Question of the Week
I have been hearing a lot about the upcoming IT park in Thimphu, but I don't really know what it is.
Can you explain?
-- Kencho Nima, Khothakpa, Pemagatshel
Answer
An IT park is a developed area of land, usually outside a city, with office buildings that are designed to be occupied by IT (information technology) businesses. An IT park is usually a well-planned commercial development, with ample parking, access roads, landscaping and various amenities - such as a gym, ATM, post office and cafeteria - so as to create a pleasant and efficient work environment for the office-goers. It also has the infrastructure needed by its potential tenants, such as high speed Internet access, UPS (uninterrupted power supply), air-conditioning and fixed voice lines.
There are hundreds of IT parks and similar commercial areas, such as high-tech parks, business parks and science parks, around the world. Many of them are very successful. I used to work at Matam, Israel's first high-tech park, which was established around 40 years ago. These days its tenants include giants like Google, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, and Yahoo!, as well as many smaller companies. These companies provide employment for thousands of people from the surrounding area.
Bhutan's first IT park at the outskirts of the capital - Thimphu TechPark - is still under construction. The first phase, with 50,000 square feet of space, is planned to be operational later this year. A successful IT park can create plenty of employment opportunities and boost economic activity. However, similarly to the envisioned Education City, the question is how to attract international organizations to set up operations here. While the pristine environment and unique culture draws foreign tourists to the "last Shangri La", businesses have different considerations including the availability of skilled human resources and robust infrastructure, operation costs and ease of access. This is why Bhutan might find it challenging to compete with its neighbors.
Tip of the week
The horrendous Sendai earthquake and tsunami had people frantically clicking their web browser's "reload" button to see what's new. Another way to keep up with the latest events is Google Realtime Search (www.google.com/realtime). Simply enter your query terms (e.g., Japan), and Google will bring you the latest relevant tweets, blog entries, Facebook posts, and news articles. And no need to refresh - the results are updated automatically as they become available.
Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com
I have been hearing a lot about the upcoming IT park in Thimphu, but I don't really know what it is.
Can you explain?
-- Kencho Nima, Khothakpa, Pemagatshel
Answer
An IT park is a developed area of land, usually outside a city, with office buildings that are designed to be occupied by IT (information technology) businesses. An IT park is usually a well-planned commercial development, with ample parking, access roads, landscaping and various amenities - such as a gym, ATM, post office and cafeteria - so as to create a pleasant and efficient work environment for the office-goers. It also has the infrastructure needed by its potential tenants, such as high speed Internet access, UPS (uninterrupted power supply), air-conditioning and fixed voice lines.
There are hundreds of IT parks and similar commercial areas, such as high-tech parks, business parks and science parks, around the world. Many of them are very successful. I used to work at Matam, Israel's first high-tech park, which was established around 40 years ago. These days its tenants include giants like Google, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, and Yahoo!, as well as many smaller companies. These companies provide employment for thousands of people from the surrounding area.
Bhutan's first IT park at the outskirts of the capital - Thimphu TechPark - is still under construction. The first phase, with 50,000 square feet of space, is planned to be operational later this year. A successful IT park can create plenty of employment opportunities and boost economic activity. However, similarly to the envisioned Education City, the question is how to attract international organizations to set up operations here. While the pristine environment and unique culture draws foreign tourists to the "last Shangri La", businesses have different considerations including the availability of skilled human resources and robust infrastructure, operation costs and ease of access. This is why Bhutan might find it challenging to compete with its neighbors.
Tip of the week
The horrendous Sendai earthquake and tsunami had people frantically clicking their web browser's "reload" button to see what's new. Another way to keep up with the latest events is Google Realtime Search (www.google.com/realtime). Simply enter your query terms (e.g., Japan), and Google will bring you the latest relevant tweets, blog entries, Facebook posts, and news articles. And no need to refresh - the results are updated automatically as they become available.
Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com
Quite an insight for the people who doesn't know what it is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your replies to the question.
I am a IT student, now pursuing my masters Degree and I had a great time picking up some of the ideas and what an IT park really is. Thanks.
Please keep posting, most Bhutanese needs to know what an IT Park really is
Passu keep going. You are doing great job.Thumbs up for you post..
ReplyDeleteOya Khambhu Kuku, why are you patting my back in Boaz's blog. Put your lenses on before you comment lol.
ReplyDelete