DATA CENTER

AND CLOUD SERVICE

IN THAILAND
Why Thailand for Thailand is one of the strongest economic
Data Center and countries in ASEAN which is set a goal to be
Cloud Service? a hub of ASEAN in many ways. As a major
production base of agricultural and industrial
Thailand in the Center of ASEAN, products in the world is back up Thailand to be
a growing e-business market one of the strongest economic countries in
The Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth ASEAN. The country will lead a national
Consumer Markets Report by the World development strategy, Thailand 4.0 as
Economic Forum (WEF) and Bain & Company sustainability grow, with the digital industry as
(2021) identified numerous changes in trend one of the development strategies. Thailand
for ASEAN consumer habits that will enable is one of the high ranks of the internet users.
Southeast Asia to become the region of growth Especially, during the pandemic outbreak
for e-businesses. Over the next decade, ASEAN digital market is the tend to run the business
will become the fourth largest economy in the as well as the adjust life to the new normal of
world, with a consumer market capitalization Thai people according to Hootsuite report that
of approximately USD 4 trillion. In particular, the population in Thailand is 69.88 Million Thai
the COVID-19 pandemic pushes consumers people has the users of mobile connection
to embrace digital even faster. 90.66 million. The number increased from
The growing middle class will be the 2020 shows that digital has become one of
key driver of digital businesses. This group of the parts in the daily life such as the education,
consumers will make more digital purchases groceries, lending benefited, food delivery and
and spend more time online as the world online payment and financial etc.
progresses to the post-COVID new normal. To Those things are representing that digital
highlight some key statistics, total streaming service is the main responsibility to the industry
time on mobile devices across the region that will support today’s ever-growing digital
increased 60% from January 2020 to April in everyday life Including in the future. Another
2021 in ASEAN countries including Indonesia, key factor that must be fully supported in the
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand future is the Data Center and Cloud industry,
and Vietnam, and consumers spend average which will promote the growth of digital
time on mobile screens 4.2 hours daily, or 1.2 industry not just located in Thailand, but also
times the global average. to the countries around the central Thailand
such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and
Vietnam.
Thailand as the market smartphones in such a part of the internet in
of opportunity the life of people.
The digital economies of ASEAN, and The daily use of the Internet is normalized
Thailand, especially, are expanding. According in every part. Service providers in various
to e-Conomy SEA 2020 Report, the total number sectors, including the government, private
of internet users in ASEAN grew from 360 to sectors, and startups, have turned to developing
400 million between 2020. This is compounded platforms to provide consumers with convenient
by the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic access to use conveniently. In the future,
induced a vast number of people to turn to the country will officially be adopting 5G, the
online digital services for the first time. Most digital ecosystem will be developed and ready
importantly, the report highlights that 94 percent to support growth as well. Thailand is currently
of new users will continue to use digital services one of the top online platform users of the
even after the pandemic. The size of the ASEAN Community, according to Hootsuite’s
addressable digital market is enormous in report that mentioned above. The various
Thailand, as highlighted by the following latest platforms that have been developed for ease
statistics from January 2021 provided by of sectors include:
Hootsuite (2021). 1) General banking finance has its own
applications as well as various private services
69.5% percent of the population are that users can complete their transactions
internet users, and this figure will continue to without having face to face. Including the
grow with the government’s internet outreach payment system that is convenient and
initiatives. fastens, both banks and other private service
88.1% (of those aged 16 to 64) used providers such as e-payment system (Prompt
online methods to search for products or Pay) in Thailand with 39 million registered
services. users.
74.2% (of those aged 16 to 64) purchased 2) Online Shopping is one of the industries
a product online via mobile phone app. that has been popular and able to access
E-commerce spending is largest in the the market in Thailand. Currently, there are
category of travel & accommodation, electronics applications from many convenient providers
& physical media, and food & personal care such as Shopee, and Lazada, as well as other
(also the highest growth among all category of consumer goods providers with their own
e-commerce transaction), respectively. applications.

