HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam will need to develop policies for state agencies to enable the nation's shift to cloud computing, said Nguyen Tien Hung, an official at the Information Technology Section of the Ministry of Information and Communications, on Wednesday.

A model of cloud computing. Vietnamese state agencies will need policies to shift to the system. Photo genk.vn

Speaking at a conference in Ha Noi, Hung said greater efforts were needed to encourage cooperation between the government and private sectors to implement IT applications based on cloud computing.

Hung added that large-scale IT enterprises should be supported in developing cloud computing system.

Phan Thai Dung, deputy head IT at the State Bank of Viet Nam, emphasised the need to transition to the new system.

"Using the cloud can reduce expenses and the strain on human resources. We need to carry out the following steps: build technological infrastructure, change software and roll out regulations and operation mechanisms on the private cloud," he said.

According to Dung, banks and institutions were using cloud computing to provide security for customers through one-time passwords, tokens and internet banking.

Also speaking at the conference, Viettel telecom group deputy general director Tong Viet Trung debuted three new technologies underpinning the nation's shift to cloud technology at a cost of US$47.4 billion in 2013.

Viettel now provides infrastructure and software applications based on cloud computing, including computerised administrative operations for the Government Office.

However, Trung pointed out that implementation of national IT projects was behind schedule due to a lack of expenditure.

"Many projects receive capital through official development assistance (ODA); however, they can't be carried out when expenses run out," he said.

"Besides, when projects come into operation, they are not updated and small ones do not meet demand." — VNS