Reuters Software: Perhaps the largest software company in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
Rome wasn't built in a day and Thailand's software industry
won't be built in a day either. Efforts have been going on for years at Software Park Thailand (Read recent article).
Recently, fledgling software projects have been sprouting up around the country, a promising sign of things to come.
Among these are an internet telephone or VOIP project at King Mongkut's University of Technology in Thonburi and a Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) project at Prince of Songkla University in Hatyai, both recently featured in Post Database (Read article).
The article featured below today is from last week's Post Database.
The article explains how Reuters, a major global news and financial information company, managed to transform their Thai subsidiary into what now may be the largest software company in Thailand.
(Photos on right include a photo of Ron Dale, Head of Development and a photo of the working environment at Reuters Software (Thailand))
Reuters -
a news service and financial market data provider that provides reports
from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters, news
reporting once accounted for less than 10% of the company's income, its
main focus was on supplying the financial markets with information and
trading products including market data, such as share prices and
currency rates, research and analytics, as well as trading systems that
allowed dealers to buy and sell such assets as currencies and shares on
a computer screen, competitors included Bloomberg L.P. and Dow Jones
Newswires (See Wikipedia)
Rome wasn't built in a day - a common saying meaning that anything great takes time to build
Software Park Thailand - a Thai government agency under the National Science and Technology Development Agency, established to stimulate the development of the Thai software industry (See website)
fledgling - just starting, still very young
sprouting up - coming into existence quickly
promising - seems like it will be very successful in the future
sign of things to come - something that shows what will happen in the future
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) - internet telephone (See Wikipedia)
Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) - computer software that combines many different forms of communication together into one system: phone, email, fax, chat, voice, and live web cam (See Wikipedia)
software, computer software - the computer programs that people use on computers like MS Word that allow people to work on computers (See Wikipedia)
software development - the process of writing computer programs (See Wikipedia)
Head of Development - the manager who directs software development in a company
transform X into Y - change X into Y
Rome wasn't built in a day - a common saying meaning that anything great takes time to build
Software Park Thailand - a Thai government agency under the National Science and Technology Development Agency, established to stimulate the development of the Thai software industry (See website)
fledgling - just starting, still very young
sprouting up - coming into existence quickly
promising - seems like it will be very successful in the future
sign of things to come - something that shows what will happen in the future
VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) - internet telephone (See Wikipedia)
Unified Communication & Collaboration (UCC) - computer software that combines many different forms of communication together into one system: phone, email, fax, chat, voice, and live web cam (See Wikipedia)
software, computer software - the computer programs that people use on computers like MS Word that allow people to work on computers (See Wikipedia)
software development - the process of writing computer programs (See Wikipedia)
Head of Development - the manager who directs software development in a company
transform X into Y - change X into Y
Reuters thrives in Thailand
Software engineering hub is stocked with local talent.By Suchit Leesa-ngunansuk
15/04/2009
When
talking about software development and
outsourcing service in Asia, people
rarely think of Thailand. But one
company, Thomson
Reuters Software,
thinks differently.Seven years ago, Thomson Reuters established Reuters Software (Thailand), a software development centre.
The operation initially had 30 software developers who worked on less sophisticated jobs like fixing bugs in Reuters own development software.
The software development centre, however, has grown up dramatically and become a house of 1,200 software engineers. Of these, only 15 are foreigners. Its flagship software solution, developed here, is Reuters 3000 Xtra, a major investment tool used by financial and investment analysts worldwide.