Thailand’s digital economy is expected

contribute 25 percent of the country’s GDP by
2027, driven by the growth of e-commerce,
and enabled by high internet and mobile
penetration, as well as choices of e-payment
systems.
Thailand’s Vibrant
Digital Ecosystem
Thailand’s vibrant digital ecosystem is
constantly evolving as digital ecosystem is
the creation of an ecosystem that connects
multiple systems and services together to
create convenience for consumers in multiple
applications through a single channel. Thailand
is also one of the countries that spending is on
platforms online either on smart phones or the
websites. Since Thailand is leading in 4G and
 3) There is also a communication application
that users will use for entertainment Including
being used for business. For example, famous
platforms such as LINE, Instagram, Twitter,
Facebook etc. Thailand is also bringing digital to
facilitate utilities such as government agencies,
increasing payment options and contacting
agencies through applications such as payment
for water, electricity, and complaints.
to use Hybrid Cloud because the storage can
In addition to the transportation system, be chosen. Also, in terms of flexibility and help
during the COVID-19 epidemic, many service save costs.
sectors often use online platforms to facilitate Each organization has a system that has
the delivery of consumer goods, including a variety of tasks, which will be suitable for
consumer goods and food delivery to consumers. different types of Cloud systems, for example.
By changing the to work from home and
adopting digital technology to other parts, the SaaS (Software as a Service)
ecosystem plays a huge role and Thailand will This system has a ready-to-use application
move towards a fully digital society in the future. for the given capabilities with the advantages
This is largely attributed to the availability of that the service provider takes care of everything.
strong partnerships with creative companies, Both in terms of software, debugging, as well
groundbreaking ICT entrepreneurs, and high as data storage tend to pay for the fees based
customer demand. During the COVID-19 on the number of users or the amount of work
pandemic, e-businesses in Thailand became used:
an integral part of daily lives and have grown
significantly, and other Thai startups have also 1. Email system such as Microsoft Exchange,
reached more customers during the lockdown. Google Gmail
This most represent that opportunities in data 2. Office Automation systems such as
center and cloud service will be one of the Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps.
part digital growth. 3. A CRM system such as Salesforce.com
4. Personnel management systems
such as Workday
Overview of
Thailand’s Readiness PaaS (Platform as a Service)
to Accommodate Hybrid App system or a newly created
Data Center and application (New System). Its purpose is to
Cloud Service support a large number of users, perhaps
hundreds or even millions. This could be a
Overview of Cloud Service Web Application or a Mobile Application. This
For organizations or businesses that use type of system is especially suitable to run
the Private Cloud, most are organizations that on the cloud because the cloud has more
require high security and data security, such scalability. It is also more appropriate in terms
as government organizations, security related of investment:
agencies or private sector organizations that Its purpose is to support a large number
require to secure their information secret at a of users, perhaps hundreds or even millions.
high level, etc. This could be a Web Application or a Mobile
For small to medium-sized enterprises or Application. This type of system is especially
businesses that are seeking to reduce costs, suitable to run on the cloud because the cloud
will choose Public Cloud as if concerned has more scalability. It is also more appropriate
about data leakage or it is necessary to keep in terms of investment known PaaS systems
some information confidential, often choose such as:
 China is the center of the largest data
center market in the Asia Pacific region.
But there are other key players, including
Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong, although
neighboring countries, Singapore and Hong
Kong have had the credibility of providing data
center business over the few years. But these
countries are facing land restrictions in land
development problems. This such an ability
for Thailand to promote with tax incentives and
other special non-tax incentives by the Board
of Investment (BOI), it will help investors make
informed decisions. The central location in
Thailand, it is possible to expand data center
service to the surrounding countries. It is also
