Digital transformation has been one of the great interests in recent years. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, digital transformation became a vital choice for businesses. In Vietnam, on June 3, 2020, the Prime Minister officially approved the "National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision to 2030" to turn Vietnam into a prosperous digital country that pioneers experimentation with new technologies and models. 

Then, on December 13, 2021, the Ministry of Information and Communications issued Decision 1970/QD-BTTTT approving the Digital Business Indicators (DBI) Program, a move aimed to measure the degree of digital transformation in business and support for digital transformation, applied to enterprises, cooperatives, manufacturers and traders of different sizes (micro, small, medium and large) in all economic sectors, all industries, fields and locations.

However, at present, many businesses are applying digital transformation and have initially obtained effective results but they do not know how to continue. For that reason, there is a dire need for a tool to support and gauge digital transformation in business.

Great benefits of digital transformation

At the Workshop on "Introducing the Digital Business Indicators (DBI) - Applying practical solutions to improving DBI scores" organized recently in Hanoi by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in collaboration with MISA Joint Stock Company (MISA), Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of VCCI, said, according to Microsoft's research in Asia-Pacific, digital transformation impacted 6% of GDP in 2017, 25% in 2019 and 60% in 2021. Vietnam, a developing country, has quick and flexible access to technology. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses are seeing the opportunity to catch up with world economic trends but it is facing the danger of lagging even further if the digital transformation fails. They need to improve their innovation capacity and competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Duong, Deputy Director of the Business Management Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications, said, 69% of companies in Asia-Pacific are currently hastening their digital transformation efforts to cope with COVID-19, and 47% of Vietnamese companies consider transformation to the digital environment an urgent need. Companies that have adopted Level 2 digital transformation are twice as productive and profitable as those without digital transformation. Needless to say, about US$3.1 trillion (VND72,000 trillion) is added to the GDP of the Asia-Pacific region by 2024 if digital transformation is accelerated for SMEs. This process in Vietnam is expected to increase GDP by US$30 billion (VND705 trillion).

Technological application and restructuring for higher performance

Digital transformation requires businesses to rethink business direction, rethink competition, reassess the value chain, reconnect with customers, and restructure the business, he said. Hence, measuring digital transformation is very important. Digital Business Indicators (DBI) provides businesses with a digital transformation assessment tool kit, helping them know what stage they are in, and their strengths and weaknesses according to each pillar of digital transformation, and at the same time helping them come up with digital transformation roadmaps and plans in line with their comprehensive development strategies, supporting authorities to evaluate and rank businesses and provide recommendations on digital transformation for them.

There are six important pillars of DBI: Digital experience for customers, strategy, digital infrastructure and technology, operations, digital transformation of corporate culture, and property data and information.

The Ministry of Information and Communications worked out a digital transformation support program for SMEs to accelerate digital transformation with preferential policies, aiming to assist at least 30,000 companies a year to experience digital platforms for digital transformation and establish a network of at least 10,000-strong digital economic consultants, Mr. Duong added.

Accordingly, the ministry will encourage businesses to assess the degree of digital transformation on the DBI Portal, organize a Digital Economy and Digital Business Consulting Network, and host digital transformation seminars with localities to foster local digital transformation; boost communication, deploy communications on newspapers, television and social networks and coordinate with central authorities and agencies to further support digital transformation in business.

The Ministry of Information and Communications also assesses and selects excellent "Made in Vietnam" digital platforms to support SMEs in digital transformation. When using digital platforms, SMEs will be trained and transferred to standard processes, enabling them to both apply technology and make changes and restructuring for stronger performance. Digital platforms, selected and integrated into a full digital ecosystem for businesses, will be offered preferential policies for assisting SMEs to join the Program. The selected digital platforms all use Technology 4.0 such as Cloud and AI, deployed in the form of software rental and provided with very convenient digital services. SMEs do not need to invest a lot in equipment and infrastructure while deployment is quick, just a few hours to one day.