thrives - do well,
be successful and strong
software engineering - the application of a systematic engineering approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software (See Wikipedia)
stocked with X - have X, possesses X (from: have in supply or inventory, example: the bar is well stocked with beer)
talent - the natural ability to perform some job or task well
local talent - talent within country, area, or region
outsourcing - hiring an outside company to do work instead of doing the work with employees inside the company (sometimes to maintain a more flexible workforce, sometimes to save money, sometimes to improve quality; usually the work is not associated with the core business, outsourcing core business might reveal firm secrets to outsiders, transferring business or IT processes to an external service provider (See Wikipedia)
sophisticated - more advanced and complex than others
a bug - a mistake in a computer program (that causes the program to fail or work incorrectly)
fixing bugs - fixing mistakes in a computer program (so that it will work correctly)
flagship - the most important in a group of things: flagship company, flagship product (See glossary)
a software solution - software designed to solve some business or personal problem
flagship software solution - the most important software solution that they sell
Reuters 3000 Xtra - an investment tool sold by Reuters used by financial and investment analysts worldwide, first offered in 1999 (See Wikipedia)
software engineering - the application of a systematic engineering approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software (See Wikipedia)
stocked with X - have X, possesses X (from: have in supply or inventory, example: the bar is well stocked with beer)
talent - the natural ability to perform some job or task well
local talent - talent within country, area, or region
outsourcing - hiring an outside company to do work instead of doing the work with employees inside the company (sometimes to maintain a more flexible workforce, sometimes to save money, sometimes to improve quality; usually the work is not associated with the core business, outsourcing core business might reveal firm secrets to outsiders, transferring business or IT processes to an external service provider (See Wikipedia)
sophisticated - more advanced and complex than others
a bug - a mistake in a computer program (that causes the program to fail or work incorrectly)
fixing bugs - fixing mistakes in a computer program (so that it will work correctly)
flagship - the most important in a group of things: flagship company, flagship product (See glossary)
a software solution - software designed to solve some business or personal problem
flagship software solution - the most important software solution that they sell
Reuters 3000 Xtra - an investment tool sold by Reuters used by financial and investment analysts worldwide, first offered in 1999 (See Wikipedia)
Reuters Software (Thailand) Head of Development Ron Dale spoke exclusively with Database recently about the challenges of the job. He said that one of the most important factors in a company's success is assembling a talented and motivated team of employees, who are willing to work hard every day and commit to excellence. Human resources, he added, is the most important assets in the software business.
"Our staff are talented IT professionals who work hard to both improve their technical skills and their English language skills," Mr Dale said.
"While Thailand might not have the scale in terms of the number of experienced IT staff in India and China, we have found the level of skill here that we need to succeed," he continued. "The key is in retaining talented staff. And in my view the key is to offer them interesting and exciting challenges and not just ask them to maintain legacy code. We use the latest technologies and expect our staff to stay current with the market, improve their skills and be innovative."
He said to keep people with the company, Reuters Software (Thailand) offers challenging jobs for software engineers and has introduced several incentive programmes to keep staff with the company, including training opportunities.
"Thailand's operation has very low turn over rate, compared to other operations in Asia," Mr Dale added.
Asked why Reuters decided to set up software development centre here, Mr Dale said the low overhead was attractive, especially with the BoI special privilege programme. Also, Thailand had skilled software engineers and a decent telecom infrastructure.
spoke exclusively - spoke only with them (not
to others also)
motivated -
excellence - do some activity extremely well
commit to excellence - make a plan and promise to achieve excellence in your work
human resources -
IT professionals - trained and skilled people who job is working with computers
technical skills -
scale - size
retain - keep staff, keep employees (when employees do not leave a company to go work for another company)
retaining talented staff - keep employees who do their jobs well
challenges - new and difficult problems to solve, that require effort and determination
code - computer programs
legacy code - old computer programs (that still must be maintained but should probably be replaced)
maintain legacy code , maintain old computer programs - making the changes and fixes in old programs necessary to keep them working and serviging the organisation's needs
stay current, stay current with the market - obtain the latest information and skills
a incentive - a reward given to a person to encourage them to behave in a certain way
turn over rate - the speed at which employees are leaving the company to go and work for other companies
overhead - a business's fixed expenses that have to be paid no matter how much is produced ("variable expenses" vary with the amount produced)
Board of Investment (BOI) - a Thai government agency that formulates policies and incentives to encourage companies to invest in Thailand (See website)
BoI special privilege programme - special privileges given as an incentive to companies to encourage them to invest in Thailand (See list at BOI)
decent - has acceptable standard or quality
telecom infrastructure - the equipment a telephone company needs to provide telephone service to callers
motivated -
excellence - do some activity extremely well
commit to excellence - make a plan and promise to achieve excellence in your work
human resources -
IT professionals - trained and skilled people who job is working with computers
technical skills -
scale - size
retain - keep staff, keep employees (when employees do not leave a company to go work for another company)
retaining talented staff - keep employees who do their jobs well
challenges - new and difficult problems to solve, that require effort and determination
code - computer programs
legacy code - old computer programs (that still must be maintained but should probably be replaced)
maintain legacy code , maintain old computer programs - making the changes and fixes in old programs necessary to keep them working and serviging the organisation's needs
stay current, stay current with the market - obtain the latest information and skills
a incentive - a reward given to a person to encourage them to behave in a certain way
turn over rate - the speed at which employees are leaving the company to go and work for other companies
overhead - a business's fixed expenses that have to be paid no matter how much is produced ("variable expenses" vary with the amount produced)
Board of Investment (BOI) - a Thai government agency that formulates policies and incentives to encourage companies to invest in Thailand (See website)
BoI special privilege programme - special privileges given as an incentive to companies to encourage them to invest in Thailand (See list at BOI)
decent - has acceptable standard or quality
telecom infrastructure - the equipment a telephone company needs to provide telephone service to callers
He recalled that in the beginning, the Bangkok office merely performed maintenance chores with a staff of 200. But now Thailand is Thomson Reuters' largest software development centre, and probably the largest software company in Thailand.
