Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung urged enterprises to speed up digital transformation as it is essential for business growth.

Dung was speaking on Monday at “Vietnam DX Day 2020”, a two-day event organised by the Viet Nam Software and IT Services (Vinasa) and Authority of Information Technology Application, starting from 2020.

DX Day was a bold effort to promote the digital transformation in Viet Nam and for enterprises to promote the participation of Vietnamese firms in the global technology value chains. On June 3, 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved the national digital transformation programme to 2025 and 2020 was selected to be the year for national digital transformation.

Dung stressed that digital transformation was successful only when the progress attracted the participation of the entire population, meaning that digital technology services as well as network security must be universal with reasonable prices, easy to use and convenient for everyone.

He urged every agency, organisation and business to raise strategies to implement and speed up digital transformation, adding that Vietnamese digital technology companies were the main force in developing the digital infrastructure, platforms, services and solutions as well as mastering core technologies and extending global reach.

According to Tran Tho Dat, President of the National Economics University, digital economy was very important to productivity and efficiency of the economy in the coming years and motivation for rapid improvement in labour productivity.

Tho said that it was necessary to develop an appropriate legal framework, create favourable conditions for investment in digital infrastructure and services, providing support to start-ups, and encouraging innovation and technology improvements to increase the preparedness towards digital technology era.

In addition, it was necessary to encourage the application of digitalisation in every sector, like manufacturing, ICT, science and technology, finance, banking, insurance and real estate.

Of note, it was important to ensure information security to facilitate the digital economy, he said.

Hoang Viet Anh, FPT deputy general director in charge of digital transformation, said this would continue to be an important trend, even when the pandemic was over.

He said: “During the toughest and most challenging times, technology is the key to opening up opportunities for growth, operation optimising, improving customer experiences and creating new business models.”

In the new normal, the digital transformation would bring bigger effects, which would enable enterprises to play the critical role in shaping new realities, he said, stressing that FPT pledged to accompany the Government and enterprises in digital transformation.

According to Huawei, investment in ICT infrastructure would be best for future prosperity, citing the International Telecommunication Union’s figures that an increase of one per cent in the digital ecosystem development index for any country resulted in 0.13 per cent growth in GDP per capita.

The most digitalised countries would recover more quickly from the pandemic, said Andrew Edward Williamson Vice President Global Government Affairs and Economic Adviser, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

He also pointed out that joined-up government and full cooperation with the private sector looked to be the best way of ensuring the greatest digital dividends.

According to Chairman of Vinasa Truong Gia Binh, vision and determination will be needed to decide the success of digital transformation.

Binh said: “Raising awareness is the story we have already talked about a lot but where should we start? It is the vision from which we can draw a roadmap for what and how to do. Then it is the determination to drive us forward to success.”

Within the framework of Vietnam DX Day 2020, experts also discuss digital transformation on finance and banking, manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, healthcare and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Viet Nam’s IT industry saw significant developments in recent years, becoming an important infrastructure for socio-economic development and base for enhancing national competitiveness.

The Ministry of Information and Communications’ statistics showed that the IT industry earned estimated revenue of US$100 billion in 2019, equivalent to one third of the country’s GDP and had a workforce of around one million.

Viet Nam’s digital economy was projected at $43 billion by 2025, of which the fastest growth included e-commerce, online travel, online media and ride hailing, according to a report by Google and Temasek.

A survey of Vinasa carried out with more than 500 participant enterprises at DX Day found that the most challenging factors in digital transformation included determination; cost, time and resources; and methods of digital transformation, as well as information security. — VNS