New digital tech in the private sector

Lam Le, RSM partner – Tax and Consulting

How have digital technologies transformed the private sector in Vietnam?

With the economic growth and pace of development, the private sector in Vietnam is growing strongly with nearly 620,000 operating businesses and contributing approximately 40 per cent of GDP. In particular, the private sector employs about 51 per cent of the national labour force and creates about 1.2 million jobs each year.

The development trends of the digital era require enterprises to not shy away from innovation and take on a more creative mindset. There is a definitive need for additional investment, but this is not beyond the capabilities of the majority of entrepreneurs. In addition, the application of AI, the internet of things, robotics, augmented reality, VR, blockchain, and big data does not require great expenses.

However, after implementing technology and buying machinery and digital equipment, many enterprises have encountered obstacles. Just like technology innovation, the biggest thing in digital transformation is changing the mindset of the involved people – apart from financial constraints, of course.

Enterprises are directly affected by the digital transformation. It refers to the adoption of digital tools and methods by an organisation, typically those that have either not been including the digital factor as part of their core activities or have not kept up with the pace of change in digital technologies.

As a new source of growth, efficiency or relevance in an increasingly digital world, digitisation usually includes new communication and service delivery channels, including via mobile devices, with internal and external users, data-informed decision making, and business processes based on larger and larger volumes of data, new procurement mechanisms, and enhanced human resources abilities.

In the private sector, while digital transformation has more tangible drivers such as profit, efficiency gains, market share, and the retention of talented people, among others, and often more immediate results. In many cases it is likely to implicate many other processes and systems, requiring that digital solutions be considered closer to organisations’ core functions and improve their ability to quickly reconfigure themselves.

This change is often seized as an opportunity to partially if not integrally redefine the organisation’s main goals, its core values, to shed outworn and habit-sustained roles, and functions and handle new levels of market demand.

A specific challenge regarding digital transformation involves the ability to hire new types of talent and integrate digital-related tools, methods, strategies, and culture – not only into strategies and plans, but also into daily habits.

How can RSM Vietnam help private firms harness digital transformation and drive their businesses forward?

The business world is evolving rapidly, and digital transformation has recently become the pathway to create revenue and new value, increase profitability, and improve employee and client retention. It can also help remove IT complexities, risks, and barriers to innovation, allowing organisations to meet evolving business demands.

In fact, most companies cannot meet their digital transformation goals and it directly impacts their business and operations. In this digital transformation, we understand that private businesses need an advisor who thinks ahead and rapidly responds to your changing needs.

At RSM, we build strong relations based on a deep ­understanding of what ­matters to private businesses the most.

As the influence of the middle market grows and becomes increasingly important to driving the success of business in Vietnam, we are pleased to provide real-time, middle market relevant diagnostic review to help clients anticipate and address the unique issues and challenges facing their businesses and the industries in which they operate.

Our insights and analysis benefit clients and others by deepening understanding of the importance of the digital transformation in economic growth and stability.

Most private enterprises need knowledgeable assistance that can help them traverse the digital landscape

What services and solutions can you provide private businesses to accelerate their digital transformation?

Methods and tools for digital transformation can vary widely depending on the depth of the organisation’s interest. For ­improvements in service ­delivery, digital service and product design methods work well. For digital ­transformations that affect an organisation’s core functions or have the ability to impact business, organisational and strategic design methods should also be considered.

Some typical digital transformation practices or methods RSM Vietnam ­offers to clients include ­information architecture, service design, user experience design, product ­management, interaction ­design, data science and computer science, and ­engineering.

What gains has RSM ­Vietnam brought to your clients to drive digital ­transformation?

Digital technologies have drastically changed the way businesses operate. Businesses are increasingly trying to provide a superior and seamless experience to their digital clients, and thus improving their bottom line.

The proliferation of ­mobile devices, advanced knowledge of consumer ­behaviour, powered by ­analytics and the emergence of the cloud has thrown up new opportunities as well as ­challenges to businesses. Companies are struggling to innovate and grow due to the fragmented technology ­landscape, constant product evolution, and changing ­consumer preferences.

RSM collaborates with clients on developing a ­digital business strategy that is aligned with clients’ key business objectives and leverages digital technologies to produce a significant competitive advantage.

With a comprehensive suite of services to aid in ­digital transformation, RSM helps support and accelerate an organisation’s journey to unlock productivity gains across all levels of the ­organisation. Our digital transformation consulting leverages a wide spectrum of digital technologies to help companies improve products and services, enhance ­customer experience, enter new markets, and increase revenues.

The digital transformation is also disrupting the entire service industry. What is RSM Vietnam’s plan to build digital capabilities and nurture technology talent?

Our team of highly skilled learning and ­development specialists have the skills required to define and implement digital ­technologies and are ­committed to the ongoing development of all our ­people. With a particular focus on the digital needs of middle market businesses, we understand the unique growth opportunities and ­resource constraints that our organisation faces.

We help our staff acquire the capabilities and skills ­required to execute a ­transformation successfully. We have a wide range of ­programmes that have been created to allow individuals to tailor their development and coach them in topics such as IT-related design thinking, innovation management, ideation processes, and business agility.