"This [growth was] the result of the early success we had with a number of projects transitioned to Bangkok. As we developed our capabilities ... for some of the early projects we completed in our enterprise information and foreign exchange transactions areas, we decided to bring more strategic work to Thailand," Mr Dale told Database.
"If I recall correctly, the first strategic product to move to Bangkok was our Dealing 3000 client. This is the client for our foreign exchange transaction system with more than 19,000 terminals in investment banks around the world. We first started to transition the Dealing client to Bangkok in 2003, and the transition took about one year to complete," he said.
Later, executives decided to move the Reuters Electronic Trading system for foreign exchange to Bangkok the following year. This eventually led to the development of the Chinese Foreign Exchange Tradings System which was deployed in China about two years ago.
chores - important
and essential work that is also routine and boring
performed maintenance chores - change programs so that they continue to work correctly (boring work, a chore)
projects transitioned to Bangkok - projects gradually moved to Bangkok
transition X to Y - move X to Y (a process that occurs over a period of time)
capabilities - tasks or activities that someone is able to do
developed our capabilities - learn how to do and become better at doing a task or activity
enterprise - a company
enterprise information - company information
foreign exchange - foreign currencies
foreign exchange transactions - the buying and selling of foreign currencies
strategy - important future long-term plans to achieve goals
strategic work - work that is an important part of a company's long-term strategic plans
strategic product - a product that is an important part of a company's long-term strategic plans
recall - remember
Dealing 3000 - the brand name for the client side part of Reuter's foreign exchange transaction system
a client - the software on the small computers of users that connects them to the main server where they get information
the server - the software on a central big computer that provides information to users with smaller computers attached to a network
client-server system - (See Wikipedia on client-server system)
electronic trading system - trading securities with computers (stocks, bonds, foreign currency, exchange traded derivatives electronically) (See Wikipedia)
deployed - prepare a resource so that it is ready to be used
performed maintenance chores - change programs so that they continue to work correctly (boring work, a chore)
projects transitioned to Bangkok - projects gradually moved to Bangkok
transition X to Y - move X to Y (a process that occurs over a period of time)
capabilities - tasks or activities that someone is able to do
developed our capabilities - learn how to do and become better at doing a task or activity
enterprise - a company
enterprise information - company information
foreign exchange - foreign currencies
foreign exchange transactions - the buying and selling of foreign currencies
strategy - important future long-term plans to achieve goals
strategic work - work that is an important part of a company's long-term strategic plans
strategic product - a product that is an important part of a company's long-term strategic plans
recall - remember
Dealing 3000 - the brand name for the client side part of Reuter's foreign exchange transaction system
a client - the software on the small computers of users that connects them to the main server where they get information
the server - the software on a central big computer that provides information to users with smaller computers attached to a network
client-server system - (See Wikipedia on client-server system)
electronic trading system - trading securities with computers (stocks, bonds, foreign currency, exchange traded derivatives electronically) (See Wikipedia)
deployed - prepare a resource so that it is ready to be used
"We now have over 1,200 staff in the software centre and I would easily say that two-thirds of our staff are working on strategic development projects. In addition to Dealing we also do strategic development for our premium desktop information and the trading product known as 3000 Xtra. It's interesting to note that the Thai baht is traded on our Dealing product and Thai language news is available on our 3000 Xtra product.
