The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has announced that more than 50 digital platforms have been created to accelerate digital transformation in the government, the economy, and society. Platforms in the field of digital governance include cloud computing, local government service platforms, security operation centres, information systems to handle administrative procedures, virtual assistants, digital maps, and new-generation online meeting platforms.
According to a press release, digital platforms are seen as a breakthrough solution for speeding up digital transformation. In February, the MIC announced a programme to promote the use of national digital platforms. Under the programme, the Ministry released the first-ever list of 35 national platforms.
The digital socio-economic development strategy approved in March named 54 digital platforms, including 35 that were prioritised this year. In October, MIC put into operation the National Digital Transformation Portal. On this portal, state agencies can find information on digital government, which introduces open technology, platforms for digital government development, and models and articles about digital government.
On the National Digital Transformation Portal, citizens can access information on the digital society page, which has platforms to serve people’s daily needs as well as instructions on how to use digital products and services. The Ministry will periodically update and publish the list of national digital platforms on the National Digital Transformation Portal, the press release said.
Furthermore, information for businesses can be found on the SMEdx page, which introduces platforms for small and medium-sized businesses and models for the digital transformation of SMEs. By September, the SMEdx programme had about 490,923 small and medium-sized businesses accessing and experiencing the digital tools of the programme. In the first six months of 2022 alone, more than 318,000 small and medium-sized enterprises participated in the SMEdx digital transformation programme, an increase of 760% compared to 2021. In September 2022, the whole country had 62,047 enterprises officially using SMEdx platforms, an increase of more than 20 times compared to that of March 2022 with 3,000 enterprises.
Vietnamese’s use of domestic digital platforms recorded a year-on-year rise of 23.5% in August this year, with 494 million users. According to data from MIC, Vietnamese citizens spent more than 934 million hours on local platforms, making up 13.77% of the total time they spent on all digital platforms.
On average, smartphone users spent 9.93 hours on Vietnamese digital platforms in August, up 11.44% from July and 4.67% from January this year. Five local platforms reported more than 10 million users monthly. Digital platform users on mobile devices have been on the rise as the number of new app downloads hit about 312 million, surging 19% compared to that in July. With this momentum, Vietnam is projected to maintain 7th place in the number of new app downloads globally.
Nearly 80% of the population in Vietnam are digital consumers. About 58% of digital consumers in the country use digital banking solutions, e-wallets, and online money transfer applications, as OpenGov Asia reported earlier.
