Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness

 |   Cheryl Yab

Launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month

 

Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by (from left to right) Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead and Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd.
Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by (from left to right) Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead and Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd.

BANGKOK, 10 November 2015 – With the launch of its new SMB Power Up Suite, Microsoft Thailand is reinforcing its support to boost the international competitiveness of Thai SMBs. At just 300 baht per user per month, the new SMB Power Up Suite gives access to Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based subscription service that helps people deliver their best work together, with the latest Office 2016 applications, coherently built for team productivity, allowing Thai SMBs to:

  • Work easier and faster like a pro
  • Work together with better results
  • Worry less with efficient and secure information protection

To extend SMB capabilities in a highly competitive business landscape, companies in need of data analysis and customer relationship management capabilities can also utilize Microsoft’s additional solution package – featuring Power BI and Dynamics CRM Online – for an additional 2,400 baht per user per month.

“SMBs, which account for 93% of all businesses in Thailand[1], face intense competition and diverse changes in customer needs – both of which present opportunities and challenges in equal measure. Microsoft believes that technology has the power to equip Thai SMBs with the adaptability and capabilities needed to advance in any situations, enabling them to compete and succeed on the global stage. Cloud technology is an extremely powerful tool that enables SMBs to reduce back-office costs and enhance their business agility in response to growth-related requirements. This is particularly evident when we consider cloud adoption among SMBs worldwide, which is on track to record an average aggregate growth rate of 23.5%[2] from 2012 to 2017,” said Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd.

“Microsoft possesses extensive expertise in advancing SMB capabilities – in Thailand and other territories around the world – with technologies and solutions that offer the best features, performance, security, and value. With the imminent integration into the ASEAN Economic Community in 2016 and the government’s Digital Economy policies, we believe that Thai SMBs need to prepare themselves to take advantage of the arising opportunities,” Tanapong added.

Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by (2nd from right) Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead and (far left) Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer (2nd from left) and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (far right).
Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by (2nd from right) Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead and (far left) Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer (2nd from left) and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (far right).

Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd., a Thai organization operating Japanese restaurants in the country for over 25 years, is one of many Thai businesses that have adopted the cloud-powered Office 365 service to gain a competitive edge. “Today, we operate 77 restaurants nationwide across seven brands: Zen Restaurant, Zen Sushi and Sake, AKA, On The Table, Zen Cucina, Tetsu, and Donburi by Zen,” said Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd. “Our goal is to be one of the leading food businesses in Thailand and Asia in the next five to ten years. Given the market’s fast-paced changes and high degree of competition, we have come to recognize the role technology plays in enhancing the precision and agility of our decision-making processes, which is why we opted to upgrade from the previous version of Microsoft Office to a cloud-based Office 365 subscription. We are now capable of turning large amounts of data into usable marketing insights through high-performance analytics, work from anywhere in the world, collaborate more efficiently, and prepare our IT infrastructure for future growth into other markets and regions. Office 365 empowers us to effectively make use of the massive influx of data we receive every day and pave the way to global growth in the AEC era.”

Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd., added: “We utilize IT in three main ways: data analysis for strategic and decision-making purposes, operational management to ensure good service quality in accordance with our standards, and overall performance optimization across the organization. Our analytics and business development teams have effectively utilize business intelligence tools and Microsoft Excel to analyze data from point-of-sales (POS) systems across every branch, yielding insights that feed into the creation of new dishes and promotional offers that better meet consumers’ changing demands. If we can respond faster to our customers, we can gain a significant competitive advantage.

“We saw the potential of the cloud in our return on investment and performance benefit. We are now able to access data stored on the cloud from anywhere with ubiquitous mobile devices. Microsoft ensures that Office applications stay updated automatically, and with Office 365, employees across our organization are consistent in the use of the same software version. The latest version of Office not only gives us access to new features but also the ability to cope with increasing amounts of data on our end in anticipation of business growth,” added Woraphan.

The deployment of Office 365 for Zen Corporation Group was supervised by Metro Systems Corporation Public Company Limited – a certified Microsoft partner. Deployment across all 77 locations was completed in just three months.

Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead (2nd from right) and Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. (far right) Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer (2nd from left) and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (far left)
Microsoft empowers Thai SMBs to achieve global competitiveness, launches “SMB Power Up Suite” powered by Office 365, starting from just 300 baht per month, led by Tanapong Ittisakulchai, Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Lead (2nd from right) and Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd. (far right) Together with Thanyachate Ekvetchavit, Chief Commercial Officer (2nd from left) and Woraphan Thanamthiang, Information Management Director, Zen Corporation Group Co., Ltd. (far left)

“Microsoft Office is one of the most widely used application suites in the world with more 1.2 billion users. The new Office 2016 marks an important step forward in Office’s transformation from a single-user productivity tool to a set of applications and services designed for team-based work. Office 365 with Office 2016 applications is the best and most secure Office suite ever, offering cloud-based productivity features that suit every type of business and allowing users to worry less, work easier, and work together on any platform. Furthermore, this Office suite provides outstanding value for money. With a starting price of just 300 baht per user per month, SMBs can achieve enterprise-grade performance and responsiveness that enables them to compete in fast-growing markets,” said Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, Application and Service Marketing Business Group Lead, Microsoft (Thailand) Ltd.

Office 365 with Office 2016 offers the following benefits to SMBs:

  • Work easier and faster like a pro
    • Stay productive anywhere with the ability to review, edit, and present Office 2016 documents on various devices – including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones running Windows, Apple®, or Android™ platforms
    • Instant communication through Skype in-app integration, allowing users to collaborate across apps, send and receive instant messages, share screens, converse, or engage in a video conversation while working on documents
    • Easily find Office features with Tell Me
    • Bring information from the web into your document instantly with Smart Lookup

 

  • Work together with better results
    • Collaborative editing in the PC versions of Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote allows users to see changes and comments as they are made in real time
    • 1TB cloud-based storage on OneDrive for Business allows documents to be shared easily with people inside and outside your organization. By simply attaching links to your emails instead of the full files, you can share documents from anywhere and eliminate the risk of forgetting the source file at home or at the office.
    • Simplify your personal and work calendars with functions such as shared calendars and automatic group-based appointments

 

  • Worry less with efficient and secure information protection
    • Manage to delete data from lost devices or resigned employees at once
    • Secure your shared data on the cloud with OneDrive for Business’ configurable security levels, which can be applied to individual files and folders to ensure full control over access and editing rights
    • Data loss prevention warnings integrated into applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Skype for Business

 

To meet diverse SMB requirements, Microsoft has launched the SMB Power Up Suite in multiple tiers, beginning with the Startup Pack at 300 baht per user per month. SMBs in need of more extensive solutions can opt for the Topping Packs which include the Online Shop Pack (600 baht per user per month), HR Pack (starts at 2,500 baht per user per month), Hotel Pack (starts at 5,000 baht per month), and the Restaurant and Retail Pack (starts at 9,000 baht per month). For more information, please contact [email protected] or call 02 263 6888.

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About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Established in 1993, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited aims to Make 70 Million Lives Better by enabling Thai people and businesses to realize their full potential through technology that transforms the way people work, play, and communicate. We offer software, services, and devices that deliver new opportunities, greater convenience, and enhanced value to people’s lives. Working with communities and the Thai government, Microsoft and its partners are committed to working closely with organizations and people across Thailand to fully harness the power of technology and innovation.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Thailand News Center (https://news.microsoft.com/th-th-stage/), or keep track of the latest updates through the Microsoft Thailand Twitter account (@MicrosoftTH).

 

For more information, press only:
Pornravee Suramool or Yada Sintavarattana
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Thailand
Tel: 0-2627-3501 ext. 110, 213 or 081-735-9213, 081-694-9949
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

[1] http://www.wbiworldconpro.com/uploads/melbourne-conference-2013-november/management/1384775502_446-Phetphrairin_Upping.pdf

[2] IDC Successful Cloud Partners 2.0, 2014