Data is considered a core element of Vietnam's digital economy; however, it is not well shared and connected to serve the country.

A health care worker inputs patient data into the computing system at Long Khanh
General Hospital in Dong Nai province. Health care is one of the sectors that could
benefit from online data storage (Photo: VNA) 

Speaking at an online seminar held by the Government Web Portal on February 28, Nguyen The Trung, CEO of DTT Technology Joint Stock Company said: “Vietnam has not yet seen the power of exploiting data.”

Trung said many places still managed data in the traditional way, in an ask-give manner instead of sharing data, so “a national database is still an impossible mission.”

Seeing changes in the awareness of sharing information in many places, Trung said: “National digital data will take place soon. It will be a waste if the information is closed, not shared.”

Nguyen Hong Thang, deputy director of the Department of Computerisation, Ministry of Information and Communications, thought Vietnam could develop a digital economy with well-grown technology in which data is the basis for change.

He said: “Local data infrastructure was not built with an overall strategy and data is still distributed in different places.”

The official added: “It is still difficult to connect all the data now, as not all the data is secure. Vietnam has to have a well-protected overall data system first.”

Thang confirmed: “Local technology could now protect the data,” but what was needed was “determined minds from all the decision makers,” he added.

Thang considered Vietnam one of the leading countries in approaching and moving forward to make regulations on open data management that help people, businesses and the whole society.

Nguyen Hoang Phuong, deputy director of the Information Technology Centre of the Vietnam Social Security, said his agency had been aware of the role of data sharing for a long time.

Phuong said their database included 86 million people with health insurance and about 15 million people participating in social insurance, which is one of the largest data stores in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Social Security has worked on connection and data sharing. Currently, it is connecting and sharing data with eight service providers.

Phuong also said they worked with the tax agencies and the Ministry of Justice in connecting data of their clients with nearly 13,000 medical examination and treatment facilities.

He said: “It is necessary to connect with more and more agencies to enrich the database.”

Praising the efforts of Phuong’s agency, experts at the seminar agreed that national databases on agriculture, finance and population and land management were still needed.

Thang told the seminar: “The Ministry of Information and Communications is drafting a decree on management, connection and sharing of digital data, in which it makes it compulsory for all state agencies to share data with other state agencies.”