat University and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency.

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) can access the data and provide recommendations for at-risk people, including those who develop Covid-19 symptoms. The app can also show travel journeys for those determined to be infected.

Moreover, people who have close contact with people suspected of contracting the coronavirus can also download the app to self-report their health conditions over 14 days.

Telemedicine in motion

Yothi Medical Innovation District (YMID) under the NIA and the Technology and Innovation-Based Enterprise Development Fund have fostered a channel where tech start-ups can help patients avoid the hospital, talking to doctors online to help reduce the chance of contracting the coronavirus.

The service should help reduce the workload for physicians and nurses and make hospitals less crowded.

The YMID has a collection of 22 health tech start-ups that separately play a role in screening patients, giving basic medical advice, teleconsulting, conducting diagnoses, providing patient-care systems and arranging medical logistics.

For example, patients suffering from non-communicable diseases can seek teleconsultation with health experts, practice telemedicine in which medical practitioners can conduct remote diagnoses and use external laboratory tests for their health conditions.

AI can be used for diagnosis, while robots can be deployed to take care of patients in negative pressure rooms to ward off the chance of infection among medical personnel.

Meanwhile, more than 30 start-ups are working on technology that supports social distancing, such as video conferencing, data gathering and online learning.

A wake-up call

One expert stated that the outbreak is hampering traditional methods of operation, making digital approaches more important.

This is a wake-up call to organisations that focus on daily operational needs at the expense of investing in digital business and long-term resilience.

In businesses where remote working capabilities have not yet been established, they need to work out interim solutions such as instant messaging for general communication, file sharing/meeting solutions, and access to enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management, while reviewing all security arrangements to ensure secure access to applications and data.

Organisations also need to deal with staffing shortages to maintain basic operations. They need to conduct workforce planning to assess risks and address staffing gaps, such as identifying mission-critical service areas.

Businesses can explore how digital technologies can be used for work, such as AI technology for automating tasks, providing customer service and dealing with candidate screening.

Many organisations have already engaged with their customers via digital platforms, such as branded sites and apps, online marketplaces and social media, though offline face-to-face engagement still plays a vital role.

Enterprises should also enable customers to use self-service via online, mobile, social, kiosk and interactive voice response channels.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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