Speaking at the forum “Digital Transformation in Enterprises: New Thinking and Action” on December 28, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, vice chairman of the Vietnam Trade and Industry Confederation (VCCI), said that over the years, through the Vietnamese business community, the digital transformation has been accelerated and achieved many successes.

DON’T MIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL CONVERTERS

In reality, however, many companies have not really paid attention to the depth of digital transformation. According to Mr. Phong, the depth of the digital transformation should assess the degree of the digital transformation of companies in detail according to scientific criteria, from which corresponding changes, strategies and development plans result.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Duong, specialist in digital transformation, Ministry of Information and Communications, also conceded that the implementation of digital transformation is actually only in the consciousness part, in fact, not much has been used.

In particular, data on the Ministry of Information and Communications Program for Supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Digital Transformation (SMEdx) portal shows that more than 600,000 companies access information through the platforms on which it is published; About 70,000 companies use one of the program’s platforms for digital transformation, which accounts for 1/10 of the number of companies.

In order to make digital transformation a reality by the end of 2021, the ministry has also released a series of indicators to measure the degree of digital transformation of companies. However, after a year only 500 companies joined and registered an account on the www.dbi.gov.vn portal.

Among the companies registering for an account, there are still many companies that are not yet interested in measuring the level of digital transformation. In particular, only about 400 companies have self-assessed their level of digital transformation, and a small number, around a few dozen companies, have conducted an assessment consultation.

Meanwhile, there are still hurdles on the part of politicians when applying in practice. According to Mr. Duong, in the implementation of support for the application of digital technology and support for digital transformation for enterprises under Decree 80, it is still difficult to clearly define the source of capital that enterprises must contribute and the state-supported capital in the procedures for Application for and payment of grants.

In addition, companies still have to go through many cumbersome and complicated procedures and documents to get government support, while the amount of this support is not high.

Funding from the state budget for programs and plans to support companies in digital transformation is still quite limited. While the mobilization of resources from domestic and foreign organizations to support digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises is distributed and fragmented…

THINKING AND CONSCIOUSNESS MUST BE CHANGED

In order to speed up the digital transformation process, Ms. Bui Thanh Hang, representative of the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that projects are currently underway in other ministries and sectors on digital transformation, digital transformation, digital transformation… should be linked together to advance the digital transformation.

Digital transformation is not just a platform for businesses to access, it needs to start from infrastructure issues and change thinking and consciousness. The state or the associations cannot do this for the companies, but the companies themselves must see the effects of the digital transformation on their own competitiveness in the market.

According to Mr. Duong, the most important thing companies are interested in is digital transformation to develop markets, expand market share, add customers, increase sales and profits.

Therefore, “rather than worrying or paying attention to scientific terms, enterprise digital transformation should focus on solving the above problem. The Ministry of Information and Communications is also following this direction, directly assisting companies with policy,” said Mr. Duong.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Giang, vice president of the Association of Information Technology Software and Services (VINASA), recommended that digital transformation should be organized and implemented in enterprises, from the direction of enterprise management to industry to the change of professional departments.

As digital transformation, corporate culture and business processes change, companies need to have a training plan to upskill employees, organize or rotate appropriate staff…

In addition, digital transformation is not limited to the Ministry of Information and Communications or information technology companies, but requires the participation of all stakeholders. In order to be successful in the digital transformation, it is necessary to promote cooperation.

From a different perspective, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Khiem, associate director of the Enterprise Informatics Institute, VCCI, emphasized the important role of data for companies in analyzing and creating business strategies and plans.

Therefore, the government has to share national data. Mr. Liem stressed not only sharing business data, but also sharing national data as “common property” that is not specific to any particular sector.

Another concern is information security, according to Khiem. If information security is not guaranteed, this is a major risk for companies when implementing digital transformation. Information security should be the top priority.

In particular, according to Mr. Khiem, the government and ministries must also have policies to encourage and educate companies on information and data security so that they feel confident in accelerating the digital transformation process.