With the advantage of being a pure Vietnamese product, the Viettel Backendless (VBS) platform meets the most pressing needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and freelance developers on their digital transformation journey.

Vietnamese people solve the digital transformation bottleneck of Vietnamese businesses

With a price that can reach tens of millions of dong per month, Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, a programmer in Hanoi, is very "hesitant" when he has to use Google's software services. Even at the company Nam is working for, which has about 30 programmers, using paid cloud platforms provided by Google or Amazon is a luxury because the all-inclusive price is only suitable for large businesses with strong economic potential while they are a small business.

"Due to the demands of my work, I still have to "save up" to buy services from foreign providers. However, they only have certain packages, so choosing which package is enough for the needs and affordable is always a difficult problem," said Mr. Nam.

However, the suffering of people like Nam may become a thing of the past with the launch of the Viettel Backendless (VBS) platform. Developed by Viettel Solutions, a member of Viettel Group, VBS not only simplifies the software development process but also stimulates the demand for software development and digitization of information for Vietnamese SMEs.

Sharing about the journey to the introduction of VBS, the solution that just won the Sao Khue award in the digital transformation platform category, Mr. Pham Duc Chuong, the project manager of VBS, said that the idea for the product was formed in the phase of the COVID-19 pandemic began to break out in Vietnam. The distance in the pandemic and unprecedented demands have strongly driven the process of accelerating digital transformation.

"Currently, the domestic market has 58,000 businesses operating in the information technology field, 1 million freelance developers. However, not every business has enough high-skilled personnel and financial potential to develop strongly. Therefore, low-code development platforms, including the Viettel Backendless platform, were born to solve these problems, helping SMEs and developers focus on developing products for end users," Mr. Chuong said.

Advantages in the face-off with the "tech giants" on home turf

VBS is a platform that provides solutions for developers to focus on developing applications for end users without having to worry about backend development techniques and server infrastructure operations.

"Our goal is to partner with businesses and individuals to create optimization in software development. Therefore, our platform aims to provide the most complete range from mass business solutions to cutting-edge technology solutions such as AI, Blockchain... with a simple, flexible approach to promote the confidence in technology in businesses as well as promote digital transformation in the Vietnamese market." - Mr. Chuong said.

A common feature of SMEs and freelance developers is limited budgets. Giant technology companies like Google and Amazon also offer similar products but are too expensive while the platform is designed for customers around the world, which has many points of non-conformity.

To have an opportunity to compete with global names on home turf, VBS must solve these problems. VBS is not only a platform tailored to the needs of Vietnamese customers, but it must also maintain an affordable price to allow all businesses and individuals to access to accelerate the creation of useful products for end users.

The diversity of scale and business areas of businesses creates extremely diverse needs in the field of software design, which is also what the VBS development team has been struggling to exploit to perfect their product.

"To talk about the impression in the process of developing VBS, I think there is no more accurate word than two words of faith. The faith comes from the evaluations of the world's leading technology analysts (Gartner, Forrester, etc.), the faith in the achievements that Viettel has owned has helped us overcome difficulties and challenges to complete the VBS platform, a platform that will be very useful for businesses, programmers in the current digital era." - Mr. Chuong said.

“Instant noodles” of the Vietnamese software industry

According to Mr. Chuong, VBS is a service platform that operates on a Serverless (no server) model, which is a combination of software services and cloud infrastructure services. In simple terms, the platform is like a pack of instant noodles or a ready-made meal with all the ingredients. Users just need to stir-fry for a delicious meal.

The difference between VBS and the products of large technology groups is that it minimizes the number of lines of code that programmers need to write to create a complete feature. Normally, there are cases where the function has to be written up to hundreds of lines of code, but now, with VBS, they only need 5-7 lines of code.

Although relatively new in Vietnam, this service has been developed by Google and Amazon for a long time. The disadvantage of these services is that they are expensive while they are not created to meet all the needs of Vietnamese people. In addition, the billing method of foreign providers is still very rigid, not suitable for the majority of Vietnamese customers.

"The "tailor-made" feature of VBS is to provide the most familiar utilities and features, update the latest trends with the most appropriate costs. The target users of this platform are not necessarily high-quality IT engineer teams, instead, ordinary staff can still create high-quality software products," said Mr. Chuong.

As of now, VBS is being used for a number of development projects related to healthcare, education, and government. The feedback from programmers is quite positive. The ability to simplify processes, create new features quickly, and be user-friendly without requiring programmers with high expertise.

"Currently, we are focusing on Viettel's internal customers and contributing to the digital transformation of the healthcare and education sectors. It is expected that by the end of 2022 to 2024, VBS will serve 1,000 businesses in the technology sector and 17,000 freelance developers," said Mr. Chuong.

