June 16, 2022 – Mr. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) peruse the launch of dtac 5G IoT Solutions at the Thailand 5G Summit 2022. dtac introduces solutions for 3 core markets: Smart Factory, Smart Logistics, and Smart Utilities to contribute to the revitalization of the Thai economy by digitally transforming the industry and corporate sectors.
In addition, dtac highlights 5G Private Network for the industries. Presenting the 5G technologies to the dignitaries are Mr. Stephen James Helwig, Interim Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, and Mr. Lertratana Ratananukul, Head of Government Relations Division, Total Access Communication PLC or dtac.
Stakeholders in the manufacturing industry and other large enterprises are invited to discover the latest 5G trends at the Thailand 5G Summit 2022, organized by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA). The event is held from June 16-17, 2022 on the 22nd floor of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Center, Central World, Bangkok.
At the Thailand 5G Summit 2022, dtac business launches 5G IoT solutions for 3 core markets:
1. Smart Factory Solutions: These will digitally transform factories and traditional or analog manufacturing processes with big data support. dtac solution developers can assess existing systems and develop digitalization plans with IoT capabilities to collect, analyze and monitor data in real-time and remotely improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, and conform with future digital platforms.
2. Smart Logistics Solutions: These will transform warehousing and transportation, with IoT and smart sensors providing precise real-time monitoring of goods as they are transported, enabling businesses to track progress and improve security. Relevant data such as humidity and temperature can also be remotely monitored in real-time to ensure the quality of perishable goods.
3. Smart Utilities Solutions: These will offer efficient, timely 5G-based processes for both water and energy management. Smart Water Management can remotely measure pH and chemical residue levels in wastewater as well as the water level in the wastewater pond in an industrial estate. The Smart Water Meter Reader enables online readings input and processing. For industries and factories, 5G Smart Energy Management enables significantly more efficient and reliable energy management, especially when used in conjunction with Smart Main Distribution Board (MDB). This can also prevent, mitigate and minimize power disruptions such as power brownouts, blackouts, surges, or overloads.
Furthermore, dtac business has introduced the 5G Private Network, an advanced security network for corporate clients to confidently step up into the digital era. The 5G Private Network features edge computing with flexible scalability to suit all corporate requirements and take advantage of technologies such as Massive IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and real-time data processing.
Bangkok – AstraZeneca Thailand, in collaboration with Plan International Thailand, continues Young Health Programme (YHP) into its third year with the “World No Tobacco Day 2022” event. Conducted for more than 1,500 students at 12 primary and secondary schools in Greater Bangkok between May 23 and June 7, 2022, the event aims to raise awareness and ensure that young people in Thailand have increased knowledge about risk behaviours to prevent smoking-related disease.
Educational activities were organized to raise youth’s awareness of smoking-caused health effects, led by Plan International Thailand, AstraZeneca Thailand employees, and the Peer Educators who have completed YHP Peer Education training. Furthermore, the students shared their perspectives on living without tobacco and how young people can refuse and prevent smoking from reducing the risk of NCDs on the Young Health Programme Thailand social media.
The World No Tobacco Day (May 31) is an opportunity to raise awareness of tobacco use’s harmful and deadly effects, both first-hand and second-hand smoke. Statistics show most people start smoking and become addicted to nicotine when they are still children. Those whose parents or siblings smoke are three times more likely to smoke than children living in non-smoking households. In addition, children who start smoking at a young age are more likely to smoke heavily and find it harder to give up.
The World Health Organization reports that smoking kills more than eight million people each year. More than seven million of them die from firsthand smoke, while over 1.2 million deaths are related to secondhand smoke. In Thailand, the National Statistical Office reveals that 10.7 million Thais are smokers. Of them, more than three million are youth. On average, up to 17.3 million Thais are exposed to secondhand smoke from family members. Exposing to secondhand smoke for 30 minutes is harmful to blood vessel lining, which then possibly leads to coronary artery disease2. Such exposure also raises the risks of various other NCDs, such as lung cancer, emphysema, respiratory disorders, heart and blood-vessel conditions, nervous-system issues, weaker body functions, and many other health problems.
