Students in Ha Noi participate in a computer science contest. The so-called "third platform" will support Viet Nam's industrialisation, experts say — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Tran

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— The so-called "third platform," which is expected to change the face of computing, will take strong root in Viet Nam to support industrialisation and modernisation, the Viet Nam ICT Outlook conference held in HCM City agreed.

Speaking at the conference held late last week, Chu Tien Dung, chairman of HCM City Computer Association (HCA) – one of the organisers — said the five key trends in the third platform are cloud computing, big data, mobility, social network, and internet of things.

"They have created a new revolution in ICT, creating a basis for sustainable development of the economy and society.

"It has created a significant change in the working environment, connecting people with people, equipment with equipment, equipment with people, supervisors with service and application suppliers, manufacturers and end-users, forming a new ecosystem.

"For Viet Nam's economic integration with ASEAN in 2015 and turn it into a strong nation in ICT and other industries, it is necessary to have a breakthrough in vision, mechanism, and management."

The mainframe and the personal computer are dubbed the first and second platforms.

Attendees offered several suggestions for developing the third platform.

One of them was a master plan for ICT development at State enterprises focusing on the role of the third platform.

Public spending policies should be drafted based on third platform services, some said.

Use of the third platform for business operations and management was also recommended.

Companies and organisations were encouraged to focus on improving customer services, human resources, and distribution channels by using the third platform.

Officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology said that despite the economic situation, the ICT industry managed to sustain its growth.

Tran Nguyen Chung, head of the National Steering Committee for ICT, said: "2012 saw slower growth in software and digital content revenues, no growth in mobile subscriptions, and a drop in fixed phone subscriptions."

Yet the hardware sector posted strong growth and telecom and broadcasting revenues recovered, resulting in reasonably good growth for the industry, he said.

This year is forecast to be another tough one for the Vietnamese economy and the ICT industry, and requires greater effort from the latter to remain sustainable, he added.

Titled "Compete on the new platform" this year, the 18th annual conference was jointly organised by the HCA along with the city Departments of Information and Communications and Science and Technology. — VNS