Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Digital transformation has become a critical need fortechnical infrastructure enterprises to survive in the fourth industrialrevolution, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, speakers said at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Van Dang, director of the Gia Dinh Water Supply Joint-Stock Companyunder the Saigon Water Corporation (SAWACO), said that digitaltechnologies improve administrative methods and productionactivities, helping to better serve customers.

The water supply sector, for example, uses GIS (Geographic InformationSystem) technology for data sharing among units. This helpsto reduce leakage and improve water supply management, withthe goal of supplying clean water to all urban residents in Vietnam.

The GIS technology also uses virtual assistants to handle repetitive questionsand collect data from customers. It provides information on mangroveforecasting to farmers via telephone, and analyses water levels tohelp scientists assess the water situation during different seasons of theyear.

“To successfully implement digital transformation, enterprises must improve thequality of human resources, which will help productivity and thus enhancecompetitiveness,” Dang said.

“This success depends heavily on the determination of allparticipants involved, especially the leaders of the company,” he added.

Tran Quang Minh, general director of SAWACO, said that digital transformationhas a far-reaching impact, especially in the water supply sector. It can reducethe time to install water metres, increase labour productivity, save costs, andbetter monitor the water quality at source.

Vo Thi Trung Trinh, deputy director of the city’s Department ofInformation and Communications, said that technical infrastructurebusinesses need access to preferential loans to implement digitaltransformation. 

She said the city plans to provide professional training about digitaltransformation to businesses.

The city will also promote the use of shared databases to share data withindustries and sectors related to technical infrastructure, such as electricityand water supply, to better serve customers.

HCM City has set a target by 2025 that the city’s digital economy willcontribute about 25 percent of its GDP, she added.

A 2019 report by the US-based McKinsey Global Institute showed that in theconstruction industry, digital transformation could increase productivityby 14-15 percent and reduce costs by 4-6 percent. 

Vietnam last year began its national digital transformation programmefocused on “a digital government, digital economy and digital society”.

Under the programme by 2030, the country will adopt new technologies andmodels, completely overhaul the way the Government operates, update businessoperations, change the work style of citizens, and create a safe,secure and humane digital environment. 

The digital economy is projected to produce 20 percent of the country’sGDP in the near future, with at least 10 percent of each economic sector partof the digital economy, while annual labor productivity will likely increase atleast 7 percent.

Experts said the country is set to be among the top 50 countries in theinformation and communication technology development index within the next fiveyears./.