Data as the foundation for digital transformation

Recognizing the importance of digital data, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) advised the Prime Minister to approve the "National data strategy towards 2030." This is a crucial strategy in Vietnam's digital transformation process, aimed at building data infrastructure - a new foundation for digital transformation in the country.

Mr. Tran Minh Tan, Deputy Head of the MIC’s National Institute of Information and Communications, said that the strategy, issued in early February 2024, centers on data, which is considered the core of the development of data-based infrastructures and platforms.

"The data infrastructure, with open data, big data, structured data, and unstructured data, will lay the groundwork for digital transformation and the development of artificial intelligence applications. The overarching idea is that the state will lead and orient the entire population to participate in data development and share the benefits from data," Tan said.

Specifically, the national data strategy aims to develop public data, organize and share it for social development and develop private data to create a data market and promote economic growth. It also focuses on data security and leveraging cross-border data flow while ensuring data remains in Vietnam.

An important task for ministries, agencies, and local governments is to quickly publish the list of open data, big data, and their data strategy framework, or integrate data development strategies into their annual digital transformation plans to align with the national data strategy.

"This is very important, creating conditions for agencies, organizations, and businesses to participate in the development, sharing, exploitation, and use of data from various ministries and provinces," said an expert from the Institute of Information and Communication Strategies.

Addressing data storage and challenges in the digital transformation era

From a business perspective, Mr. Dang Van Tu, Chief Technology Officer of CMC Global, said the digital transformation landscape in Vietnam and Asia is evolving positively and robustly. Data is a key factor for the success of digital transformation.

"Every digital transformation challenge involves data. While data storage can be simple, data processing is different. Depending on the purpose, it requires data lakes, extraction tools, and efficient processing methods," Tu said.

According to Tu, effective data utilization can bring significant changes for businesses, with many achieving notable successes in digital transformation. However, many businesses are unclear about where to start with digital transformation and how to store and exploit data effectively while ensuring information security. This is particularly prevalent in businesses with limited financial and human resources.

"The increasing volume of data and the need for real-time decision-making pose challenges that require businesses to adopt advanced automation. This solution must not only adapt to changes but also learn from interactions and make intelligent decisions. This is where AI comes into play," said Mr. Luong Anh Tuan, Head of Business Process Automation (BPA) at CMC Global.

"By integrating BPA with AI, businesses can automate complex processes that traditional methods could not handle, enhancing competitiveness in a rapidly evolving technological landscape," Tuan said.

To optimize business operations aimed at better supporting customers in data management and processing, CMC's technology experts have applied AI, automation, low-code, and cloud infrastructure transformation to reduce server load in anual processes like data entry and paperwork are now automated, saving time, resources, and operational costs.

PV