Nation makes major push into IT

This year will mark the 15th year of IBM operation in the country. Thieu Phuong Nam, the deputy country general manager, spoke to Viet Nam News about the local ICT market and where he saw it going in the next five years.

IBM has been in Viet Nam for almost 15 years. How has the information technology market changed in that time. What is the outlook like?

Over the course of last century, information technology (IT) has gone from being simply a set of tools to an industry, a science and finally an indispensable part of the modern world. IT today isn’t just a back-office engine or a never-ending flow of consumer gadgets. Technology now pervades every aspect of our working world. As Viet Nam harnesses this relentless IT power, it will create prosperity for everyone.

Viet Nam is growing rapidly and changing fast economically. Behind that change, information and communications technology (ICT) is considered a major push. The Government has made major investments in telecommunications. More than 30 per cent of the population already use the internet on a daily basis. Young Vietnamese are tech-savvy. In my entire career in the industry, I’ve never seen signs of a slowing down in the adoption of new IT.

There are many opportunities for growth in the IT sector in Viet Nam. New technology service models will push IT vendors to better understand end-user demands and to re-visit their business offerings.

The Vietnamese Government recently announced plans to be a major ICT player by 2020. Government projects in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang are expected to attract more ICT spending in the public sector. This will help develop IT in a wide range of sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, transportation and communications.

And what is the outlook like domestically in terms of products, solutions and services?

The outlook is clear and bright. Viet Nam is one of the fastest growing technology markets in Asia and the world, with the ICT industry turnover estimated at US$15-16 billion in 2010, accounting for 7 per cent of the country’s GDP.

To meet the requirements of global integration, it is essential organisations in Viet Nam invest in ICT. The investment objectives and priorities may differ in this volatile economic environment, but ICT will become an indispensable part of the economy.

If in the past people talked about project management as the core competency for Viet Nam’s IT advancement; now they talk about risk management. In the past, people viewed data as a reflection of a business’s operations. They are beginning to see data as necessary for analytics and prediction, providing greater clarity and certainty when making business decisions. Using this approach, business analytics and optimisation will emerge as a necessity for businesses in Viet Nam wishing to gain predictive insights, prioritise future investments and turn insights into action to close the gap between strategy and execution.

Cloud computing is another trend for optimising IT infrastructure. I believe that cloud computing will change the face of computing in Viet Nam, just as it is doing in many parts of the world. Cloud computing is a potentially cost-efficient model for provisioning processes, applications and services while making IT management easier and more responsive to the needs of the business.

IBM Viet Nam is concentrating on providing technology solutions and services to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Has the company planned to work with State-owned groups?

While providing IT solutions for SMEs – now the fastest growing sector and making up to 70 per cent of Viet Nam’s GDP – is one of our focuses. We have been extensively working with SOEs, government organisations and the private sector to address their demands for the establishment or reinforcement of their IT infrastructure and services. Because IBM is a global firm, we can draw on our experiences elsewhere to customise and localise solutions for customers in different market segments, be it SME, SOE, banking and financial services or telecommunications.

In Viet Nam, we serve clients in virtually every segment and industry and we are seeing a growing demand for smarter solutions to transform their processes and business, and the way they serve and interact with their customers. For example, food processing companies are looking for traceability solutions to comply with export standards, banks are competing in investment in online and mobile infrastructure, retailers are starting to deploy analytics capabilities, and internet and telecoms service providers are moving towards cloud-based services, etc.

As far as economic uncertainties are concerned, has IBM Viet Nam changed its business plan for this year?

No, we are not changing our plans and commitments for the Vietnamese market. In fact, we have been expanding our footprint in new cities and markets in Viet Nam. Having seen lots of potential in this market, IBM has selected Viet Nam to be one of our 20 focused investment countries, and one of the first countries to realise the corporation’s vision of building a smarter planet, which infuses intelligence into how the world works.

This year marks IBM Corporation’s 100th anniversary and our 15th year of operation in Viet Nam. We are very positive and foresee dynamic growth in Viet Nam. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam ICT, Vietnam IT industry, Vietnam IT sector