Thailand ICT Master Plan (2002-2006). - Nectec

and regional markets. In addition, the utilization of this infrastructure in searching forinformation, knowledge, and technological changes, in order to continuously improvecompetitiveness should also be promoted.Strategy 6: The utilization of ICT in SMEs“Encourage SMEs to apply ICT to develop their businesses and to boost competitiveness,focusing on ICT for management, production, and linkages to large firms. This will prepare SMEsfor future competition, as a result of globalization, and also lessen impacts from economicfluctuation.”Goals1. Enabling at least 100,000 SMEs to utilize ICT in their back-office operations by 2006.2. Enabling 40% of SMEs to utilize ICT in major business operations -- such asdesign and engineering -- by 2006.3. Increasing the number of entrepreneurs in the supply chain by 10% each year.Plans and activities6.1 To have mechanisms for technology transfer to SMEs in order to build up their skillsand knowledge and minimize the cost related to intellectual property.6.2 To provide incentives to set up SME alliances in each business sector in which thewhole ranges of ICT system integration are used in administration and management inorder to boost efficiency and reduce costs among alliance members, as well asenhancing administrative transparency. Major activities are:(1) Establishing a private sector mentor to efficiently coordinate each alliance.(2) Choosing a potential business area from each alliance, to be run as a pilotprojectmodel for other members and other groups.(3) Publicizing the successful results of each alliance as ‘best practice’ model forfurther expansion.(4) Setting up support measures that encourage linkage between bothmanufacturing and operation of SMEs and those of large industries, in orderto enable SMEs to participate in large-scale manufacturing projects andincrease their knowledge of technology and management. This will alsoboost the potential of Thai SMEs.Thailand ICT Master Plan (2002-2006) 17