The Young Health Programme Thailand, launched in November 2019, is a five-year programme that aims to contribute to the improved health and wellbeing of young people. It aims to ensure that young people in Thailand have increased knowledge about risk behaviours and NCD prevention, which gives them greater capacity to make informed decisions about their health through key educational and inspiring activities; on-the-ground NCD prevention sessions for young people, youth leadership and advocacy training, monthly campaigns and events linked to awareness, youth-friendly health service training for health professional, score-carding by peer educators, seminar on NCD prevention among young people, implement the advocacy strategy, and participation of young people in key advocacy events. The Young Health Programme Thailand hopes to directly reach more than 75,000 young people and community members with health information and NCD prevention programming. Indirectly, it expects to reach an additional 500,000 people in the broader community through campaigns and awareness-raising activities.
Bangkok, April 22, 2020 – Wealthy Planet Company Limited is the manufacturer and distributor of 100 percent genuine bird nest’s beverage products with health benefits under the brand of JERADA Bird’s Nest.
These products are made from raw bird’s nests sourced from farms by the neighboring Baan Rang Nok community located in the district of Cha-uat, Nakhon Si Thammarat province. In addition, the company is the producer of frozen seafood directly obtained from the Andaman Sea under the brand of Cae Dean. Both products have been chosen to represent the best entrepreneur from Thailand’s central region by the 4th annual Young Exporter from Local to Global (YELG) workshop organized by the New Economy Academy (NEA), Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce. Equipped with in-depth training from field experts, the chosen local entrepreneur has the skills and knowledge befitting the role of an exporter of Thai products manufactured with local raw resources with the potential to be exported to international markets and gain recognition in the international trade arena.
Talking about the 100 percent genuine bird’s nest beverage and frozen food products under the Cae Dean brand, Mr. Kosol Sisaiphet, Managing Director of Wealthy Planet Company Limited, said, “As the manufacturer and distributor of JERADA Bird’s Nest beverage products, it took years of commitment and determination to find the best health-boosting products until they met standards and reached the premium status. They also resulted from a combination of knowledge and experience in tending quality bird’s nests from farms carefully selected by the neighboring Baan Rang Nok community located in the district of Cha-uat, Nakhon Si Thammarat province. This particular area is regarded as the source of natural opulence, prompting a large number of swallows building nests and laying eggs. Furthermore, systems are put in place to maintain and oversee the cleanliness of bird’s nests and manufacturing factories with cutting-edge machines that meet international GMP and Halal standards. These elements make our bird’s nest products high-quality and rich in nutrients from raw materials.”
Also noteworthy is the company’s role as the manufacturer of frozen seafood and seafood snacks delivered straight from the Andaman Sea to consumers under the Cae Dean brand. Multiple seafood products are available for sale: Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook seafood, fish fillet, sashimi, and fish snacks. They key strategy in the development of these products lies in the “From Sea to Table” concept aimed at maintaining the supreme quality and freshness of food from the sea to your dining table with the potential to provide close oversight on the manufacturing quality control from upstream to downstream. For this reason, all products are guaranteed to be clean, fresh, flavorsome and unique from the rest. They also meet the EU standards on food nutrition, safety, and affordability, introducing them to the “sustainable food” system through the new Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy.
At present, our products are exported to China; however, the global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly halted shipping logistics and caused disruptions to the exportation of animal-based products. These logistical problems have also resulted in an overflow of raw bird’s nest products in our warehouse, as Chinese buyers cannot make direct purchases. Therefore, the process of exporting these products to China and marketing them is no longer an easy task. Another factor worth mentioning is we still lack relevant information on exporting products to China. In response to this challenge, our initial solution is to research international exportation and marketing protocols, which will serve as a good opportunity for small and medium entrepreneurs to have access to a range of in-depth information.
In this regard, our company was afforded the opportunity to partake in the 4th annual Yong Exporter from Local to Global (YELG) workshop organized by the New Economy Academy, Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, with the goal of learning and enhancing our knowledge. In addition, we also had access to up-to-date information on international exportation to other countries and China in particular. The workshop offered a variety of reliable information relayed by trade ambassadors and export specialists who specialize in exporting products directly to China. This wealth of information benefits business operators in terms of helping them make adjustments during the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as offers ways to deal with post-COVID-19 business operations.
