Thailand becomes the company’s sixth Asian market for the phones, following recent launches in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The move follows Acer’s acquisition of Taiwanese smart-phone manufacturer E-Ten last year, a purchase that enabled Acer to shortcut its tapping of the global market.

 

Aymar de Lencquesaing, Acer senior corporate vice president, said it was the right time for Acer to jump into the smart-phone market, as the global mobile-phone market is about 4 billion units, of which only 300 million are smart phones.

Meanwhile, the trend in mobile-data use has been increasing rapidly, which is expected to drive the global smart-phone market to grow by 15 per cent annually over the next five years. This means there are great opportunities out there, said de Lencquesaing.

 

He admitted the company’s move into smart phones was a big one, as it is a totally different business and market from that which Acer has traditionally been involved in.

However, with the strong Acer corporate brand and dedicated teams overseeing the hand-held business and 500 global research and development engineer resources, he believes Acer has the capability to take its place among the top five smart-phone players in the world within three to five years.

 

"Our ambition is to become a leader in the mobile-data market. The launch of smart phones is to complete our product lines and encourage us to meet our goals. Acer has already reached No 2 in the worldwide notebook market and is No 1 in the global netbook market," said de Lencquesaing.

He said Thailand was a highly attractive market for Acer’s hand-held business. The company also targets being among the top five in this market within three to five years.

 

"In the initial stage, the dedicated team – the Smart Hand-held Business Group of Acer Computer (Singapore) – will take care of smart-phone business in Thailand, but we will certainly have a local dedicated team to oversee this new business unit soon," said de Lencquesaing.

 

The company plans to bring more than 10 smart-phone models to Thailand this year, of which five were launched yesterday: the Acer DX900, DX650, X960, M900 and F900.

 

"We plan to launch more products continuously to the Thai market. We believe the global smart-phone market can grow by more than 15 per cent per year if there are more good-performing and reasonably priced phones available," he said.

Roger Yuen, Asia-Pacific vice president of Acer Computer’s Smart Hand-held Business Group, said the key to successful distribution of Acer smart phones to a wide Thai market was having good local partners.

 

Acer has therefore appointed major IT retailer IT City and leading IT wholesaler SIS Distribution’s Qdist to be its distribution partners for the devices.

"With the market capability and readiness of Thailand, we think we can reach the goal of becoming one of the top five smart-phone players earlier than our projection of within the next three to five years," said Yuen.

IT City president Ekachai Sirijirapatana said by next month, Acer smart phones would be available in about 10 IT City outlets, with all 34 outlets stocking the devices by year-end.

 

Forty five years ago, on April 7, 1964, the introduction of the IBM System/360 sparked a revolution in computing and business. And it occurred not in Silicon Valley, but in New York’s Hudson Valley, about 90 miles from New York City.

Many consider it the biggest business bet of all time.  At the height of IBM’s success, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. bet the company’s future on concept of computing compatibility.  

 

It was a massive undertaking of unprecedented scope.  In 1964 dollars, IBM invested three-quarters of a billion dollars just on engineering, and another $4.5 billion on factories and equipment.  It hired more than 60,000 new employees and opened five major new plants.  It was believed to be the largest privately financed commercial project ever undertaken.

 

The System/360 revolution was built on a simple, yet powerful concept: a single system with backward/forward compatibility, virtually unlimited storage, and instant retrieval capabilities that provided up-to-the-minute decision-making information.  Forty five years later, many of the breakthroughs born on the System/360 remain fundamental building blocks of computing. 

 

The System/360, in many ways, sparked the PC boom of the 80s, the growth of the Internet, and facilitated dramatic economic growth and prosperity by marrying business and technology.  Among the technologies first appearing on the System/360 – transaction processing, micro-circuitry, and relational databases.

 

Apart from the impact on a worldwide level, System/360 has also made significant inroads in Thailand as it was the driving engine behind several major government projects and top enterprises’ mission critical operations. For example, it was used to support National Statistics Office’s population census project, Thai Airways’ flight reservation system, and online transaction processing including ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) systems for the large commercial banks in Thailand.

 

Among the technology breakthroughs originated from System/360:

• Transaction Processing  —  Customer Information Control System (CICS) is the forerunner of all transaction systems and paved the way for future innovations, including ATM transactions, online shopping, and e-business of every kind.  It’s still in use in virtually every mainframe in the world.

