Publication Code: S29
Information technology or IT, which includes computer and telecommunications technology, has been hailed s one of the most strategic and pervasive technologies. Today, IT is being applied to practically all fields from science, businesses, manufacturing to public services and administration.
Advances in IT have been accelerating at an unparallel pace in history. Many breakthroughs can be described as revolutionary. Computers, for example, become smaller, cheaper, and faster in operating speed, and more powerful in processing capability. More and more, communications networks based on modern telecommunications technology will allow all forms of information, whether voice, data, text or video images to be exchanged to and from anywhere and at any time desired. These advances in IT development will continue to radically transform the world and how society operates in future.
Amid the enormous prospect of IT to improve the quality of life, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in meeting social need, and to be a vital economic force for developed and developing countries alike, IT also brings forth new sets of worrying issues and emerging problems such as infringement of personal privacy, cultural domination, social structural changes, etc.
It is of strategic importance therefore to learn and gain better understanding into the development trend, prospects and emerging issues concerning the utilization, or the lack, of this vital force of change. Concurrently, it is also most vital to instil public awareness of the pending social and economic changes likely to come about as Thailand is inevitably drawn into being a part of the global information-society.
There are the main objectives of this study which includes some suggested policy and strategies both short and longer terms deemed useful to support the development of IT to bring Thailand toward an information society in the year 2010.
The output of this study consists of three parts:
Part I: A World Perspective on IT Development serves to gain a broad understanding of the role of IT in the post-industrial society, the major driving forces fueling the technological development in IT, the current and potential applications of IT and the impact and implications they may bring to bear on the economy and society. It contains also a detailed discussion on a range of important policy trends and regulatory issues in the world including a review of selected countries' policy and development strategy. Part I concludes with a look at such broader issues as social and cultural impacts, international related issues, and finally, development options and policies for the developing countries.
Part II: Utilization Status and Future Role of IT in Thailand focuses first on a detailed analysis of current IT applications in the country. It then identifies the various issues and problems associated with IT diffusion. The finding is based principally on primary data derived from survey interview and questionnaire analysis covering all the key sectors both public and private. Of the 54 survey samples used, 35 are from the public and 19 from the private sector. The part concludes with the discussion on market niche opportunities and important policy issues related to IT products and services in Thailand.
The concluding Part III: Policy Conclusions and Recommendations sets out to analyze and recommend measures and strategies to make effective use of IT so as to enhance the productive efficiency of the economy, to improve the quality of social services delivery and choices, and to raise the quality of life. An interesting section is a detailed discussion on the Delphi methodology and the process used to arrive at a set of recommended strategies under suggested time frame from a group of local and international experts of diverse background and experiences. it is believed that these measures and strategies will lead to logistics for IT development which will enable Thailand to move toward an information society joining the global village by the year 2010 in the end.
This study can be said to be the first of its kind in Thailand in terms of the scope and the comprehensive approach adopted to study, analyze and recommend IT-related issues. The research team is hopeful that the information and suggestions made in this study will contribute to a better understanding of this important subject to aid policy makers and implementators in the IT development efforts in Thailand and play a role, however small, in disseminating information as part of the creation of public awareness in order to enhance the development of IT and the country as a whole.
October 1993