An Introduction to Information and Communication Technologies in Vietnam

What is ICT?

ICT stands for Information and Communication Technologies. In the year 2008-2009, Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training initiated the "Year of ICT" to bring innovation in education. In this program, the authors bought a policy to study the mission and vision of the nation and assimilating Information and Technology i.e. ICT in education. 

ICT – Market in Vietnam

The viewpoint of launching ICT in Vietnam is quite strong as it has a growth of 8% during 2016-2020 as per austrade.gov.au website. The demand for ICT in Vietnam is expected to grow enormously as Vietnam has developed as a hub for IT hardware as well as services like outsourcing software development. 

The Vietnamese Government says that ICT is an important and major sector that has a vital role in the development of the country and concocted a blueprint for IT that proposes a target for the year 2020 and turns out to be an advanced ICT country. The Vietnamese Government has also promised to invest nearly US$ 415 million in Information and Communication Technologies by 2020 (BMI Vietnam Information Technology Report 2016). 

To address supply and demand, there are 4 areas focused on ICT. They are – 

• Mounting IT human resources
• Increasing Information Technology trademarks & enterprises, markets, and products 
• Refining policy environment
• Attracting investment in open-source software and building IT zones 

Computer Hardware

The sale of computer hardware in Vietnam is estimated to climb from US$ 1.5 billion in 2016 to US$ 1.8 billion until 2020. The computer hardware like computer parts, mobile phones, electronic components is manufactured.

It is also expected that the hardware market of Vietnam will rise to a modest rate because of the low PC penetration rate and functionality difference in desktop and smartphones. The factors that can have a major role can be enterprise modernisation, declining device prices, rising incomes, and existing investments to the exaltation of telecoms. 

Telecommunication

Telecommunications is an important area in the field of Information and Communication Technologies sector in Vietnam. ICT holds around 33% of the total revenue of the ICT sector. It also employs 15% of people in its sector. If we talk about the mobile telephony sector, it generates nearly 90% revenue from the subsector and contributes to the rapid growth of the telecom sector.

Software

The software sector of Vietnam is moving ahead with an average rate of 30% per year. In this sector, more than 1000 companies are operating and employing over 70,000 skilled and talented people. In the past few years, Vietnam has proved themselves in the field of software outsourcing, competing with China, the Philippines, and India. As per a research report released by AT Kearney, Vietnam ranks 8th in software outsourcing. 

The software market of Vietnam is one of the most cost-sensitive sectors where nearly 75% of the market is served by low-cost software providers. These local software providers tend to aid small, medium and government enterprises, whereas large software companies are very much likely to help multinationals as they mostly believe high-cost software. As per the BMI Vietnam ICT report 2016, multinationals companies have a 25% share of the local software market. The major areas are business intelligence, CRM, HRM, ERP, database software, data analytic. 

Vietnam EdTech and Online Education Insights in ICT

Students who want to set their career in Information or Communication industry can opt for online or VET courses. Bodies like Austrade, HCMC Open University, and DESE is offering WebEx Seminar where students will get a chance to hear about EdTech knowledge, case studies of Vet, higher education, and online education sectors in Vietnam.  

• Austrade (Australia's Department of Education) will provide overview details on the Vietnam EdTech market and online education and concentrate on the VET and Higher Education sector.
• DESE (Skills and Employment) will offer an update on a project called "Building Vietnam's Quality Assurance Capabilities of Blended and Online Higher Education Courses and Qualifications".
• HCMC Open University will let you know their experience in developing an e-learning centre and its objectives and aims for organisations with academic institutions of Australia.

Important Details:

• Venue Virtual event: Accessible from your workstation
• Date: 8th April 2020
• Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (AEST)
• Industry: Education

If you are a student looking for higher education or a VET provider or running an EdTech company and willing to explore partnership opportunities in Vietnam with VET institutions or HE, you can attend this webinar. This event is free, but you should register them. To register, CLICK HERE.