• Microcircuitry –  The S/360 was the first commercially available data processing system whose design was based on the use of micro-miniaturized computer circuits or Solid Logic Technology (SLT).

• The first database –  The S/360 featured IBM’s Information Management System (IMS), built for NASA as part of the Apollo 11 project that put the first man on the Moon.  IMS set the stage for the development of IBM’s DB2 database software.

• Backward/Forward Compatibility –  The S/360′s emulation capabilities were, in many ways, the forerunner to today’s open movement. Emulation allowed older software programs to run unchanged on the S/360.  In fact, early S/360 customers shared software programs among themselves, leading to the creation of SHARE, a mainframe users group that is similar in many ways to Linux and other open source users groups active today.

In fact, the impact of the System/360 does not transcend computing alone. As American business sought new technologies to keep pace with the boom of the post-war economy, this powerful new business tool stimulated the growth and prosperity of entire industries and government institutions. 

• Serving as the backbone of the SABRE reservation system for the burgeoning airline industry;

• Facilitating space flights at NASA

• And serving as the central nervous system for the world’s government and financial institutions.

 

Key Milestones of IBM Mainframe 45 year History

1964 – April 7: IBM introduces the System/360 as a "new generation of electronic computing equipment." It’s named after the degrees in a circle, since it was meant to "encompass every need of every user." Just shortly after the worldwide launch, IBM Thailand also introduced mainframe locally which is very well received both in government and business circles.

 

1964  – IBM launched the Semi-Automatic Business- Related Environment – SABRE System—a two-year project with American Airlines to develop the first real-time reservation system.

 

1966 – IBM computers process more than 19 million Medicare identification cards for the Social Security Administration just one year after the U.S. Congress creates Medicare. Also in the same year, IBM also introduced Thai language on System/360 and is very well received by many businesses and government offices.

 

1967 – Thailand’s National Statistics Office chose IBM System/360 to support its main operations and became the first Thai government office to use IBM mainframe in Thailand.

 

1968  – CICS debuted, bringing computer applications out of the machine room and allowing companies to enter, update and retrieve data in the workplace. Today, CICS continues to help millions perform their jobs better.

 

1969  – Several System/360 servers, IMS 360 and IBM software support NASA’s Apollo 11 landing on the moon. For years to come, IBM computers remain involved with space exploration.

 

1969 – Thai Airways Public Company Ltd., the national flag carrier, installed IBM System/360 to support its main operations.

 

1971 – Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd., one of the largest commercial banks in Thailand, selected IBM System/360 to support its online transaction processing (online banking) and became the first Thai commercial bank to implement IBM mainframe.

 

1972 – IBM introduced virtualization on mainframe (z/VM) with an aim to improve asset management and lay the groundwork for the on demand world. Today, z/VM helps create an agile mainframe where resources can be utilized effectively and quickly, with improved security and 24-7 availability.

 

1979 – IBM introduced the Universal Product Code (UPC), followed by holographic scanner technology, which originated the ‘Bar Code’ technology. Together, they help revolutionize the retail industry and highlight the mainframe’s critical role in customer transactions and inventory-tracking databases.

 

1980 – IBM offered the 3081 processor. The 3081 includes a two-fold increase in internal performance. It also features Thermal Conduction Modules that significantly reduce space, cooling and power requirements. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. acknowledges this innovation in 1990 with its Corporate Innovation Recognition.

 

1983 – Siam Commercial Bank, one of Thailand’s leading commercial banks, introduced the first Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) for public use in Thailand and its ATM online transaction processing was running on IBM mainframe.

 

1988 – IBM customers deployed DB2 beyond Decision Support Systems (DSS) and core transactional processing—driving reductions in CPU costs and dramatic improvements in concurrency. This development helps establish DB2 on the mainframe as a foundation for future application development.

 

1991 – Some industry pundits predicted the rapid growth in personal computers and small servers will render Big Iron obsolete.

 

1992 – Expo ’92 World Fair opened in Seville and IBM Spain provides a network featuring two IBM mainframe computers and more than 700 PS/2 personal computers as the centerpiece of its information support. This became the origin of the Client / Server technology that is widely in use today.

 

1994 – IBM announced the System/390 Parallel Sysplex offering, which allows for high levels of system availability.

 

1995 – The mainframe utilized CMOS-based processors, setting the new roadmap for modern mainframe technology. CMOS chips require less power than chips using one type of transistor.