The Department of International Trade Promotion also values the significance of news updates and information pertaining to the exportation of products to target countries and others that offer the new potential to entrepreneurs nationwide. The Department utilizes both skills and knowledge as a weapon to increase the level of their competitiveness in world markets and to help new small and medium entrepreneurs understand the important aspects of exportation with the goal of forming strategies, conducting businesses, performing cost accounting, setting product prices to achieve profitability, and carving out appropriate business models to avoid being disadvantaged by foreign competitors. They can also apply this knowledge to improve transportation logistics, streamline payment methods, exercise caution in the exportation process to prepare for, respond to, and make adjustments to existing risks with an eye toward reinvigorating their businesses and making them run smoothly.
Bangkok, June 15 – Bitkub Blockchain Technology (Bitkub Chain service provider and Blockchain Total Solution) together with Yes Token and Buzzebees (Loyalty Program & CRM leading company with 90% market share) announced a loyalty point campaign to claim YES Token or any other services and merchandise by using Bitkub NEXT digital wallet.
YES Token can be used as collateral digital asset on www.ยืมมั้ย.digital platform with a CeDeFi technology (a combination of decentralized and centralized finance). Also, the users can borrow the NFTs, physical products, claiming for store privilege and other special campaign. At the same time, YES Token holders can use the token for trading on Bitkub Exchange and voting for Governance Function in the future.
For Buzzebees, the CRM Privilege platform with a 90% market share as a corporate and retail service provider to open the new experience for customers, there are more than 90 million accounts users to provide privilege for both online and offline users for more than 20 million prize per month. They were also became a partners with leading company such as LINE, Samsung, PTT, Nestle, Unilever, Mead Johnson, CP, AirAsia, Grab, Citibank, AIA, PepsiCo, Tesco and other South East Asia leading companies.
Besides, special customers with the privilege points on Buzzebees can use YES Token as digital assets to keep or trade on the digital platform developed by Bitkub Blockchain Technology such as Bitkub NFTs, Bitkub NEXT or any other decentralized applications.
“YES Token is the first Fintech application on Bitkub Chain in which the token’s holders can lend the digital asset or redeem to the special store. Thus, this can increase the value and the real use case of YES Token. Under the cooperation of Buzzebees (leading CRM Priviledge platform), this can penetrate to the users due to a large number of base customers (90 million accounts). I would say that YES Token have several use case not only for trading but it also can strengthen the ecosystem for both digital and physical world,” said Suttikiat Kittipattrakul, CEO of Yes x Technology Co., Ltd.
“Beezebees intend to provide special privilege to the members by using YES Token as reward point claiming. In addition, under this cooperation, this is the new beginning of the state-of-art technology for the loyalty point market. This will enhance the value and real use case for digital token as a point claiming reward,” said Nattida Sanguansin, Managing Director of Buzzebees Co., Ltd.
“Under this cooperation, we spot several good opportunities for Bitkub Chain ecosystem. At the same time, this is a key for strategic partnership to help penetrate to the users with regards to Decentralized Finance by using Bitkub NEXT as digital wallet. I believe that all partners from this cooperation will thrive together as an importance strategic partnership on Bitkub Chain,” said Passakorn Pannok, CEO of Bitkub Blockchain Technology Co., Ltd.
Amid increasing demand for flexible and hybrid working offices after the pandemic, JustCo, a leading flexible workspace provider is seizing the momentum to open a new co-working space centre in Bangkok and three other centres in the Asia Pacific.
Kong Wan Long, JustCo’s co-founder and chief commercial officer, said hybrid work was not a trend but a reality. Today, every business that has an expiring fixed lease is considering flexible workspaces for more agile and cost-effective planning. The company is filling up its centres with an average 80 per cent occupancy across Asia Pacific, he said.
He added that in Bangkok in particular, all four available JustCo centres are nearing full occupancy, averaging 87 per cent. The majority of customers (60 per cent) are general people, while the rest are small enterprises, multinational corporations (MNCs), and startups.
“As a company, expanding globally will allow us to offer a stronger product. Many of our customers have regional operations. With a single JustCo contract, JustCo members have access to our entire platform of over 45 co-working centres and 30,000 desks,” Kong Wan Long added.
