In Thailand’s technology industry, many software houses are asking the same question: “How do we survive in the AI era?” Some fear AI will replace them. Others want to change but do not know where to begin.
In this article, we share the real story of Enersys—a Thai software company that started as a one-person business in 2012, grew into a 15-person team, earned the trust of leading organizations across the country, and is now transforming into an AI Company with products of its own. We hope these lessons will be useful for Thai technology companies seeking direction in the age of AI.
The Beginning: One Person and a Belief in Open Source (2012–2015)
In 2012, Tomz, the founder of Enersys, started the business alone, leveraging expertise in open-source ERP systems such as Odoo (then known as OpenERP). At a time when Thailand’s ERP market was dominated by SAP and Oracle, with price tags ranging from millions to tens of millions of baht, choosing Odoo was a risky move—but one that opened access to mid-sized customers seeking high-quality ERP systems at a reasonable cost.
In the early years, the business focused primarily on consulting: helping clients analyze requirements, design systems, customize Odoo, and implement successful deployments. Each project typically took 3–12 months, and revenue depended on how many projects the company could deliver.
The key lesson from this stage was that specialized expertise is what allows small companies to compete with larger players. You do not need to be good at everything—only exceptionally good at something the market needs and struggles to find.
Building a Team and Earning Credibility (2015–2020)
As the company’s work began to prove itself, clients grew larger. Enersys earned the trust of leading organizations across multiple industries, including energy, financial services, media and entertainment, real estate, government, and agriculture.
Working with these organizations did more than generate revenue—it built experience that could not be gained elsewhere. Every project became a lesson in complex requirements, large-enterprise workflows, legacy system integration, and managing multiple stakeholders.
During the same period, Enersys also raised its organizational standards by earning Odoo Silver Partner certification, a global validation of its Odoo capabilities, as well as ISO/IEC 29110-4-1:2018, a software development process standard for small organizations.
The team grew from 1 to 15 people, with each member carefully selected and developed into a domain specialist. The lesson from this stage was that certification and track record open doors to new opportunities—but what brings customers back is the actual quality of the work.
The Turning Point: Recognizing the Limits of the Service Model (2020–2023)
Although the software consulting business continued to grow, Tomz began to see the clear limitations of this business model.
The first issue was that revenue was tied to time. Income depended on the number of hours the team could work. To increase revenue, the company had to hire more people—which then required finding more projects to keep them busy. This cycle did not scale.
Implementation projects also tended to end as one-off engagements. There was some ongoing maintenance revenue, but not enough to create long-term stability. There was no true recurring revenue.
And with every project delivered, the knowledge and code accumulated inside the customer’s project—not as assets owned by the company.
When ChatGPT emerged in 2022, the picture became even clearer: much of the development work that once required people would increasingly be supported by AI. In the future, customers would be willing to pay less for software development.
Recognizing these limitations was the starting point of the transformation.