 

1998 – IBM introduced the System/390, Generation 5 server. The Turbo model smashes the 1,000 MIPS barrier, making it one of the world’s most powerful mainframes.

 

2000 – Linux appeared on the zSeries server, a demonstration of IBM’s commitment to leading-edge technology and open standards. The combination brings together the revolutionary flexibility of open-source computing with the mainframe’s legendary scalability and reliability.

 

2001 – IBM reported it has nearly doubled the mainframe’s capability to process highly secure Internet transactions, and the IBM zSeries 900 is the first to achieve a record 3,850 transactions per second.

 

2003  -The zSeries 990 is the result of a four-year, more than $1 billion investment in the zSeries platform, involving 1,200 IBM developers. The z990 is the most powerful and scalable IBM mainframe to date, with twice the virtualization capabilities previously offered.

 

2004 – Many leading businesses in Thailand started using Linux on mainframe especially on server consolidation projects as a means to enhance their system management capabilities and energy efficiency.

 

2005 – The company introduces the IBM System z9 mainframe. This represents a three-year, $1.2 billion development effort encompassing 5,000 IBM experts worldwide. The new mainframe system can process 1 billion transactions a day, more than double the performance of its predecessor, run five world-class OSs and process up to 6,000 secure online handshakes per second.

 

2007 – IBM announced Project Big Green -a plan to shrink 3,900 servers to about 30 mainframes running Linux, with a goal of reducing energy consumption by 80 percent in five years. Since 1997, IBM has consolidated its strategic worldwide data centers from 155 to seven.

 

2007 – IBM Thailand Co., Ltd., in partnership with King Mongkut University of Technology, Thonburi (KMUTT) organized "Master the Mainframe Challenge 2007" contest for university students in Thailand. All the 3 contest winners are from Chulalongkorn University.

 

2008 – More than 600 new or updated applications are introduced for the IBM mainframe in the first eight months of 2008—bringing the total to more than 5,000 unique applications. Nearly 2,500 of these applications are Linux technology based.

 

2008 – More than 500 universities worldwide partner to teach mainframe and large systems skills, up from 24 in 2004. In the past four years, more than 50,000 students participate in mainframe education.

 

2008 – IBM announced the System z10 server. The System z10 Enterprise Class and the System z10 Business Class mainframes represent more than a $1.5 billion investment, five years of development and a global team of more than 5,000 technical professionals. Both models provide a much higher level of security, control and automation.

 

2008 – With introduction of the System z10 Enterprise Class, IBM shatters its 1,000 MIPS threshold set in 1998. The largest model processes more than 30,000 MIPS at a lower price point.

 

2009 – IBM introduced Dynamic Infrastructure concept to address the Smarter Planet challenges. IBM System z is classified as part of the dynamic infrastructure due to its high availability, enhanced security, and energy efficiency that would help enterprises reduce cost, manage risk and improve service and enable them to overcome various challenges.

Tanapong Ittisakulchai is country manager, Systems and Technology Group,IBM Thailand

 

IBM Thailand has introduced what it calls its Smarter Planet Agenda to help government and private enterprise organisations to achieve success in the third quarter of this year.

It believes that keeping up with the world is becoming instrumented and interconnected, and the amount of information being created by these interactions is growing exponentially.

IBM Thailand’s country manager of general business Parnsiree Amatayakul said that under the Smarter Planet Agenda, the company would focus on four groups of customers, providing smarter healthcare, smarter government, smarter education and, for the insurance industry, management of operational risk through control objectives for information and related technologies.

IBM will offer smarter healthcare solutions, such as picture-archiving communication and back office systems, designed to help organisation in the healthcare industry to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, dynamic infrastructure, green technologies, smart working and new intelligence to support both their patients and their businesses.

Parnsiree said IBM would also cooperate with Google Health to keep abreast of trends in healthcare technology and solutions for the healthcare industry. IBM will offer software to connect personal medical devices to Google Health and other health-recording systems, allowing patients to exchange vital health information with their doctors and other health services professionals more easily, and in real-time. Patients will be able to download their personal data into Google Health and doctors will be able to access that information at any time, via the Internet. Health professionals will be able to provide more timely feedback to patients on their conditions, suggest treatments, and help improve their overall quality of life.

In the smarter government category, the company will offer both tailor-made and service-oriented architecture solutions to help create greater efficiency in government organisations. This will enable them to improve the quality of services to the public and integrate information among related organisations to increase their productivity and to save energy.