As the strong point of co-working space is flexibility, he strongly believes that the industry has more room to grow. Co-working spaces currently account for 3-5 per cent of the total rental office industry in the Asia Pacific region.
“Our main focus market remains in Asia, as Asia is our roots and we know how to properly serve and show them hospitality,” said Kong Wan Long.
Currently, there are three major trends that support co-working space operators in the post-Covid era. The first factor is most employees want flexibility. The second is many companies are seeking more cost-effective and less risky options. Hence, they would rather prefer to lease an office for a short period like 3-9 months rather than 3-5 years. And the last factor is the boom of tech firms that have become growing users of flexible workspaces, prioritising productivity more than going to work at the office.
Kong Wan Long said that the new centre in Bangkok is located in Silom Edge building, the prime corner of Silom, the capital’s financial hub, and Rama IV Road. Aiming to serve the tech-savvy lifestyle of new-gen employees, the place will house the company’s first live streaming and podcast studio. The studio is available for use by both JustCo members and external customers.
Other latest digital workspace technology, including wireless office access and on-the-go remote booking of all workspaces, meeting rooms and amenities are also well-equipped at the new centre as well.
Three new centres will be opened in Tokyo and Singapore later this year.
Wimolnit Lertpitakkit, JustCo Thailand and Indonesia general manager, said despite the two-year global pandemic, JustCo’s customer base in Thailand grew around 20 per cent compared to early 2020. The company is now serving around 6,000 members in Thailand.
“We believe we have the right team, the right product, and the right locations to grow long-term with our members,” said Wimolnit.
“Singha Park Chiang Rai” will expand its manufacturing plants with full-scale tea production in Nan while also providing knowledge for farmers. The investment in an international standard tea factory will be equipped with a research and development team with “Assam tea” and “Oolong tea” as new variations for consumers to choose from.
Mr. Pongrat Luangthamrongcharoen, Managing Director of Singha Park Chiang Rai, reveals that Singha Park Chiang Rai has been one of the experts in tea farming and manufacturing for over a decade. Currently, the company excels in genuine Japanese tea production through Maruzen Foods (Thailand) Co., Ltd. with a joint investment in a factory with Maruzen Tea Japan, Japan’s leading tea manufacturer. The factory serves as the first and only tea manufacturing plant outside of Japan and Southeast Asia and aims to elevate the tea manufacturing industry to new heights with Japanese quality standards.
“There is an increasing need in the tea market, a result of market expansions in the food and beverage industry like the huge increase in the bubble tea market in the past three years. The increasing demand and the COVID-19 pandemic have driven the need for tea in the country because imported tea is affected by higher import taxes. Hence, food and beverage providers have turned to homegrown tea, which drove Singha Park Chiang Rai’s teas’ demands and opened up new trials for consumers to experience our product quality. Our ability to produce various products for each need at the right price is also key to higher orders.”
The company’s plan for its tea business in 2022-2025 will aim to increase manufacturing power and build a new factory in Nan province with contract farming in the area to grow tea and research the unique Assam tea into different forms by experts who have more than 30 years of experience to add new values to Assam tea. The process will take best practices from the company’s past success with Oolong tea which is Singha Park Chiang Rai’s main export, with different form factors tailor-made by a professional team to drive differentiation and uniqueness for B2B customers like food, beverage, bakery, and more, as well as B2C consumers who are a part of the expanding market as well.
The expansion of farming and new manufacturing plant in Nan will be done by buying tea from farmers who grow tea and providing them with the knowledge to increase product quality and support sustainable income for locals. The correct plantation methods will also help preserve the forest and build nature’s equilibrium with the community, a practice and business policy held by the Boon Rawd Brewery Co., Ltd. The company also aims to deliver the best product and services with sustainable corporate responsibility that the organization, the community, the society, and the nature will need to co-exist happily and sustainably.”
The manufacturing and the processing of Assam tea in the new factory in Nan will create new tea products, as long as new recipes for consumers in the business sector like premium Thai tea and Taiwan tea which will use Assam tea for milk tea, fruit tea, green ta, Oolong tea, and Japanese green tea menus.
