NEOPLUS AND PARTNER

Khun Woranun Chantawong, General Manager, Neoplus ((left) and Pipat Lekhachaiworakul, Server Solutions Product Manager, IBM Thailand (Right)

NEOPLUS AND PARTNER IBM BRINGS IT SOLUTIONS TO METALEX 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the events industry in Thailand. At the same time, it has given the country an opportunity to innovate. Metalex 2020, the leading Machine Tools & Metalworking Exhibition in ASEAN, and the first hybrid meeting solution for an industry exhibition in Thailand that opened 18 November, offered a blend of offline and online activities. The show presented several booths featuring latest innovative technologies in machine tools and metalworking. For this edition of Asia Pacific Plant Manufacturing, APM has held exclusive interviews with Metalex 2020 exhibitors to gain an insight into the latest trends that are to shape the industry in 2021.

APM Digital talks to Khun Woranun Chantawong, General Manager, Neoplus, explained that Neoplus is a Systems Integrator company. “A majority of our shareholders are from the Information Technology (IT) sector. We started our business in 1996 with a capital registration of only 10 million Baht. Now we have a registered capital of 25 million Baht. As Systems Integrator, what we do is provide both hardware and software components for enterprises business in Thailand. Our products are more world class products, and we provide long-term support for companies who are our clients. Especially nowadays, as technology is constantly changing, our mission is be a provider of innovative technology.

APM Digital talks to Khun Woranun Chantawong, General Manager, Neoplus, explained that Neoplus is a Systems Integrator company. “A majority of our shareholders are from the Information Technology

(IT) sector. We started our business in 1996 with a capital registration of only 10 million Baht. Now we have a registered capital of 25 million Baht. As Systems Integrator, what we do is provide both hardware and software components for enterprises business in Thailand. Our products are more world class products, and we provide long-term support for companies who areour clients. Especially nowadays, as technology is constantly changing, our mission is be a provider of innovative technology.

In Thailand, we have a lot of IT & Computer services. Basically, the client desires to reduce costs and share resources. One of the trends in the next five years is for Digital Transformation, and that applies for all industries. Therefore, our business is to cooperate with our partners to facilitate hybrid, software and enterprise planning as it is inevitable that companies have to grow in terms of digital. Another trend is mobile and internet, therefore mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) has a clear implication for our business in 2021. Furthermore, another trend is towards ‘Cloud Computing’ or ‘Hybrid Cloud Journey’ so our business is to focus on all these elements as we provide Information Systems, Storage, Hardware, Software and Infrastructure Solutions for every industry.”

“We have been visiting Metalex every year and this year we realized that we should exhibit at Metalex to tap into Innovative Technology. Neoplus joint with IBM and Business Partner to present our business solutions for our potential partners at this exhibition.”

“IBM is the major Business Partner of Neoplus. There are many new technologies that can be applied in the manufacturing sector which are presented at Metalex 2020. We are much grateful to Reed Tradex for organising Metalex 2020. We suggested that there should be IT integration as well because there has been Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and Endpoint Security Management.”

Pipat Lekhachaiworakul, Server Solutions Product Manager, IBM Thailand, expressed that IT solutions presented at Metalex comprised of both hardware and software solutions and are especially for the manufacturing sector. “From IBM perspective, IBM and Neoplus would like to propose turnkey solution which is including high performance hardware platform, like IBM Power Systems, and AI software solution for manufacturing focus, we would like to become partner and trusted advisor with the manufacturers, such as pharmaceuticals, who maybe seeking cost-efficient hardware and systems for their automation systems. Nowadays, the trend is for AI in manufacturing so IT services are to have more prominence for the manufacturing sector. For manufacturers who already have a team for technology, they can easily utilize IBM solutions for operating the technology. This can easily deliver the best AI solution to every industry with high speed, better accurate, and cost-efficient platform with our IBM Power Systems product bundling with.

Secondly, we have customized solutions for manufacturers that are based on innovative technologies, such as the AI for Computer Vision which can be utilized to inspect the processes along the manufacturing line in many manufacturing industries; for instances, automotive, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, and so on, to minimize the number of defects in the production, improve quality, reduce cost and time spent on defective products in output, quality inspections, and also preventive maintenance. We have received many use cases and client success references from across the world and quality is one of the concerns for our clients. As we presented this technology at Metalex 2020 together with Neoplus, we can see our use cases can match with booth visitors and many companies have been interested in our solutions.”

Neoplus also introduces IBM AI solutions and high-performance computing platform can also be applied for healthcare businesses, such as to help doctors in abnormal detection and classification from X-ray films and CT scans where the objective is to identify tumors for cancer diseases, for instance. The reliability of the solutions can be as much as 80 - 90 percent in cases where the data is accurate and good quality. Or in pharmaceuticals, to detect the changes in the color of the medicine, to check the expiry date, or to control the quality in production line.

In terms of digitisation, Neoplus and IBM informed that they can now integrate our solutions with 5G network at manufacturing plants to increase speed, automation, and insights. IBM Robotic Automation Process or RPA is a focus for manufacturing systems. This is particularly for repetitive tasks, such as keying data frequently or answering customers same queries, robotic process and robot engine can be utilized. For industrial manufacturers, this increases efficiency for manufacturers by reducing time and effort spent on manufacturing in terms of process flow. Lastly, we also have tools for cybersecurity for prevention of malware and viruses that may arise from employees’ mobile devices or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).

Last but not least, IBM AI Solutions and Enterprise Applications have partnering with Neoplus also been employed in terms of ‘Smart City’ development. The technologies can even be utilized for transportation systems, such as traffic issues and license plate identification, to begin with.”