To be the next digital hub in Asia could be a little too far-fetched, with strong competitors such as Hong Kong and Singapore who already have stable infrastructure to support the digital economy of the region. Nevertheless, the vision of digital economy is realistic, with the 67 million population of Thailand, and the impressive popularity of social media there.

Thailand is putting in great efforts to support this vision. Cloud has a prominent and visible role to enhance the digital economy. Taking the lead, the e-Government Agency of Thailand has been setting standards and promoting cloud adoption through practical steps, such as the introduction of G-Cloud.

Apart from the government’s effort, active support for the industry can be seen through the many strong local players, such as TCC Technology and True Internet, who provide data center and cloud services to meet the growing demand of the market. Complimented with tax incentives through the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI), the region has also seen a rise in foreign investments from international firms such as NTT Facilities and SuperNap International.

Recognizing the potential of Thailand as the next digital economy, global media company and conference producer, DatacenterDynamics (DCD), will be hosting its second conference in Thailand under its umbrella of DCD “Focus” events. For its second year in Thailand, DCD will focus on the theme “Moving Towards a Digital Economy and The New Era of Cloud” to drive the industry towards the best practices and innovations required for the enablement of cloud adoption and the digital economy.

“With strong government support and data growth through social media and the internet boom, we believe that Thailand will grow as a digital economy and in its cloud adoption”, said Vincent Liew, general manager of DatacenterDynamics for Asia Pacific, “DatacenterDynamics has a 15 year track record as the catalyst of the industry, enabling best practices and innovation through our ultimate knowledge and networking platform. We look forward to meeting the 250 top senior IT decision makers in Thailand on 28 January and forming the frontier of this industry”.

The market is not without its own set of challenges too. Political instability, energy reliability, inefficiency in telecommunication and electricity markets, and a skills shortage, are just some of the key considerations for foreign investors to consider when building a data center or placing their IT assets in Thailand.

“Learning and knowledge sharing are key to our industry progression. That’s why it’s important that through international conferences, the market learns from the failures, solutions and innovations that other countries have experienced in order to successfully grow their digital economies”, said Karl Pope, Managing Director at ACM INT Co., LTD