On June 12, Bitkub Capital Group held a PRIDE VOICE event on the topic “Equal Marriage and Opportunity of Equality in the New World with Blockchain Technology” at Bitkub M Social, 9th floor, Helix Quartier, the EmQuartier.
The PRIDE VOICE event was held to support the LGBTQA+ community, promote equality, and give opportunities for people to share their voices as well as advocate and raise awareness for societal issues. The event received overwhelming attention from the participants. On this occasion, Bitkub is proud to be a part of pride month and advocate for equal marriage and gender equality.
We are honored to be joined by special guests as our speakers.
The Speakers in this event are as follows : Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat – a member of the House of Representative from Move Forward Party, Leena Jungjunja, as known as Leena Jung – a businessperson, lawyer, politician, and actor, Chanya Rattanathada – the co-founder of Young Pride Club, Pasakorn Vanasirikul – the committee of Creative Economy from KLA party, Siraphop Jantaraopas – Senior Marketing Manager from Bitkub blockchain Technology Co., Ltd.
This event was led by Thitipong Duangkong, known as Kru Thong – MUT Master and expert in language and culture.
The event began with an opening speech and the event’s objectives by Shanya Visessiri, Group PR & Communication Director of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings. Shanya Visessiri stated that “The events are held under the concept of “Equality, Respect, and Sustainability”. We aimed at creating social movements in terms of policy implementation for LGBTQ+ progressively. We hosted this event to open the space for meeting, greeting and sharing their opinions freely. Moreover, we aimed at taking the outcomes of the panel discussion as a corporate policy and pass on this message to powerful people in order to step forward to publicly support the process, create an equal opportunity, prevent the human right violation, and raise consciousness about respecting others differences sustainably which are the way that modern organizations and developed countries realize its importance.”
Siraphop Jantaraopas, Senior Marketing Manager, Bitkub Blockchain Technology Co. Ltd, stated that “Bitkub Chain has been initiated to be Thailand’s Blockchain Infrastructure. We are willing to open up to and support everyone’s ideas of blockchain adoption that benefit the country in the future. Marriage property is one of the excellent examples of blockchain adoption. We can apply the Smart Contract Technology to improve better impartiality of marriage property arrangement without third-party intervention”
Leena Jungjunja, as known as Leena Jung, a businessperson, lawyer, politician, and actor, said “If the Equal Marriage Bill is approved, it’ll benefit LGBTQA+ community. They’ll be treated equally as other 70 million Thai people do.”
Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, member of the House of Representative from Future Forward Party has stated that “the fundamental human rights of family formation is originally by birth, thus, I would like to insist that we are always protected by the right. However, as it was mentioned that the Male Dominated Society practically destined the rules and laws judging what is right and wrong. Lastly, I assertively believe that everyone in the world has rights to form the family, plus, if men and women can get married, LGBTQA+ should be able to get married as well.”
Pasakorn Vanasirikul, or PK, the committee of Creative Economy from the KLA party, said, “I think the betterment of everyone, like parading and voicing their opinions, will ultimately lead to change. If not today, then in the near future because society wants change, a change for the better.”
“If the Equal Marriage Bill is approved, Thailand will become the first country in Asia to adopt this Bill. This is a guarantee that our country has equality. Thailand will attract more people, resulting in a boosting economy” said Chanya Rattanathada, the co-founder of Young Pride Club.
Additionally, there is an extra special activity to meet and greet with Net ,Wonsath Chainset, the winner of Universe is U 2022, Pookoop, Kraiwat Ketchayakhun, the first runner up, Esther, Anucha Sriphunga, the third runner up, Bambam Waristha Srikram the fourth runner up, and Bella, Bella Chujit, top 11 Finalist, to speak on the topic ‘Giving Opportunity, Giving Equality.’
“Thank you Bitkub for supporting UIU. Also thank you for honoring the winner of Universe is U 2022 and Bitkub ICON, who supports LGBTQA+ under the concept ‘Unleash The Power of Change’ by projecting us on digital billboards throughout the country. It also gives an opportunity for everybody to share their opinions to support LGBTQA+ and to participate in discussing several issues that are still causing inequality in our society. I would like you all to believe and to not underestimate yourself. And thanks to the society for recognizing our abilities in every aspect. Although orchids are slow blooming flowers, but one day these orchids will bloom and be beautiful”, said Net, Wonsath Chainet, winner of Universe is U 2022.
