Tech firms are standard-bearers in national digital transformation

Local tech companies have gained a more significant part in the national digital transformation, and they are the core of the process, according to specialists and executives.

Rikkeisoft staff at work. The company has expanded significantly in the last 10 years to become a leading IT firm in Vietnam. Photo: The Hanoi Times

Ngo Minh Quan, Head of Digital Transformation and Solution Center at tech firm Rikkeisoft, said that Vietnam does not lag behind in digital transformation worldwide.

Quan said it is a matter of whether Vietnam can create its own technologies or it is only a highly profitable market for international corporations.

“Instead of international suppliers, Vietnamese tech firms must take charge of the digital transformation as they understand the market better and offer lower prices than their foreign competitors,” he said.

Rikkeisoft has come a long way, from a small IT company in 2012 with six core members to a large corporation with about 1,500 employees. Rikkeisoft is now one of the top 10 IT companies in Vietnam in developing and exporting software, tech services, and digital solutions.

Besides, it has acquired the ownership of some high-tech outcomes such as AI, robotics, blockchain, and IoT, creating a solid base for the firm to partake in the country’s digital transformation.

Of more than 67,000 active IT companies, companies like Rikkeisoft are the primary driver of digital transformation in Vietnam.

Other large-cap tech companies, including Viettel, VNPT, FPT, and CMC, have developed 182 digital platforms to propel the national digital transformation. By June 2022, more than 47,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises have completed their transformation using those platforms.

A typical example is the military-based telecommunications group Viettel, now the official provider of digital solutions for many Party, State, and Government agencies in Vietnam.

Viettel has developed several tools to help users make quick and accurate decisions in the administration and use of information. Typically, the group has helped the province of Thua Thien Hue launch the smart city app Hue S, which has seen about 800,000 downloads and played a crucial role in the province’s digital transformation.

Viettel's headquarters building in Hanoi. Photo: The Hanoi Times

According to experts, local IT businesses can provide digital solutions that are of international standards, suitable for local taste, and much cheaper.

Quan added that Vietnam is a large digital transformation market for all, from the large-caps to the micro-sized companies and startups.

Digital transformation is built upon the combination of all components, namely software, hardware, infrastructure, and cybersecurity, thus it requires the collaborative action of several companies, he said.

“If Vietnamese tech firms work together to amplify their powers, it is easier to bring the benefits of digital transformation to everyone,” he said.

Vietnamese tech businesses should lead the national digital transformation as they become partners of domestic and international companies and organizations, Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA), said.

He said that to ensure the digital transformation goes smoothly across the country, Vietnam needs to develop a strong community of tech firms ready to compete against multinationals.

But there is a big gap between big IT firms and new ones, so the big firms should fulfill their social responsibilities by accompanying the latest businesses to conquer the domestic market and expand abroad, Khoa added.