ICT service market grows by 10%
Despite macroeconomic challenges, spending in Vietnam for IT services increased by 9.9% to US$446 million in 2013, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
As an emerging market, Vietnam's investments in infrastructure have been growing rapidly.
IDC said that hardware support services had continued to dominate IT services spending, with an 18.9% market share, followed by system integration and software deployment services of 14.3% and 11.3%, respectively.
In 2013, the spending for hardware deployment services was low, at an 8.8% growth rate, due to a lack of demand from the banking, insurance, manufacturing and retailing sectors.
Taken together, these sectors constitute 41% of IT services spending in the country.
However, strong investments in e-government, cloud computing, data centres and Geography Information System (GIS) led a healthy demand for system integration services, which increased by 9.7% compared to 2012.
The spending for network consulting and integration services increased by 10.1% with strong investments in the IPv6 platform coming from the communication sector.
"The Vietnamese IT services market has been maturing, reflecting the emerging trends of big data, the cloud and mobility," said Ha Ngoc Khuong, market analyst for IDC.
IDC said that spending for outsourcing services grew by more than 11%, driven by the lack of end users' advanced technical skills.
Local system integrators have been closing the skill gap by providing better technical support and customer care, enticing end users to opt for outsourcing. More players are jumping into the business, resulting in a wider range of options available for end users.
IDC forecasts that IT services market will grow at 12.7% year-on-year in 2014.
The Financial Sector Modernization and Information project, valued at US$71.8 million by the State Bank of Vietnam, will be a strong motivation for the IT services market in 2014.
IDC expects IT services spending for the banking sector to return to a healthy track with demand for new core banking and big data projects.
In addition, increased spending in infrastructure such as a smart grid and smart transport projects will drive demand for related IT services such as consulting and system integration services.