"Most interesting is that as part of the integration of Thomson and Reuters we are developing a platform for our new product suite to be announced soon and many of the key components of this exciting new platform are being developed in Thailand. I am so proud of how far our staff have come in such a short period of time," Mr Dale added.
During the economic crisis the company has added more staff in Thailand, he said. The company will add 100 more workers in 2009, an indication of the increasing opportunities in software development here.
Mr Dale has not worked his magic only in Bangkok; he also established a software development centre in Beijing in 2006 with more than 600 staff.
Establishing these two offices in Asia have saved the company in excess of $100 million per year.
key components -
important parts of a system
how far our staff have come in such a short period of time - achievements of employees in a short period of time
worked his magic - achieved important things, difficult to achieve like "magic"
in excess of - more than
how far our staff have come in such a short period of time - achievements of employees in a short period of time
worked his magic - achieved important things, difficult to achieve like "magic"
in excess of - more than
Thailand first CMMI Level 5
In order to assure high quality development, Reuters Software (Thailand) became the first company in Thailand and Southeast Asia to get CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) certification. CMMI is a process improvement approach that provides organisations with the essential elements of effective processes. The company gained CMMI version 1.1 Level 5, the highest certification level in 2005.With such a large software development organisation, the company needs to have a process improvement program, especially to meet the needs of the business and allow staff to develop their expertise and skills and enhance innovation. Adopting CMMI enabled internal processes to be more productive and deliver projects on time.
Capability Maturity Model
Integration (CMMI), CMMI
standards -
a system for improving the business processes in a company
(See Wikipedia)
certification - an process of meeting certain high standards and being issued with an "certificate" to prove this after an official examination
process improvement approach -
expertise - special skills and knowledge from study, training, experience, or practice
develop their expertise and skills - improve their expertise and skills
enhance - improve
enhance innovation - improve innovation (make people innovate and come up with more new and useful ideas)
productive - produce more with same amount of resources and time
deliver projects on time - complete projects on time
certification - an process of meeting certain high standards and being issued with an "certificate" to prove this after an official examination
process improvement approach -
expertise - special skills and knowledge from study, training, experience, or practice
develop their expertise and skills - improve their expertise and skills
enhance - improve
enhance innovation - improve innovation (make people innovate and come up with more new and useful ideas)
productive - produce more with same amount of resources and time
deliver projects on time - complete projects on time
Today Reuters Software (Thailand) is in the process of preparing to apply for a new CMMI certification: Version 1.2. The company is aiming for a Level 3 certification.
"We decided to go for a CMMI Level 3 certification which would help to establish consistency across the organisation this time ... We may or may not decide to go for Level 5 again. What is important is a strong that allows our staff to meet the needs of the business units we serve. We need to continue toframework for software development foster a strong culture of innovation in our staff. These two things are much more important than whether or not we are certified at level 3 or level 5," Mr Dale explained..
The development chief has also developed career paths for local staff to grow with the company and rise to senior management. He has facilitated global collaboration and a helpful cross-cultural training programme.
In order to retain talented employees, he said, management must create challenging job opportunities to give staff pride in their work, motivating them and leading them to enjoy their jobs that much more. Of course, this also benefits the company, by making workers more productive.
consistency - doing
things in the same way, having the same level of quality
establish consistency across the organisation - make sure different parts of a company do things in the same way
framework for software development - a system for software development
foster Y - help Y grow and develop
foster a strong culture of innovation - help create a work environment where people try out new ideas to improve the way things are done
career paths - the series of related work and jobs that develop your experience and skill over a long period of time
facilitated global collaboration - help people around the world work (together towards shared goals)
cross-cultural training programme -
retain talented employees - able to keep good employees (prevent them from moving to another company)
pride - feeling good and satisfied about what people close to you have achieved (example: pride in your daughter's high grades)
pride in their work - when they feel good about good work that they have done
establish consistency across the organisation - make sure different parts of a company do things in the same way
framework for software development - a system for software development
foster Y - help Y grow and develop
foster a strong culture of innovation - help create a work environment where people try out new ideas to improve the way things are done
career paths - the series of related work and jobs that develop your experience and skill over a long period of time
facilitated global collaboration - help people around the world work (together towards shared goals)
cross-cultural training programme -
retain talented employees - able to keep good employees (prevent them from moving to another company)
pride - feeling good and satisfied about what people close to you have achieved (example: pride in your daughter's high grades)
pride in their work - when they feel good about good work that they have done
Skilled human resources
Mr Dale told Database that if Thailand wants to attract more information and communication technology investment from foreign companies, the government should encourage more Thais to be trained in IT.At technical schools and universities most students are interested in business and marketing, and not so much in IT.