located 30 kilometers from the undersea cable
1. Analytics and Big Data systems and is more than 100 meters above sea level,
such as Microsoft HDInsight, Amazon Elastic reducing the risk of flooding. 5G technology
MapReduce. will be used in the near future, which will pave
2. Data Management systems such as the way for Internet of Thing (IoT) infrastructure
Amazon RDS, Amazon Redshift, Microsoft in Thailand and enabling 5G will lead to the
Azure Database. transformation of the data center in both areas
3. Mobile Services systems such as and applications with space design to support
Microsoft Mobile Services, Amazon Cognito. 5G frequency.
4. Application Service systems such as In the present the Thai government has
Microsoft Cloud Services, Pivotal Cloud Foundry. taken the digital economy seriously with the aim
of pushing Thailand to become a “ASEAN’s
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Digital Hub”, aims to develop large data centers
The system uses a virtual machine, also (big data) to meet international standards. Big
known as a VM, on the cloud with the aim data must be stored in “Data center” with
of enabling fast and low-cost hardware high standards and security, human resource
acquisition: development for the digital labor market with
expertise in electrical, engineering and IT with
1. Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS the potential and readiness of Thailand today,
2. Disaster Recovery is necessary. But It can be confident that in the near future,
many agencies may not have enough space Thailand It will be able to create regional digital
or budget. Can bring the Cloud system to be business growth, similar to Singapore and
used as a DR site Indonesia.
3. Software Development system that
requires either a server or storage device from World Class
the development phase to testing and QA. Internet Infrastructure
Data Center in Thailand According to the popular website
As technology and digital platforms has speedtest.net, Thailand has the world’s 2nd
become one of the key factors in the fight fastest average download speed for fixed
against COVID-19. The number of online broadband access. Domestically, there are
users has increased considerably. As a currently 10 international internet gateways,
result, the demand for space to build a data 11 internet exchange points, and more than
center around the world has greatly increased 200 Internet Service Providers (ISP). As the
including Thailand and expected that Data basis of these operating infrastructure, the
Center Market of ASEAN in 2024 will be worth country is connected to 13 submarine cable
up to 5.4 billion dollars. networks with 3 landing station.
 submarine cable networks. Most crucially,
Thailand is connected to the AAE-1 international
submarine cable, which is one of the world’s
most important and newest cables connecting
countries from East Asia to Europe. CAT is
also connected with 6 international submarine
cable systems capable of delivering 54 terabits
per second transmission speeds. These include
the FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe)
cable, the SEA-ME-WE 3 (Southeast Asia-
Middle East- Western Europe 3), the TIS
(Thailand-Indonesia-Singapore), the SEA-ME- Investment
WE 4 (Southeast Asia - Middle East - Western Opportunities
Europe 4), the AAG cable systems (Asia- Data center and cloud services are one
America Gateway) and APG (Asia Pacific the most essential driver of the global digital
Gateway). economy. It provides basic infrastructure to
On Thailand’s part, the government a vast range of services, from the least to the
continues to expand the capacity of digital most complex ones. Demand for these services
infrastructure in every ways, such as expanding will stem from existing digital services, such as
high-speed internet networks in various villages e-commerce, e-payment, and digital content
nationwide, providing free Wi-Fi at 50,000 streaming, as well as novel and soon to be widely
locations under “Smart Sign On” policy, including adopted services such as the Internet of Things.
non-formal and informal schools, border patrol Furthermore, their sources are both consumer
police schools and digital community centers, and industrial driven. As mentioned earlier, the
doubling International bandwidth to meet the Thai and ASEAN consumers are inducing more
demands of growing economic activities, and and more service digitization. At the same time,
setting up digital Thailand Infrastructure Fund. businesses and industries are also massively
These efforts will play part in expanding the digitally transforming themselves, and so will
size of the addressable market in the future. increase the demand for data storage and
cloud-based digital services.
Figure 1: Network of Submarine Cables To investing the business in Data Center
Connected to Thailand and Cloud service in Thailand, can consider
utilities such as water, electricity, and location in
the business operations. Thailand has a policy
in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to
support such investments. Including agencies
serving the government sector in requesting
water, electricity, support from the Office of
Thailand
the Board of Investment. Paying taxes are
simple and easy. Including the readiness of
humans with the knowledge and capability
of more than 259,878 graduates in 2020,
able to support investors to be confident in
conducting data center and cloud service
businesses in Thailand.
The followings are the list existing data
centers and cloud service providers currently
Source: www.submarinecablemap.com operating in Thailand. It shows the country’s
capacity to accommodate investment in these
categories. However, more is always needed
to prepare for future growth.
 SUPERNAP (Thailand) offers data center Thailand’s digital economy by providing an
services to large companies, multinationals, array of supports.
government and cloud service providers, whose
IT needs are mission-critical for operations. Digital Economy Promotion Agency
INET’s services span from Cloud Solutions (Public Organization): supports the development
service, full internet connection service and of the digital industry through innovation and
the provision of INET Data Operations Center digital technology. Its fund offerings include
(INET-IDC) for those looking for efficient services digital manpower fund, digital manpower
in international standards. executive, digital transformation fund, digital
(TOT + CAT) collaborate to reduce redundancy Infrastructures and digital RDI Fund.
in both investment and eliminate overlapping National Science and Technology
problems of some types of services. Development Agency (NSTDA): a key driver
CSL has the greatest number of data of national science and technology capabilities
centers in Thailand. providing support for R&D in five core areas,
PROEN Data Center Cloud HM Company: namely agriculture and food, energy and
a leading Cloud Services provider in Thailand. environment, health and medicines, bio-
Providing services covering both Domestic resources and communities, and manufacturing
Cloud, Global Cloud, and IT as a Service, with and service industries.
24-hour Service First service in conjunction National Electronics and Computer
with SUPERNAP (Thailand) Technology Center (NECTEC): has the primary
MFEC: the company is Thailand’s listed mandate to support research and development
leading System Integrator. One-stop service opportunities for electronics and computer
provider on the cloud Consists of cloud consulting, technologies. It also provides a unique
designing, building and administration. linkage between research communities and
NTT Global Data Centers (Thailand) industries.
Limited: NTT operates 98 data centers across National Innovation Agency (NIA) (Public
the Asia Pacific region with 182,000 m2 of data Organization): operating under the auspices
center. The comprehensive NTT platform can of the Ministry of Science and Technology,
deliver a variety of technology solutions in the NIA is mandated to conduct and promote
addition to data center products. activities that fast-track innovations in industry,
business, and government sectors. The NIA
also frequently partners with the private sector.
BOI Support One example of which is the Bangkok Cyber
Tech District, which is a startup park launched
BOI Incentives in collaboration with True Digital Park.
The Thailand Board of Investment offers
many highly attractive investment incentives,  
which, among others, include exemption Regulatory and Business
of import duties on machinery, exemption Setup Process
of import duties on raw materials used in Key regulatory process of data center
production for export, and other non-tax investment in Thailand is the application of
incentives such as BOI business facilitation permit granted for internet service provision by the
services. Both investment in data centers National Broadcasting and Telecommunications
and cloud services may be granted 8 years of Commission (NBTC). The overall process can
corporate income tax exemption without limit be conducted simultaneously; however, we
of maximum exemptible CIT. recommend that you start the process by first
applying for investment incentive at the BOI.
Government Support Our investor facilitation services are ready to
The following agencies are key government help and guide you on what to do next.
stakeholders in Thailand’s digital ecosystem.
They will work to ensure the success of
 Apply for Submit the application for investment
BOI incentives promotion from Board of Investment

