The Business Information Industry Association (BIIA) is a professional organization which brings together providers of a wide range of business information services which help other businesses manage their growth and reduce risk. Apart from hosting regular events for its many international members, the BIIA organizes its main conference every two years to bring together industry leaders from around the world, highlight the newest developments and generate new solutions and ideas. This year the emphasis is on embracing digitization particularly in the field of finance and banking.
"Technology is developing more quickly today than ever before. This means we are now able to create new products and services faster and understand who uses them, how and why. By collecting this information, evaluating and assessing it, it becomes possible to reduce risk and increase the profitability for many companies. These days, this tendency is particularly strong in the financial sector where new startups are creating solutions for very specific customer segments which were previously ignored. Understanding these new trends and their impact on the financial industry is a big part of this year's Biennial BIIA Conference and I am thrilled to know how many industry leaders will be attending and sharing their views this year," says Mr. Joachim C. Bartels, co-founder of BIIA and organizer of the BIIA 2017 Biennial Conference.
With Thailand having a history of early adoption of all things digital, the topic of digitization is particularly prevalent in the Kingdom. There are already many banks and companies designing ways to make more transactions digital and create simple and time-saving solutions for companies and consumers. His Excellency Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Digital Economy and Society and current BIIA Chairman and former Minister of Finance, Khun Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala have been a driving force in this development. In recent years they have continuously enabled Thai financial institutions and service providers to embrace new technology and create many benefits for both businesses and private users. Due to the important role they have played and the experiences they have gained, Dr. Pichet and Khun Thirachai were invited to hold the opening keynote and welcoming speech of the BIIA 2017 Biennial Conference respectively.
"In Thailand we are always looking to embrace innovations as they arise. This helps make us competitive in the global market and brings the Thai people many advantages. Services and products can be made more efficient and cost-effective which benefits everybody involved. It is my pleasure to be sharing the Thai perspective on embracing digitization at the BIIA 2017 Biennial Conference and I hope a fruitful collaboration will follow between the BIIA and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society," says his Excellency Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand.