VietNamNet had a conversation with Deputy Minister of Information and Technology – Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong – on how Vietnam can develop world-class IT products.

What do you think about the quality and speed of development of domestic IT products?

- Today, IT is constantly evolving, reflecting its important role. Demand for IT applications in Vietnam is increasing, with greater demand for localized products that are in conformity with the habit and the demand of Vietnamese. This has created significant advantages for local enterprises.

In recent years, along with the development of revenue and profitability, many domestic IT enterprises have invested in research and development, acquisition or transfer of new technologies. Thanks to favorable conditions in the domestic market plus good preparation to seize opportunities, the Vietnamese IT market has had many local products and brands with better quality.

In the software sector, the Vietnamese products range from utility products, office products such as antivirus and document management, to product package for business management to specialized products dedicated exclusively for tasks requiring high expertise.

In the field of hardware, besides assembled products such as computers and workstations ... there are many products with a high localization rate from computer sources to smartphones. The domestic market for hardware has also witnessed the emergence of innovative products, as equipment for offices and smart homes.

The digital content products and services remain the strength of Vietnamese firms, due to its ability to meet the needs of consumers and businesses in the country in the most suitable and quickest way.

Although locally-made IT products and services are increasingly more diverse, with higher quality, domestic consumers still tend to choose foreign products.

A recent survey shows that the main reason was due to the lower quality of Vietnamese products and fewer features. However, the respondents could not point out the features that they needed.

What are the reasons?

- Through research, the Ministry of Information and Communications found that, in addition to products with high technical requirements that we cannot manufacture yet, most of the Vietnamese IT products can meet the needs of Vietnamese users on an equal basis or even better than imported products. However, a major barrier for local IT products is the taste for imported products of Vietnamese customers and the lack of funding for product marketing.

In recent years, local IT corporations have made efforts to innovate and improve their products. What do you think about the potential and opportunity of Vietnam in bringing our products and services to the world?

- The IT sector now has a lot of opportunities.

First, IT is a specific industry, with a short life cycle of technology transfer. Thus, with globalization, countries with developing IT like Vietnam have a chance to catch up with technology compared to developed countries.

Second, in terms of internal forces, we are in a golden population era, with a young, dynamic workforce. Vietnam’s IT human resources are considered innovative, and are rapidly acquiring new knowledge in science and technology.

Third, the IT industry is gaining special attention from the Party and State with incentives and favorable policies, and a stable legal framework, all of which forms a firm basis for the development of local enterprises.

Fourth, the domestic IT market is growing strongly with the specific requirements that only local IT businesses can meet. This is the nursery for the IT businesses before they go out to the world.

Fifth, the world's IT market is dynamically changing, particularly in the personal segment. We are witnessing a period when IT products come from small developers, who – with creativity – can become leaders for technology trends. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises.

Have we taken advantage of the opportunity and potential yet?

- A number of Vietnamese businesses have taken advantage of the opportunity to participate in the international market.

The Military Telecom Corporation - Viettel has invested in and developed telecommunications services, provided IT project management services, and developed software in the field of electronics, telecommunications and the internet in the developing markets as Cambodia, Cameroon, Haiti, and Mozambique, among others.

Vietnam’s outsourcing services have been praised in the international market. We are an important partner of Japan and countries in North America. And most recently, FPT has acquired an IT service providing business in Europe.

However, in the field of product development, the participation of Vietnam's IT products in the international market is very limited.

As for the individual user segment, the market requires dynamic and high creativity. There are a number of IT products developed by individuals or small groups of Vietnamese people that highly rank on the ranking table for downloaded applications (for example, Flappy Bird).

We have potential and opportunities and in many cases we have taken the advantage. However, to have a product or service with a global brand is a very challenging task, not only for Vietnam's IT industry, but also for many countries with a developed IT industry. We hope that in the future the local IT community will have more IT products and services favored in the international market.

At several forums and seminars on IT, many people say that Vietnam's IT products primarily ape those of another country, so it is difficult for Vietnam to develop branded products in countries with high purchasing power. What do you think about this?

- I think the Vietnamese people have the creativity, and in the IT sector, Vietnamese developers do not lack creativity.

In technology, we have summarized that in an industry, before it can reach the level of creativity and innovation, it usually undergoes a cumulative process of technology from the lower step in the technology cycle such as processing and copycat etc to  ... For example, in the field of electronic industry with Samsung Group, we see that Samsung underwent a few decades of being behind and copying products made in America and Japan. Large enterprises also have to go through this process. In some cases, they carry out acquisitions & mergers to shorten it.

Besides the process of technology accumulation, a number of other factors that we are lacking is the proper investments to bring creative ideas into finished products with the potential for high commercialization.

In your opinion, what is the responsibility of IT businesses and professionals in creating world-class Vietnamese products?

- The IT market is a global market, with very small geographical barriers. Therefore, competition in the domestic market for Vietnamese IT firms against international IT corporations is huge.

However, domestic IT enterprises have done well to take advantage of the competitive advantage of the needs and habits of the Vietnamese used to create IT products and services for the domestic market.

We can say that with the current conditions in capacity and finance, the achievements that IT business have recorded is remarkable.

If Vietnamese IT businesses are more interested in and further invest in product development and enhancing connectivity and cooperation with the intellectual and creative centers of the world, they will probably have a breakthrough and go faster to the global market.

What does the State do to help promote creativity in the IT market today?

- The State and Party are very interested in issuing guidelines and policies for ICT development. Most recently, the Politburo issued Resolution 36-NQ/TW on acceleration of IT application and development to meet the requirements of sustainable development and international integration.

The National Commission on the Application of IT was established, headed by the Prime Minister, has once again shown a strong commitment in promoting IT applications, creating markets for Vietnam's IT business development.

Currently, the Ministry of Information Communication is implementing the scheme to turn Vietnam into a strong country on ICT. The Ministry is advising the Government to implement solutions to enhance research capacity in the ICT sector, and gradually master and create the technology for manufacturing new products.

The State gives priorities to invest in research, purchase or transfer of new technologies to create products and services of the Vietnamese brand with high competitiveness for export, such as smart devices, embedded software, and power-saving devices.

A range of other measures are building legal documents and perfecting the mechanism of investment management policies consistent with the characteristics of the IT and communications sectors; issuing policies to ensure intellectual property rights of information technology products to protect and promote the interests of businesses to create new products; and having policies to support, market and use of products of Vietnam in the state-funded IT application projects.

In addition, the Ministry of Information and Technology will study and find solutions to enhance connectivity of intellectual and creative resources from the major IT hubs in the world, such as Silicon Valley and Boston in the US to the local IT community.

At the same time, the Ministry also encourages ICT businesses to invest adequately in innovation, and build the aspiration of our youth to conquer the market of information technology in developed countries. The media can assist in providing valuable information and guide public opinion in this matter.

Lan Anh