Last time, I told you how I came to be posted to Thailand, but this time I would like to talk about the background to Monosus' expansion into Thailand.
Serious talent shortage
There were several reasons why Monosus decided to expand into Thailand.
I joined Monosus six years ago, and at the time, we received over 200 applications for coder positions. Over the course of two or three years, that number had dropped to just a few dozen, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hire good talent in Japan.
This situation seems to remain unchanged to this day, but the reason is that while the explosive spread of smartphones has increased the need for smartphone sites and apps, the number of engineers involved in development has not kept up. Another possible reason for the shortage of human resources is the competition for front-end engineers between the SI industry and the web industry due to the trend toward cloud computing.
Furthermore, it is true that we needed to take immediate measures to address internal factors such as a lack of production capacity relative to the number of orders we received.
However, in front-end web development, requirements for design and interfaces can be expressed vaguely, making it difficult for non-Japanese people to respond. Therefore, there was concern that the ratio of man-hours spent communicating with Japanese clients would increase at overseas bases.
Countries with many Japanese people
The square in front of CentralWorld in central Bangkok
So why Thailand?
Thailand is a country where many Japanese people live and where it is easy for them to work.
Statistics also show that Thailand has one of the largest numbers of Japanese residents in the world, with long-term residents from each country ranking third after the United States and China at 63,000 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs statistics, October 2014). Bangkok is also ranked fifth in terms of number of Japanese residents by city, after LA, NY, London, and Shanghai, showing that Thailand has a large Japanese population that rivals that of other major cities around the world.
Talat Thai Wholesale Market. The largest wholesale market for fruits and vegetables in Japan, open 24 hours a day.
In addition, Bangkok has a metropolitan population of 15 million, so there are many commercial facilities and restaurants, making it a hotbed of food and drink, where you can eat cuisines from all over the world, just like in Tokyo.
There are about 1,200 Japanese restaurants, and as soon as you step inside, you'll be fooled into thinking you're in Japan because the staff are Thai. Japanese food is a little more expensive than in Japan, but if you want to save money, you can eat Thai food for about 150 yen a meal.
The people are very pro-Japanese and have a deep understanding of Japanese culture, so you won't find any discrimination like you would in Western countries.
We were concerned that the presence of Japanese people would be essential for offshore front-end web development, but Bangkok turned out to be the most comfortable environment in Southeast Asia for Japanese people to live and work.
A series of surprises and pleasant surprises
Despite being in Thailand, I am often surprised by the gap in quality between Japan and Thailand in various services and the fundamental differences in thinking.
For example, in restaurants, the number of staff members outnumbers the number of customers, and they start sweeping the floor beside the table while people are eating. Before getting into a taxi, you must tell the driver your destination and negotiate with him to get permission. It is common to be refused entry depending on your destination. Business cards are different colors, and even bank ATMs miscount bills. The gap in perception was keenly felt during the interior construction work associated with the relocation of Monosus Thailand's office. (" Monosus Thailand's Interior Construction Struggles ")
Erawan Shrine is known as a power spot. On August 17, 2015, a terrorist bombing occurred there.
However, my surprise in Thailand wasn't all negative.
The reason we decided to base our business in Thailand in the first place was that it was an overseas location where Japanese people could live stress-free, and there were many Japanese people living there. In other words, we were only thinking about Japanese people. However, when we established a corporation there, employed Thai people, and started working with them, we were surprised by how excellent they were.
All of the Thai staff working at Monosus Thailand are interested in Japan to some extent, and they joined the company with the understanding that they would be working alongside Japanese people at a foreign company. They also have a sense of purpose in wanting to learn the latest web technology under Japanese quality and value standards.
Many of our staff members are graduates of the most prestigious science universities in Thailand, and not only do they have a good grasp of programming skills, but they also have immense potential in other areas. They also have the cultural proficiency to understand the "design" that is essential for front-end web development, and their English skills are sufficient to access the latest technical information.
I was proud to be working with such talented people, and at the same time, I began to think that we needed to create a system that would enable them to further improve their skills and advance in their careers. I wanted to carve out a future together with them, and I felt that we could do it together, which was a pleasant surprise.
Monosus Thailand staff at the entrance to Naiipa Art Complex, where the office is located. The surrounding area is still under construction.
Currently, I am the only person from Monosas Japan who has been posted to Thailand, but like Kamiyama and Osaka, there are offices in Thailand as a place of work. There is no meaning to whether it is in Japan or overseas, and projects that transcend race and language will become the norm in the future.
We want to produce staff who can thrive in such a global development environment. Although there are many educational challenges, we would like to make the most of the fact that we are in Thailand and grow both as a company and as people.
MIYAKAWA Takuya