VietNamNet Bridge – Information technology conglomerates are willing to try new ways to earn money, especially at a time when it is difficult to find customers in a tough economy.

The Vietnam Railway Corporation’s (VRC) e-ticket booking system, for example, started operation in December 2014. Passengers can access VRC’s website to book tickets and make payments online, or go to post offices and banks to book tickets and make payments via post offices and banks.

The VRC’s e-ticket system is developed by FPT Information System (FPT IS), a subsidiary of the largest technology group in the country, FPT, at a cost of VND200 billion over seven years. About 50-60 workers are needed to run the system.

Under the business contract between FPT IS and VRC, the former receives one percent of total revenue from the e-ticket system.

Analysts noted that this is one of the new business models applied by Vietnamese IT firms. Since it is more and more difficult to find customers in the economic recession, IT firms have to diversify services.

Do Cao Bao, president of FPT IS, said, if following the traditional way, VRC would spend money to build up an information system, while FPT IS would be hired to run the system without care about technology efficiency.

However, under the new method, VRC needs to set requirements on the system, while there is no need to care about the kind of technology used and how much it would cost. FPT IS has to find the optimal solution that can satisfy the requirements.

The profit to be made by FPT IS would depend on the system’s operation. If the system goes smoothly, thus helping VRC sell more tickets, FPT IS would have higher profits.

Bao admitted that it is risky to provide services this way, but said FPT IS needs to do this to survive and develop.

Tong Viet Trung, deputy CEO of Viettel, a military telecom and technology group, also noted that IT firms need to try every possible way to convince customers to use their products.

Vinamilk, the nation’s dairy producer, now uses one of the IT solutions designed by Viettel after a trial period. The sale management system allows Vinamilk to connect distributors, supervisors, salesmen and 200,000 retail points nationwide.

Trung said there are four main groups of clients – state agencies, 400,000 large- and small-scale businesses, 4 million very small (micro) businesses and the country’s population of 90 million.

Hundreds of other IT firms have been competing to scramble for clients from the micro businesses and individuals.

“If each client paid $1 a month for Viettel’s services, Viettel would get $1 billion a year,” he said.

TBKTSG