Register Register your business at the Department

your of Business Development, Ministry of
entity Commerce

Get the certificate Obtain the certificate of investment

of investment promotion incentive from the BOI

Operationalize your Site

Dealing with Building Permit and Occupancy Permit: apply at the Civil
Construction Permits Works department of the area of your establishment

Telephone: connect with the TOT Public Company Limited

Water: apply at the Provincial or Metropolitan Waterworks

Authority depending on your lo

Getting Connect with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority or the

Electricity Provincial Electricity Authority depending on your location

Registering Submit your documents at the Land Office, Department

Property of Lands.

Recruitment Understand Thai labor laws and business incentives for

skill upgrading / training

Obtain the Telecommunication Business License (NBTC)

Type 1: Type 2: Type 3:

Not operating Operation has no Operating own
own telecommunication impact on the competition telecommunication network
network
Operation has impact on
the competition.

+ See below for additional information regarding the application and required documentation
+ For type III licensee, financial project, business and marketing plan must be provided accompanying the application.
How to Operationalize Your Business Operation
Per above illustration, apart from obtaining the BOI incentives and certificates, allow the BOI
to assist you on the following processes.

Process Details and Contact Point

Dealing with Construction Permits Building Permit and Occupancy Permit:

submit building permit application at the
Civil Works department of the area you are
building your establishment.
Telephone: TOT Public Company Limited
Water: connect with Provincial or Metropolitan
Waterworks Authority depending on your
location

Getting Electricity Connect with the Metropolitan Electricity

Authority or the Provincial Electricity Authority
depending on your location

Registering Property Submit your documents at the Land Office,

Department of Lands.
All corporate documents used in this process
must be certified copies.

Recruitment Key takeaways in understanding labor laws

in Thailand: protections, hours and holiday,
compensation, social security, cessation of
operation, termination, and minimum wage
Understand incentives for labor skill training
Source: BOI OSOS Investment Center
Data Center- and
Cloud Service-Specific
Regulatory Process
In regard to the NBTC permit, The
Telecommunications Business Act B.E. 2544
(2001) identifies three distinct types of licenses.
Differentiation between each of them depends
on whether the operator operates its own
telecommunication network, and how impactful
it is to the overall competition environment.

Type I License is exclusively issued

for operators who do not operates its own
telecommunication network. 5) Business plan:
Type II License is issued for private Financial projection*: funding, investment
networks or networks whose presences have plan and estimated ROI for the initial
no impact on the overall competitive environment, 5 years (10 for Type III applicant),
regardless of the ownership status of the projected NPV, IRR, and estimated
telecommunication network. payback period
Type III License is issued for operators Market analysis and marketing strategy
who operates its own telecommunication Plans of service provision for the next
network and whose presences can impact the 5 years (10 for Type III applicant)
overall competitive environment. System security plan, network security
plan**, network reliability plan**, emergency
To apply for the Telecommunication and disaster plan**, and consumer
Business License, submit the application, protection plan**
along with the associated evidence and
document, to the NBTC. The entire process * Applicable for type II and III application only
takes around 10 days. The following documents ** Applicable for type II and III application with telecommunication
network ownership only
and information must be presented as a part
of the application process.
Privacy and Data Protection Laws
1) Corporate documents: certificate of According to an article by Suwanprateep
incorporation, memorandum of association, (2020) published in Data Guidance, the Personal
and list of shareholders Data Protection Act (PDPA) 2019, which takes
2) Additional information about corporate full effect on 1 June 2021, is Thailand’s first
entity: corporate profile of the parent company, full-fledge personal data protection law. The
as well as subsidiary; corporate and ownership key points are summarized as follows.
structure; business model; names of the
directors; and organization charts The main regulator of the PDPA is the
3) Operations: types and areas of service Personal Data Protection Committee, which is
being offered, target customers, and other due to be established.
relevant information The PDPA outlines key provisions
4) Technical information: general summary, regarding consent, data sensitivity, public
network diagram, network deployment (route interest, and basis of legal action upon
and international exchange used), point violation.
of interconnection, and list of associated As a data controller and processor,
equipment the PDPA outlines requirement for processing
notification, data records, impact assessment,
appointment of data protection officers,
breach notification, retention, and treatment of
data belonging to sensitive subjects.
 Head Office, Office Of The Board Of Investment
555 Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road., Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Tel: (+66) 2553 8111 Fax: (+66) 2553 8315 Email: [email protected]

www.boi.go.th