New Outlook For Software City

Lam Nguyen Hai Long, newly appointed CEO of Quang Trung Software City (QTSC), one of the first staff members of the software park, talks about QTSC’s role in the software development of HCMC in particular and Vietnam in general

Q: What would you say about the growth of QTSC over the past 14 years? A: Fourteen years ago, Quang Trung Software City Development Co. was transformed from an exhibition center into a software park. So, everything started new. Our devoted team and a viable development strategy have helped shape the park. The number of local and foreign information technology (IT) and software companies entering QTSC has increased steadily, reaching more than 120 at present. In my opinion, one of our most notable achievements may relate to the coming of HP, a world’s IT giant. Initial successes have allowed us to gain enough confidence, knowledge and experience to work with other multinationals. Local and foreign key players such as IBM, KDDI, Swiss Post Solutions, TMA Solutions, Vina Data, etc. have come to QTSC. It is now the biggest software park in Vietnam and the first concentrated IT park certified by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Of course, those achievements are only a springboard for greater successes. Lam Nguyen Hai Long, CEO of Quang Trung Software City Now at the helm of QTSC, what are your action plans to further develop the park? First, QTSC has to develop business and fulfill its role as a growth engine for Vietnam’s software industry. Second, QTSC will become a green, beautiful park and a pride of its IT company partners. Third, we will expand our business to attain a higher position when Vietnam becomes a member of the ASEAN Economic Community. By that time, QTSC will focus mainly on IT outsourcing, QTSC 2 will focus on research and development (R&D) and QTSC Dalat will be a venue for hi-tech agriculture development. In the next five years, we will be at the forefront of the Vietnamese software industry which can compete on the same footing with other Asian rivals. Could you elaborate more on these action plans? We will go hand in hand with enterprises here and improve our external relations. In fact, all these things have been done, but not to the extent we wanted. So, we want to do it better. For instance, we will supply well-trained personnel for businesses. To do so, we should know thoroughly their need and work closely with them in manpower training. Vietnam IT Outsourcing Conference (VNITO) 2015 was the first step to form a cooperation scheme between QTSC and enterprises. In addition to the current supports for enterprises through the CEO Club, the HR Club and QTSC incentives, we also want to assist IT companies in the services they need. In other words, we want to be part of their value chains. Is QTSC’s development connected with software development of HCMC in particular and Vietnam in general? One of our main tasks is to become a firm leader in the local software industry. As Vietnam’s software industry is still fledgling, many enterprises prefer exporting software products. QTSC is mapping out some new programs and we need strong support from the authorities. In particular, QTSC will cooperate with companies operating in the park to jointly select appropriate products and solutions that can be developed into packages for the domestic market. Such a strategy will lead Vietnam’s IT industry to higher levels. What do you think about Vietnam’s software development? There remain many things to do for the Vietnamese software industry to develop robustly. One of them is attracting more enterprises in IT outsourcing. Rates offered by QTSC must be competitive, our staff professional and our infrastructure developed, which will help made-in-Vietnam products achieve a deserving position on the international market. In ASEAN, the Vietnamese work force is highly esteemed. This is both a strong point and a challenge. When the ASEAN Economic Community is fully operational, multinationals in Thailand and the Philippines will recruit a large number of Vietnamese talents. We should have feasible solutions to coping with this problem. A feasible measure may be a formulation of  policies on start-ups which may help retain local talents. Reported by Trung Chau/ The Saigon Times Weekly