Vietnamese information technology (IT) companies are growing rapidly in quality and number, and have become preferred partners for Japanese businesses, said Nguyen Van Khoa, President of the Vietnam Software and Information Technology Services Association (VINASA), at the Vietnam IT Day 2023 held in Tokyo this week.

2023 marks the 10th year of the event organized by Vietnamese IT companies doing business with Japan. It also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

"The technical quality of Vietnamese workers has also improved significantly, from simple steps, Vietnamese enterprises can now participate in the stages of research, design, and implementation of digital transformation projects, applying new technologies such as cloud, big data, AI, blockchain, and others," Khoa said.

He listed leading Vietnamese IT companies with over 1,000 employees, such as Rikkeisoft, Luvina, Fujinet, VMO, VTI, and others. Meanwhile, the total number of Vietnamese companies providing IT services to Japanese companies has reached nearly 500.

President Nguyen Van Khoa speaks at Vietnam IT Day 2023 event in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: VINASA

According to the President of VINASA, it is estimated that Japan spends more than $30 billion annually on software outsourcing. Vietnamese companies account for about 6-7% of the market share, so the potential for cooperation is huge.

Along with the increase in business in Japan, the IT industry in Vietnam is also experiencing strong growth in scale. In 2022, the revenue of the  IT industry is estimated to reach US$148 billion, an increase of 8.7% compared to 2021. In the software and IT services industry alone, revenue has grown from $50 million in the 2000s to more than $15 billion in 2022, with nearly 400,000 programmers.

"We have a proud past, and I believe the future will also open up more powerful and effective cooperation between Vietnam and Japan. After 20 years, Vietnam has been Japan's second-largest IT partner in the software and services industry," Khoa stressed.

"We are confident that we will find the most creative solutions. Based on the foundation of 50 years of Vietnam-Japan relations, I believe the potential for cooperation between the two countries is limitless," he added.

The VINASA President also pointed out three opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to take advantage of and thus improve their position on the global IT map, including maintenance of SAP/S4Hana or Microsoft Dynamics 365 systems; conversion of Cobol language to modern language; and engineering software for electric cars.

Held for the first time in 2013, Vietnam IT Day is part of an annual series of activities organized in cooperation between VINASA and Japanese IT associations and organizations to promote cooperation in the IT industry between the two countries.

Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology under the Ministry of Information, affirmed the great potential of Vietnam's IT industry.

"More than 10 Vietnamese software companies have opened branches and offices in Japan. Meanwhile, some 55,000 IT students graduate from Vietnamese universities and colleges every year. Vietnam currently has about 20,000 people working in Japan in the fields of IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing," the official said.

According to statistics from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the country faces an average shortage of 100,000 technicians in information security, cloud computing, and mobile technology. Regarding new technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and robotics, the country is estimated to have a shortage of 600,000 IT professionals by 2030.

"It is a great opportunity for Vietnamese companies to join hands with their Japanese counterparts to solve the shortage of human resources in this field," Tuyen stressed.