"The government market is an important one for IBM," Parnsiree said. "We have various solutions and applications to support government organisations so that they will able to create advantages and efficiencies to support their operational process and services."

Under its smarter education programme, IBM will offer e-learning and smart kids solutions, along with other software to support educational organisations. The company’s portfolio will include service science management and engineering solutions.

IBM has also signed a memorandum of understanding with government agencies and universities to use e-learning solutions that will allow students to connect and communicate with young people of diverse cultures around the world.

Lastly, the company is working with the General Insurance Association to provide seminars and consultancy for the insurance industry related to the management of operational risks through control objectives for information and related technologies.

"We believe that the Smarter Planet Agenda will help SMEs and other enterprises to move their businesses up to the next level of success. We have the hardware, software and solutions to support their businesses," Parnsiree said.

 

Oracle Corporation (Thailand)’s managing director Natasak Rodjanapiches said his company’s cooperation with Dell, 3i Infotech (Thailand), ASAP Solutions and Metro Systems Corporation was a first local initiative before expanding to other Asean countries later this year.

The group will provide tailor-made and cost-effective IT solutions to small and midsized businesses that have fewer than 10,000 employees, by working through the three independent software vendors.

"This is the first time that Oracle has worked with partners to provide software, hardware and services in order to jump into the medium market, which is an important market in the current economic circumstances," Natasak said.

The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) says Thailand has about 2.42 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), capable of generating revenue of about Bt6 trillion and exporting goods and services valued at Bt1.7 trillion, Natasak said.

Oracle believes that midsized businesses will still pay to adopt information technology to create competitive advantages. The cooperative arrangement will provide simple, affordable, best-practice solutions such as Oracle Database Standard Edition, Oracle Database Enterprise Edition and Oracle Forms on Dell PowerEdge Servers. 

Dell Corporation (Thailand)’s managing director Anothai Wettayakorn said that as a global partner of Oracle, his company would provide various hardware environments such as Linux, MS Windows and Server Platforms to support tailor-made IT solutions demanded by SME clients.

"The cooperation will be a strategy that will create opportunities for SMEs in Thailand to expand their business bases. It will also deliver customer benefits from the scalable and bundled solutions designed to support the needs of Thai businesses," he said.

The cooperative grouping aims to provide affordable solutions for the retail, finance, manufacturing, distribution and insurance industries.

 

Time, cost savings for families and relatives The relatives of prisoners in Thai jails have begun visiting them via an online video-conference link from their homes.

Correction Department director general Nathee Chitsawang said this week that the department had developed and was currently expanding a video-conference project called the Correction e-Visiting from Home service.

Information technology is being used to allow the families and relatives of prisoners to make "visits" from computers at home or from call centres, rather than travelling to distant jails. Prisoners located at any of the department’s jails will be accessible, as long as the new e-visiting service has been implemented in the relevant institution.

 For those without computers at home, the department has created call centres in the Correction Department in Bangkok and at Chiang Mai’s central prison as points from which relatives may establish a video-conference link with prisoners in 43 jails around the country.

The service costs the "visitors" a service fee of Bt100 for 18 minutes.

The video-conferences allow up to five people to "visit" a prisoner at one time. Families must register their intention to make a conference call with the department and reserve a suitable time. This can be done by telephone, letter, or by logging on to www.correct.go.th.

Bookings for online "visits" must be made at least 10 days in advance to allow time for official checks to confirm that applicants are, in fact, family members or relatives.

At present, the Correction Department offers a limited e-visiting service about 40 times per month.

Nathee said eight more call-centres would be set up, as points from which relatives could make the video-conference "visits". Within a few years, these will be able to connect with 130 of the department’s 143 jails around the country.

"We believe that e-visiting will create benefits for families, relatives and prisoners because they will be able to maintain contact by visiting online without spending time to travel to prisons or the Correction Department. It will also help relatives to save the costs of making prison visits," Nathee said.

Meanwhile, the department is also implementing an Image Identification System so that its officials and jails around the country can access and search a prison database via the Internet.

As well, the department is developing an e-marketing channel to display a catalogue of products made by prisoners at jails around the country, effectively creating a showroom of prison products. Customers will be able to contact prisons directly to purchase products.

Nathee said that as a next step, the department was planning to provide for e-commerce transactions.

Thailand currently has about 200,000 prisoners in jails around the country, and 10,000 jail staff.