In early August, FPT Monitoring unveiled its 2.0 version, adding functions of infrastructure monitoring and log management to better serve customers.

FPT Cloud Monitoring made its debut in 2022 providing a solution for collecting, analysing, and alerting metrics, logs, and other data, integrated with advanced data visualisation tools. To date, hundreds of customers have used this product.

Also in early August, FPT Cloud Database Engine had its 1.4 update version with new functions about load balance service, configuration for five types of database engine, and others. The engine is a product for enterprise database deployment and management and was one of 10 platform-as-a-service tools that FPT introduced in 2021.

FPT now has five data centres, with servers making up almost one-fifth of the country’s total.

Phan Hong Tam, head of the Cloud Technology Division at FPT Smart Cloud, said, “We are constantly improving the cloud computing service ecosystem for businesses, especially information security services, helping protect from infrastructure and networks to applications and monitoring.”

Service providers bet on the cloud, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Impressive actions

Elsewhere, VNPT Cloud, Viettel Cloud, VNG, and CMC Telecoms are making similar moves. Viettel Cloud applies modern technologies including open-source codes like OpenStack, Kubernetes, Ceph, Prometheus, and Grafana with new versions.

Last October, the Viettel Cloud ecosystem made its debut, which included data centres, technology platforms, software and services in the cloud, security technologies, and administration and operation services, cementing its position as the largest cloud computing service provider in Vietnam.

It is also making huge investment plans. Technology director Le Quang Hieu said, “Viettel will invest an additional VND10 trillion ($421.94 million) in cloud platforms and develop data centres with a total area of 100,000sq.m by 2025. By 2030, the investment amount will be up to VND40 trillion ($1.68 billion) with 22 data centres, covering 342,000sq.m.”

At present, Viettel Cloud boasts 13 facilities and more than 70 products and services, ranging from physical infrastructure to service platforms.

The players’ new moves have been driven by the increase in demand for cloud services among businesses and organisations, as well as small- and medium-size businesses that are accelerating digital transformation; as well as the government’s supporting policies.

Spending on cloud computing has increased, and is forecast to continue its growth momentum in the years to come. According to Gartner, in 2022, worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services was $490.3 billion. The figure is predicted to rise 20.7 per cent in 2023 to $591.8 billion. And Vietnam is not an exception to this trend.

In the country’s orientation of digital economy development, Vietnam has set a target that by 2025, all agencies and governments will use cloud computing, and 70 per cent of businesses will use cloud computing services provided by Vietnamese enterprises.

A new contest

In recent years, Vietnam has been ranked in the top 10 emerging markets in the global data centre industry, according to ResearchAndMarkets, a market information provider based in Ireland.

In the past, the cloud was the playground of international technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and there were few products by Vietnamese players. While domestic firms have actively joined the game, about 80 per cent of Vietnam’s cloud computing market share is currently still in the hands of foreign enterprises.

With new plans to expand in the local market by multinational players like Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, and Microsoft, and new moves by Vietnamese ones, the market is being put into a new race of advanced technologies and strategies.

Hoang Viet Tien, deputy secretary general of Vietnam Digital Communication Association, said, “The local market now begins with a new game where domestic and international players are nearly on par in the playground. Vietnamese firms are now stronger than they used to be. This prompts international platforms to take smarter steps.”

Management consulting firm McKinsey forecasts that by 2025, Vietnam’s cloud market will reach $400-700 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 21 per cent. However, expanding the market share of domestic enterprises is still very difficult because their service ecosystem is not yet comprehensive.

Microsoft continues to work with mobile network operators and Vietnamese firms to boost its footprint there. In June, Microsoft Vietnam signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Viettel to promote the application of Industry 4.0 technology solutions such as the cloud, big data, and AI across various sectors and enhance digital services in Vietnam. The previous month, Microsoft Vietnam signed a three-year MoU with Coteccons, one of the top construction companies in Vietnam, to accelerate its innovation and value chain in the construction industry leveraging the power of AI and cloud technology.

AWS, meanwhile, has been driving innovation, growth, and expansion for its customers in Vietnam, through continued investment in the region and strengthening local partnerships.

In April, VPBank announced the signing of agreements with AWS, selecting it as its preferred cloud provider to build digital banking experiences for its customers. In Vietnam, AWS has entered partnerships with dozens of enterprises.

Last August, it launched AWS edge locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, reflecting a long-term commitment to supporting the country’s growing use of cloud technology, and providing local developers, startups, entrepreneurs, enterprises, and government organisations with wider access to the breadth and depth of AWS.

In February 2022, it announced plans to launch a new Local Zone in Hanoi, allowing customers to use core services locally while seamlessly connecting to the rest of their workloads running in AWS regions with the same elasticity, pay-as-you-go model, APIs, and toolsets.

Ken Haig, who is AWS’ head of Energy and Environment Policy for Asia-Pacific and Japan, told VIR, “Cloud services will play a critical role in helping Vietnam and ASEAN organisations to increase productivity, reduce costs, and continue to innovate. This is why we continue to make significant investments to support customer demand and help grow the digital economy in Vietnam.”