Currently, there are approximately 5,000 IT students graduating every year, which falls short of the industry demand of 6,000 per year.
Moreover, English language skills are important as well as more cost-effective and reliable bandwidth connectivity for international communication.
He said that even in the global economic crisis, which would result in no major IT projects, the software industry would still have moderate growth and the industry would look for cost-effective development centre locations with a skilled workforce, allowing Thailand and Asia to be more attractive venues for outsourcing, and creating challenges for other markets, namely Europe and the US.
"Political problems happen in many parts of the world," Mr Dale said, referring to Thailand's current political crisis. But the country should focus on developing IT education to build a competent workforce, and try to specialise in niche markets such as animation, gaming and multimedia including IT outsourcing, he added.
ICT (Information and
Communications Technology) - computer-based information
systems, particularly software applications, and communication systems,
as well as computer hardware (See Wikipedia)
X falls short of Y - X does not reach level Y,
cost-effective - produces good results for low cost
reliable - can trust it, can be sure that it will work properly and correctly
bandwidth - the capacity for a given system to transfer data, the data transmission rate; the maximum amount of information (bits/second) that can be transmitted along a channel
reliable bandwidth connectivity - the ability for a network or internet connection to work quickly without failing
moderate growth - not fast or slow, growth
skilled workforce - the employees working for the company are skilled, have special training, education, and knowledge
a venue - a place where an event or activity happens
attractive venues for outsourcing
competent - have the necessary skills to perform a task well
workforce - the people who work for a company
build a competent workforce -
a niche - a small specialised area
specialise in niche markets - when a company provides products and services for a limited group of customers with special needs
animation - movies with cartoon characters, not real people
gaming - playing computer games
multimedia - computer programs that combine media: sound, video, pictures, animation, and text
X falls short of Y - X does not reach level Y,
cost-effective - produces good results for low cost
reliable - can trust it, can be sure that it will work properly and correctly
bandwidth - the capacity for a given system to transfer data, the data transmission rate; the maximum amount of information (bits/second) that can be transmitted along a channel
reliable bandwidth connectivity - the ability for a network or internet connection to work quickly without failing
moderate growth - not fast or slow, growth
skilled workforce - the employees working for the company are skilled, have special training, education, and knowledge
a venue - a place where an event or activity happens
attractive venues for outsourcing
competent - have the necessary skills to perform a task well
workforce - the people who work for a company
build a competent workforce -
a niche - a small specialised area
specialise in niche markets - when a company provides products and services for a limited group of customers with special needs
animation - movies with cartoon characters, not real people
gaming - playing computer games
multimedia - computer programs that combine media: sound, video, pictures, animation, and text
NGN intelligent information
For technology development, in the near future, software will be more agile and open, which will enable users to select the content they need.Software will become more innovative and creative, raising users' experience to a new level.
"Our clients can get various sources of financial information from our proprietary systems in a more intelligent way," Mr Dale said. "Probably, the computer will generate algorithm trading instead of experienced brokers, and some knowledge brokers will help to develop algorithm trading systems."
agile - quick and
intelligent
agile software - software that is quick and efficient
open software -
users' experience - everything happens to a user while he uses software (a good or bad experience)
proprietary systems - computer software systems that are owned and sold by a company (as opposed to open source systems that are available to the public for free)
algorithm trading -
agile software - software that is quick and efficient
open software -
users' experience - everything happens to a user while he uses software (a good or bad experience)
proprietary systems - computer software systems that are owned and sold by a company (as opposed to open source systems that are available to the public for free)
algorithm trading -
(Source: Bangkok Post, Database, 15/04/2009, Reuters thrives in Thailand, Suchit Leesa-ngunansuk, link)
