IBM Thailand focusing on artificial intelligence

IBM Thailand, the local unit of the United States-based global technology company, will shift its focus to providing artificial intelligence solutions and cloud computing for it clients and customers to meet rising demand for the latest advances in technology.

“The technology enables businesses to make decisions better and faster, with improvements in customer experience engagement,” said IBM Thailand Managing Director Parnsiree Amatayakul.

IBM Thailand will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its portfolio of solutions by adopting Watson, a cognitive computing engine for analytics and self-learning ability. Parnsiree said Watson was better than other AI technologies in its ability determine and describe the contents of an image.

Watson is being used in 20 industries in 45 countries and analysts estimate over 1 billion workers and consumers employ Watson in one form or another. Some of the fields in which Watson is employed include energy, healthcare, travel, banking, insurance, music, fashion, wine, telecom, aviation and education.

The shift in focus by IBM Thailand is in line with both the parent company’s global strategy and Thailand’s national strategy called Thailand 4.0, which emphasizes higher technologies, innovation and research and development.

Globally, IBM’s cognitive and cloud platforms accounted for 43 percent of total revenue in the first half of 2017, up from 22 percent in 2013.

“In Thailand, the potential targets of cognitive computing are healthcare, oil and gas, banking, insurance and local startups,” Parnsiree said.

In early August, IBM Thailand announced it had joined with Kasikorn Bank, or KBank, to introduce a Letter of Guarantee network using IBM blockchain technology, a first in the banking industry. It is designed to expedite the process of obtaining a Letter of Guarantee, strengthen security and reduce costs.

IBM has developed and is marketing a platform it calls ONE Architecture that combines cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence features. Parnsiree said that firms that integrate the new technologies usually end up with higher productivity and lower costs overall.

She said businesses are exploring how to apply cognitive computing in new areas such as cognitive human resources, cognitive fraud detection, client experience engagement and deep personalization.

IBM has been doing business in Thailand since 1952. The company says it “has played a major role in delivering solutions to all types of Thailand businesses through its state-of-the-art technologies, skilled and experienced IT personnel, and its worldwide infrastructure of international offices and laboratories.

“The company is also involved in developing local capability through a strong network of Business Partners to deliver open, integrated, end-to-end solutions that help clients innovate for competitive advantage.”