The first runner up of Universe is U 2022, said that “Our country has many talented LGBTQ+ people. They are politicians, good role models, even famous leading actors in the boys love series. Although Thailand has earned a mount of income by the boys love entertainment industry, same sex mariage is still unopen for LGBTQA+ people. A marriage shouldn’t focus on Mister and Miss, yet It should be individuals and individuals as a person to enhance equality in society.”
Esther, Anucha Sriphunga, third runner up Universe is U 2022, said, “some people may think that Civil Partnership Bill and Same-sex Marriage Bill are the exact same thing, but in reality, it is not the same. We should look at the rights we have in each section of the law and from what aspect can help us. On the other hand, why should there be a division between Civil Partnership Bill and Same-sex Marriage Bill in Thai society. Therefore, the same sex marriage bill should be legal for human beings to realize the equality in the society.”
Bambam, Waristha Srikram, fourth runner up of Universe is U 2022, said, “The world doesn’t need to segregate sexes, even the laws say men and women are equal. Therefore people in the LGBTQA+ should not be isolated. We all pay equal taxes, but why do people in the LGBTQA+ community have fewer rights?”
Bella, Bella Chujit, Universe is U 2022 Top 11 finalist, said, “From my own experience as a member of the LGBTQA+ community, the problem that comes with the absence of same-sex marriage, for example, is when your spouse gets into an accident, the hospital can’t approve or disclose anything to you. This is why the Same- Sex Marraige BIll needs to become a law so that everyone, no matter their gender and sexes, can receive fair treatment and live their lives equally.”
PRIDE VOICE @ BITKUB M Social activities will be held continuously throughout the month of June. The activity will be held again on Sunday, June 19, 2022 under the concept ‘RESPECTFULLY’ : Best Practice for LGBTQA+ at Work Space for Modern Organization and on Sunday, June 26, 2022 under the concept “SUSTAINABILITY: Beyond Rainbow-Washing”
Companies need to attract new talent and retain existing talent, especially in capital-intensive and process industries, such as the oil and gas sector, where the competition for human talent is relentless.
Companies that deploy innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, can attract the best talent to take on the forefront of this intensifying industrial sector and for new employees, to be productive faster and better.
Driven by Industry 4.0, industrial organizations face shifting market demands, new technologies, and difficulty in managing the growing volume of data. Post-pandemic, companies are now facing an immediate labour crunch, exacerbated by the ongoing talent shortage in the capital-intensive industry due to retiring veterans and newly graduated incumbents. Combined, these factors have now created a perfect storm of generational changes in the industrial sector. These changes are challenges but also golden opportunities for our industry to make an urgent and, frankly, overdue change in our approach to people. It is time to cultivate and support a new kind of IT workforce, built around a new breed of tech-savvy domain experts and industrial data scientists.
Industrial workforce headwinds
How do companies develop a new generation of industrial IT workers? This creates a necessity to recruit and retain greater numbers of industrial data scientists—data scientists with specialized domain expertise in manufacturing backgrounds. As our industry builds this new generation of domain-expert data scientists, key challenges remain for companies to resolve.
To be competitive, companies need to deal with the overall labour shortage situation. Industry labour shortages extend beyond the Great Resignation. For years, there has been a shortage of IT talent. According to a survey by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NECES) in the US, despite a 98% increase in the number of computer-related grad students over the past decade, supply cannot keep up with the demand. Growing data volumes and increased adoption of industrial digital-transformation strategies mean organizations are constantly trying to hire new data scientists with the skills to manage these workloads. However, there are too few data scientists and engineers to meet demand, and the competition to recruit them is fierce.
Besides labour shortage, there is a talent shortage or skills gaps situation. Beyond recruiting and retention, veteran industrial workers are hitting retirement age, taking with them decades of historical industry knowledge and domain expertise. This is fuelling a growing knowledge gap in the industrial sector. It is important that new recruits are set up for success right out of the gate but doing so means bridging the gap between the skills and knowledge that those recruits bring to the table, and the skills needed to successfully execute their jobs.
