Associate Professor Dr. Vu Minh Khuong from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy delivered a presentation about a survey on cloud computing at 800 enterprises and organisations in Viet Nam. — Photo pcworld.com.vn

Cloud computing is a crucial technological trend and has become an important technology during the fourth industrial revolution, according to Nguyen Thanh Phuc, director general of the Authority of Information Technology Application.

Phuc made his remarks at the Viet Nam Cloud Computing Conference 2017 which began on Thursday, sponsored by the Viet Nam Software Association (VINASA), in coordination with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore).

Of note, Vietnamese ministries and authorities have boosted information and technology applications, the building of e-government and improved the investment environment to create clear and favourable conditions for enterprises, said Phuc.

Also at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Minh Khuong from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy delivered a presentation about a survey on cloud computing at 800 enterprises and organisations in Viet Nam.

The survey results indicated that the country had the fastest growth in investment for cloud computing in the 2010-16 period among ASEAN countries, increasing 64.4 per cent per year, higher than the average in ASEAN (49.5 per cent) and the world (42.5 per cent).

However, real spending on cloud computing in Viet Nam was still rather low last year, which was 107 times lower than in Singapore; 6.5 times lower than Malaysia; 2.4 times lower compared with Thailand and 1.3 times lower compared with the Philippines, he added.

The above numbers revealed that there were many barriers to promoting cloud computing in Viet Nam. The largest barrier is the popular use of unlicensed software, the lack of knowledge about the benefits of cloud computing, information security concerns and the quality of cloud services in Viet Nam, he said.

According to experts at the conference, in the early stages of digital transformation, priority should be given to developing ICT infrastructure, especially broadband connections and cloud computing applications.

At the same time, there should be priority policies created for cloud computing, in order to trigger digital conversions using big data and Internet of Things applications.

Nguyen Dinh Thang, VINASA vice chairman, added that cloud computing offered tremendous benefits, such as product and service standardisation, investment cost reductions, the shortening of the time to develop products and improvements in the quality of services.

Therefore, the agency proposed that the government needed to have an orientation policy, while businesses and organisations needed to develop strategies on research, investment and early cloud applications to improve production and business efficiency, contributing to the country’s economic development and boosting the country’s progress during the fourth industrial revolution. -- VNS