Esri Highlights “GIS as Revolutionary Key for the World”, Aims to Empower Government & Private Sectors with GIS Software
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Ms. Thanaporn Thitisawat, General Manager of Esri (Thailand) Co., Ltd., the leading provider of integrated geographic information system (GIS) technologies and services, says, “The world has been evolving fast with competition intensifying on various fronts. Many organizations therefore have now been working hard in their bid to have a few steps ahead of others. One of the important tools to gain the competitive edge is undeniably GIS. It can increase the competitiveness of organizations in both the government and private sectors. Some agencies have never used this tool before, though. In fact, when GIS is well applied, state and private organizations alike will get a clear, comprehensive view of their problems and thus be able to solve them in a smart way. Today, GIS trends have been active worldwide. Among the interesting ones are 1) Dynamics of Open Data: It is supporting GIS as a platform for data sharing among local, national and international organizations. Today, local organizations across the globe are going digital. This trend reflects that local bodies too can benefit from GIS infrastructure or create online services based on the open data; and 2) Location Intelligence for the Internet of Things: Real-time data from Internet of Things (IoT) devices are now being analyzed alongside GIS data for efficient processing”.
Esri believes GIS will prove a revolutionary key for the world, with GIS users securing data advantages, the ability to solve problems at their root, and thus an upper hand over their competitors. This is because with GIS, enterprises will be able to see the opportunities before their competitors do. In 2016, Esri plans to seriously tap into Thailand’s GIS software market and make a great range of GIS software available on ArcGIS Platform for not just website or desktop users but also mobile or smart-phone users. With more than 300 ready-to-use applications, its customers will easily find what responds best to their needs. Esri (Thailand) specializes in and distributes software of the US-based Esri. Distribution is often made via its partners such as GIS firms and major system integrators (SI), which have had the expertise in developing solutions based on Esri software for the specific needs of their customers.
“This year, we plan to tap into both the government and private sectors. We have more than 40 team members in support of this plan, including the ones who are specialized in each target segment. Our targets are: 1) Government sector that has never used GIS before such as sub-district and provincial administrative organizations. We are going to introduce ready-to-use Smart Local Government Suite (SLG) to them. This latest software from Esri is designed especially for local administrative bodies. SLG comes equipped with 22 leading applications from the United States (US). Capitalizing on GIS technology, these apps promise to make it easy for local administrative bodies to transform themselves into Smart Communities. For example, these apps will enable locals to fast report local problems such as waterworks disruption, power blackout, crimes or any issue related to a geographical location. In the next phase, we will push for Smart City and Smart Country concept so as to bring Thailand on par with developed nations; 2) The private sector: We in particular target industries whereby locations are crucial to their success.For example, property developers will need to find the right locations for developing their condo projects. Banks will want a useful tool in choosing the good locations for their branches and their ATMs. Retailers, meanwhile, definitely hope to find the locations that will allow them to reach best to consumers. Manufacturers also want a tool in choosing the right location for their distribution center as the good choice means lower transport expenses; 3)Students at more than 10 leading higher-educational institutes. We will educate students at these universities in our bid to produce quality human resources for the GIS market. We will teach the youth about how to leverage GIS technologies for business purposes; and 4) Business expansion through collaboration with partners, which will strengthen Thailand’s GIS infrastructure. We seriously hope that our strategy will successfully trigger Thailand’s transformation into a smart country,” Ms. Thanaporn says.
Beyond its business field, Esri (Thailand) has sponsored the “Social Innovation for Disaster Risk Reduction Award” project that the United Nations Development Program – Thailand has held in collaboration with 19 government agencies, private firms and civic organizations for the purpose of finding the cool ideas for raising public awareness of disaster threats, preparedness and resilience. Esri (Thailand), for its part, has just received a plaque of honor for sponsoring such good initiative.
“Our ultimate goal is to see Thailand become a smart country. We hope to see Thailand use GIS in securing competitive advantages and developing its Digital Economy. The country will need cooperation from all sectors in releasing open data. Only when all sectors share information can GIS utilization become widespread and deliver maximum efficiency,” Miss Thanaporn concludes.