Finally, the next generation of data scientists will have high expectations for the technologies and digital solutions deployed by their potential employers. If industrial organizations are behind the curve in their adoption of AI, automation, and other Industry 4.0 technologies that make jobs easier to perform and add value, then potential job applicants are going to look elsewhere. Indeed, the challenges outlined above can be resolved in part, by digitally transforming and modernizing technologies and processes. In particular, that means adopting new ways of managing, processing, and acting upon their enormous volumes of industrial data. However, technology alone only gets us part of the way there—it cannot single-handedly plug the talent gap and meet the expectations of a new generation of industrial workers and data scientists.
Building the next generation workforce
More than just digitally transforming, we need to develop new ways of working aimed at fostering collaboration across organizational silos, developing novel organizational structures and meeting the demands of a more digitally driven industry. In the area of increasing collaboration and eliminating silos, new technologies – such as the next generation data historians, help to standardize the formatting and management of access to industrial data. Using digital solutions to build across-the-board access to the organization’s data, instead of silo work by an individual or team basis, helps facilitate cross-team collaboration and eliminates the barriers that separate people from each other. Strive to build up your new generation of industrial IT workers together as one team, not a fragmented group of isolated individuals.
Companies need to maintain hybrid and remote work as the permanent status quo. The pandemic spurred a worldwide shift to remote and hybrid work, and there is simply no putting that genie back in the bottle. This is partly a recruiting and retention tactic; organizations that don’t offer the opportunity to work remotely will surely lose employees and potential recruits to competitors who do. But beyond that, remote and hybrid work are going to be an important, foundational part of the team dynamics within this new industrial workforce. Not only does the remote work option empower teams to work in a more distributed manner, doing so also creates a more agile organizational structure suited for meeting cross-functional needs.
In volatile times, industry leaders can either get ahead of trends, or lose their footing. By building specialized roles for industrial data scientists and engineers, eliminating silos that inhibit collaboration, and making hybrid and remote work a permanent part of the work culture (not to mention effective recruiting and retention strategies), industrial organizations can put themselves on the cutting edge of these trends—closing skills gaps and cultivating the next generation industrial IT workforce of the future.
By Lawrence Ng, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific & Japan, and Dwaine Plauche, Product Manager, Aspen Technology, Inc.
Lawrence Ng, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific & Japan
IBM Thailand is advising Thai entrepreneurs to harness modern sustainability business practices and use it to drive their organisations towards digital transformation.
The advice was based on its latest survey, which revealed that the new generation consumers preferred products and services from brands that focus on sustainability.
In a recent online seminar “Enterprise of the Future Sustainability as Digital Transformation Catalyst”, hosted by Thansettakij newspaper, Sawat Assadaron, managing director of IBM Thailand Ltd and managing partner of IBM Consulting Group, said sustainability practices are not just a legal requirement, but they can be used to create business opportunities and strengthen the organisation’s competitiveness, especially in its quest toward successful digital transformation.
“Our survey found that since 2020, more consumers are emphasising on purchasing products and services from brands that have demonstrated sustainability in their operations,” he said.
“Up to 62 per cent of the samples have said that they are willing to switch brands or consuming behaviours in order to reduce environmental impacts, while about half have said that they do not mind paying more as the price of sustainability.”
Sawat added that IBM had started publishing environmental reports 30 years ago and set its carbon emission goal for the first time in 2000. The company has been playing an active role in promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the international level. In 2021, IBM set the goal of zero greenhouse gases emissions in 2030 through its multi-dimensional plan. “For example, IBM aims to switch to renewable energy in its cloud data centres at 75 per cent within 2025, and at 90 per cent by 2030. We also mandate our major suppliers to comply to environmental management standards,” he said.
“All these efforts have resulted in the company, last year, receiving the Terra Carta Seal from the Prince of Wales, which is granted only to global corporations demonstrating their commitment to, and momentum towards, the creation of genuinely sustainable markets.”
Sawat also cited the results of the 2022 Global CEO Study by IBM Institute for Business Value, which found that CEOs from around the world thought achieving sustainability to be the highest challenge. However, more than half of CEOs from the study believed that sustainability will be the top priority of most organisations in the next two years.
