Thai firms investing heavily in IT

As they work to consign the pandemic to the past, businesses in Thailand are gearing up for a brighter future. The Kingdom’s companies are still investing heavily in information technology and cybersecurity systems despite tighter budgets, according to a United States consulting firm.

“Thailand’s IT (information technology) and cybersecurity spending is expected to carry on, even though businesses face limited budgets as they pivot towards digital transformation,” said Tatchapol Poshyanonoda, Thailand Country Director for Palo Alto Networks, a worldwide provider of cybersecurity solutions.

Palo Alto Networks recently released its report on the “State of Cybersecurity in ASEAN” (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which surveyed 400 respondents in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The report found that 75 percent of the surveyed companies in Thailand increased their cybersecurity budget from 2019 to 2020, with 40 percent of them spending over half of their IT budgets on cybersecurity.

While Thailand was recently ranked as the country with the most effective response to COVID-19, the global recession and the strict measures implemented by the Thai government to stop the spread of the virus have  inevitably impacted the economy.

Nonetheless, Tatchapol said that many firms are still devoting resources to accelerate their digital transformation and protect themselves from the constantly evolving threats to cybersecurity.

Their investments are evidence that they are both determined to survive and grow, and that they remain reasonably optimistic about the future, despite difficult times now.

Among countries in ASEAN, Thailand has been the most aggressive in adopting 5G, or fifth-generation cellular wireless systems that connect devices and enable more advanced technologies.

Palo Alto Networks Tatchapol said his surveys show that 28 percent of Thai companies have invested in 5G security to protect their Internet of Things-based systems. While the Internet of Things opens up untold possibilities for technologies such as artificial intelligence, some security analysts are also concerned about potential damage if systems are hacked.

Photo courtesy of http://www.ops.moe.go.th/