Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Da Nang have faced many barriers to the digital transformation process. Aside from their internal strengths, SMEs are in desperate need of more active support from the municipal authorities to successfully make the integration of digital technology into their operation.

Businesses are in desperate need of more active support from the municipal authorities to speed up digital transformation.

Mr Tran Duc Tho, the Director of the city-based Tho Tran Co., Ltd, said, thanks to the efficient use of new, fast changing digital technologies, the manufacturing throughput time has shortened to one-third so far, and the company needs only half its workers for production activities. 

According to Mr Tran Ngoc Viet, the Director of the Thanh Khe District-based Things Changing Co., Ltd., which specialises in designing and manufacturing educational toys for children, with Industry 4.0 taking root, digital transformation is an inevitable trend that businesses have to promote in order to optimise their production capacity. However, Viet pointed out to the fact that about 30% of the local companies are still skeptical about the practical benefits digital transformation can bring to them.

In his perspectives on possible challenges to digital transformation, Mr Ho Duc Tien, the Director of the Lien Chieu District-based Mayaca Coffee Co., Ltd., said, his company now encounters some difficulties in promoting digital skills and the quality of human resources for the sake of the digital transformation process.

In reality, most of its work items, including the input of raw materials, production, ex-warehousing and financial statements, have been implemented via electronic equipment. However, in some unexpected cases, employees unintentionally made data input errors, which adversely affects the whole IT system.

This enterprise is now focusing on improving the IT system because it is very useful for its management and supervision missions.

In fact, although many businesses are very proactive and dynamic to access the latest technological trends, they now still face many difficulties. The municipal administration, therefore, has issued many synchronous mechanisms and timely support policies applicable to businesses in the strongly growing digital transformation worldwide.

According to Mr Tran Ngoc Thach, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications, in an effort to support businesses, the municipal government has given the green light to the implementation of a project to developing Da Nang into a smarter city over the 2018-2025 period, with a vision towards 2030.

Under the noticeable project, instructions have been given to businesses and local residents to enhance their digital product application skills.

In parallel with the above-mentioned support, the local authorities have also paid heed to developing data infrastructure to streamline administrative procedures for the sake of businesses.

Until now, database in the city’s e-government architectural framework has effectively operated. It is notable that the shared database for local government agencies and associations has initially replaced the paper versions in the provision of such public services as land use right certificates and business permits.

The city-level e-government system now highlights electronic data on 96% of the city’s population and 100% of the local businesses.

Under the Politburo's Resolution No 43-NQ/TW regarding the city’s progress by 2030 with a vision towards 2045 and another one already adopted by the municipal Party Committee on accelerating the development of the information and communications technologies, 4 concentrated IT parks will have been established by 2025, together contributing 10% of the city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), and the number of IT parks will increase to 6 by 2030, with all contributing 15% of the city’s GRDP.

In order to develop IT human resources meeting the requirements of the Industry 4.0, the city authorities have implemented specific plans to develop IT human resources in the 2018 – 2020 period, and set up an innovative startup ecosystem and an IT business incubator.

By 2025, additional 30,000 people working in the software and digital content sectors will have been employed in a bid to promote investment attraction and speed up the development of the IT industry.