Vietnam moving the needle on E-Government

Over the last decade, the application of information and communications technology (ICT) to improve public services has been a top priority of the Vietnam governmental leadership.

The government has set a target for the nation to become one of the world’s top 70 leading ICT powerhouses by 2020.

Such a challenge provided the impetus for the conference as it strongly calls for in-depth discussion and debate on the way forward towards giving effect to sustainable and effective IT and technology solutions to accomplish the government’s objectives.

Speakers at the conference said to date a high rate of internet users – roughly 40% of the population – and the successful prosecution of the ICT Development Project have brought E-Government closer to realization in Vietnam.

Also, recent years have seen increasing attention to the execution of information technology (IT) in the transportation and healthcare industries.

However, more intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications and systems need to be developed with various technologies, they said.

In terms of E-Health (healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication) key decisions have been made at the ministerial level to lay a foundation for the interoperability of eventual healthcare IT applications, increased usage of healthcare IT and eventual adoption of clinical data systems.

However, a number of significant barriers have been identified from underdeveloped infrastructure to poor strategy development and skills that need to be effectively dealt with over the next year.

On the sidelines of the conference, an exhibition showcasing the latest technologies and products within the E-Governmental field took place.

Notably, Microsoft’s CityNext, software was under the spotlight at the conference, which is highly acclaimed for its citizens-centred solutions empowering urban administration organizations, businesses and citizens to build and develop a more dynamic future community.

The event was organized by the HCM City Municipal People’s Committee, Department of Information and Communications, in coordination with International Data Group (IDG) in Vietnam.