Vietnam’s Digital Technology services primed to make a global impact

Vietnam’s largest ICT firm FPT was featured in HFS Research’s recent report entitled “Smart Enterprises are considering the untapped potential of Vietnam to plug capability gaps in the Virtual Economy”. The paper, conducted by HFS Research with the support of FPT, identifies Vietnam as one of the world’s most intriguing IT services destinations for enterprises as the world emerges from the economic trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HFS Research, the visionary analyst firm and authors of the report, has earmarked Vietnam as a rising star and a formidable force in the global services ecosystem, rivalling established offshore locations such as India and China.  The report has praised the strides the country has made in building a world-class education and talent system focused on digital fluency, a business environment, backed by government support and ecosystem, that encourages entrepreneurs, and a robust and resilient digital infrastructure for broadband and 5G, data center, cloud and IoT – the core pillars that are building a digitally-enabled future.

On the pressures enterprises currently face, Melissa O’Brien, Research Leader HFS Research commented: “The days of resistance to offshoring are over with organizations eager to plug their capability holes to add agility in these unpredictable market conditions. Global 2000 enterprises understand they simply cannot function without access to a portfolio of options for IT and operations talent.”

Continued O’Brien: “There is a scarcity of digital talent worldwide as we build back our economies and enterprises must be open-minded about exploring new and emerging locations and models to meet the shortages. Vietnam is one of those emerging locations for talent and expertise that business leaders cannot ignore.  It has all the hallmarks of an ‘IT powerhouse in-waiting’ - a rich pool of talented people, a culture that promotes innovation and a growing hub of technology skills.”

HFS Research has examined the elements generating success for enterprise clients of Vietnamese service providers. The report highlighted some success stories from FPT’s global clients in utility, automotive and logistics, who have achieved substantial outcomes by making use of emerging technology and Vietnam’s favourable factors.

The role of emerging technology and balanced sourcing has been crosschecked with findings from a HFS Research Pulse that surveyed 800 respondents from Global 2000 enterprises to query Vietnam’s ability to deliver global IT services.  Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also come under scrutiny as talent and outsourcing hubs with recommendations provided on how to best leverage the country’s resources.

Mohan Naidu, FPT UK’s Managing Director added: “Vietnam continues to promote business reform and cultivate digitally fluent talent; it is poised as a rising star in the global services market. The country is full of young, talented people and a culture that promotes innovation, and it is quickly becoming a hub of technology expertise.” Given talent scarcity, soaring attrition and rising wage cost at many outsourced locations, enterprises must re-evaluate their capabilities to develop in-house with their talents and must plan which skills to develop in collaboration with service providers at new service delivery locations.

“There is now a race to find multiple options for digital talent. Vietnam is building on a solid foundation and is a viable and credible solution that enterprises can leverage for years to come. The digitally-enabled future is looking very promising”, he noted.