“In Thailand, the topic of sustainability is not new and is already widely known. However, Thai organisations are still lacking tools to prepare detailed sustainability reports, which require in-depth analysis of high amounts of data such as climate risks, carbon footprint data, building management data, manufacturing matrix, transport data, energy and utility usage, and data on carbon emissions both directly and indirectly. With the high amount of data and complexity, companies will need the help of the latest technology such as artificial intelligence [AI].”
“Realising the importance of technology in sustainability practices, IBM earlier this year acquired Envizi, a company that produces analytic and management software to report environmental goals as well as evaluate the possibility and risk of sustainability achievements based on standards and regulations,” said Sawat.
Ruangsak Laiwetphitthaya, head of Data and Technology Transformation at IBM Consulting, added that entrepreneurs in Thailand are active about employing sustainability business practices, especially in energy and transport, thanks to support from the government, which has enabled companies to switch to alternative energy to reduce emissions.
“Setting a carbon net-zero goal must be done step by step, but first you must know which parts of your business are responsible for the carbon emissions,” he said. “Then, strategies must be set to reduce the emissions either by using less power or switching to sustainable options such as solar farm. After we achieve the fullest optimisation and can offset our carbon emissions, then we can trade carbon credit with partners and help the whole business operation achieve the sustainability goals.”
Phakorn Suriyaphiwat, head of energy and manufacturing industry at IBM Consulting, added that organisations should not view sustainability practice as simply using less resources. “Rather, organisations should survey their carbon footprint and try to optimise their processes so that they could move towards net zero. Alternately, organisations could explore the ‘garage model’ approach, in which they try to create new businesses that reduce environmental impact or promote improvement of their main operations.”
Phawasutthi Sriwiroj, deputy managing director of Software Business at IBM Thailand, added that in the next 1-2 years she expected most companies in the stock market to include ESG (environment, social, governance) in their strategic goals, with focus on reducing carbon emissions, improving manpower and promoting transparency.
“To achieve the ESG goals, organisations must make sure that stakeholders, employees, communities, partners and suppliers are on the same page, and that they have efficient tools to track progress and address shortcomings. Most importantly, they must be able to manage their data using appropriate technology,” she said.
“IBM has all the tools that entrepreneurs need, either for structured and unstructured data, using technology such as AI and Internet of Things to link all related parties under the same platform to ensure unified moving forward in the same direction.”
Thai Airways International will resume flights to China on Saturday after Chinese authorities agreed to allow two flights per week from Thailand.
The move by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) came after Beijing eased travel restrictions, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
CAAT then held a meeting with eight airlines in Thailand to find which were interested in the weekly flight quota. The eight airlines are THAI, Thai Smile Airways, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, Thai Vietjet Air, Thai Lion Air, and Thai AirAsia X.
Most of the airlines expressed interest in operating flights to China, a CAAT source said. Priority was given to the airlines that operated Thailand-China flights before the travel restrictions. THAI, Thai Smile Airways, Thai Lion Air and Thai AirAsia will take up the quota, which will switch between airlines every week. THAI will operate the first flight to Guangzhou on Saturday.
Thai airlines will be permitted to fly to any city in China, except Beijing and Shanghai.
CAAT expects Chinese aviation authorities to gradually increase the flight quota for Thailand. However, tight quarantine restrictions for Chinese travellers on return mean Thailand is unlikely to see a big influx of tourists from China soon. China was Thailand’s largest tourism market before the pandemic, accounting for more than a quarter of the 40 million visitors in 2019.
Meanwhile, China has imposed strict Covid-19 checks, and flights by any airline found to be carrying an infected passenger would be cancelled immediately, the CAAT source warned. He said all airlines must screen their passengers closely.
The average number of passengers flying in and out of China daily has risen from as little as 30,000 in May to 42,000 this month, according to CAAT. Most are travellers from India and Singapore.
CAAT expects Chinese aviation authorities to gradually increase the flight quota for Thailand. However, tight quarantine restrictions for Chinese travellers on return mean Thailand is unlikely to see a big influx of tourists from China soon. China was Thailand’s largest tourism market before the pandemic, accounting for more than a quarter of the 40 million visitors in 2019.
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