To compete with Google or Amazon, which are already recognized names around the world, understanding the domestic market and optimizing the package is considered the key. VBS plans to provide flexible usage policy packages to meet the diverse needs of users and popularize the platform in the Vietnamese market.

On the other hand, the convenience and affordability of VBS will help SMEs be more confident in digitizing their internal work. From these confidences, the product will promote digital transformation in multiple industries in Vietnam.

The Viettel Backendless platform is constantly being improved and updated with new technologies to support the IT community and businesses to maximize their potential and create new opportunities to enhance their competitiveness. As a powerful tool to create breakthrough developments for each business in the digital transformation era. Viettel believes that with its role as a pioneer in creating a digital society, VBS will be a solid foundation for the digital future of Vietnamese businesses

By building a tourism e-commerce product during the pandemic, Viettel hopes to leverage the power of Vietnamese businesses and government agencies through Travelbook.

Vietnam's tourism potential in the context of post-COVID 19

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, 2019 marked a breakthrough for Vietnam's tourism industry, with total revenue reaching 720 billion dong (about 32.75 billion USD), up 16.2% from 2018, contributing up to 9.2% to GDP.

In addition, in 2019, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) ranked Vietnam among the top 10 countries with the fastest tourism growth rate. And the online travel segment has made significant contributions to the great successes of Vietnam's tourism industry.

As reported by Statista, the value of e-commerce spending by internet users in Vietnam is the highest in the travel, transportation, and accommodation sectors. In 2020, the figure reached 3 billion USD, on par with the market with the largest population in Southeast Asia, Indonesia.

Online spending in the tourism and travel sector in Vietnam in 2020 was 578.24 million USD, down more than 773 million USD from the previous year's revenue.

However, according to Statista, online spending in the tourism sector of Vietnam could fully recover and develop in the coming years, when the pandemic is truly over.

In 2022, Vietnam's tourism sector is targeting to welcome around 65 million tourists, including 5 million international tourists with vaccine passports; total revenue from tourism is expected to reach about 400,000 billion dong.

With such a potential market, but currently, online bookings by Vietnamese tourists are often made through foreign online travel agencies (OTAs) such as booking.com, agoda.com and traveloka.com. These OTAs do not have to pay corporate income tax, leading to millions of billions of dong in tax losses each year.

Despite the presence of some online tourism channels in Vietnam, such as mytour.vn and trivago.vn, these channels are still small and have not yet been able to fully leverage the role of government agencies and the collective strength of domestic businesses.

In this context, Viettel Solutions, a member of Viettel Group, believes that it is essential to have a Vietnamese online tourism product that is competitive with foreign products and can amplify the collective strength of domestic businesses. This is the reason why Travelbook was born.

"We have worked with many government agencies, such as the Department of Tourism of Thua Thien Hue Province and Da Nang City, and found that the role of local tourism promotion agencies has not been well reflected in current tourism products and applications. Localities and domestic businesses are very much looking forward to a product that can do this," said Mr. Vu Viet Hung, head of the Travelbook solution development team.

The Travelbook team focused on studying models from around the world, such as Japan, Australia, and Indonesia, to find a solution that could combine the strength of government agencies in supporting and connecting domestic businesses.

For example, in Australia, the national tourism promotion agency also implemented a similar platform. Previously, a hotel in Australia lost 25% of its profits to online travel agencies (OTAs). However, since joining the platform, together with 15,000 hotels gathered by the government agency, they have been able to negotiate with OTAs to reduce the discount rate.

Smartening up the travel e-commerce platform

Travelbook was founded in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the tourism industry was facing many difficulties. Viettel quickly met with associations to listen to their needs and immediately started building the product with the goal of being ready to welcome back tourism.

Talking about the difference between Travelbook and foreign applications, Mr. Hung said, firstly, Travelbook has the combination of the management role of government agencies, specifically the tourism promotion centers and local Departments of Tourism. Secondly, businesses participating in Travelbook will also be supported by tourism associations and promotion centers.

Thirdly, Travelbook is completely different from Booking, Agoda, K-look, etc. in that each platform only focuses on one type of product such as accommodation, service tickets, etc. Travelbook aims to provide a variety of services: help tourists quickly find destinations, hotels, tours, restaurants/entertainment venues, local specialties; book hotels, tours, book restaurants and plan trips, online payment, increase interaction on social networks.

In particular, the Travelbook product of Viettel Solutions is also applied with new technologies, helping to personalize the needs of each customer, such as virtual assistants, suggesting itineraries for tourists.

In addition, Viettel Solutions also aims for a B2B2C (Business to Business to Customer) business model, not just a B2C (Business to Customer) model, meaning that there is also the participation of travel agents. Agents can select products and services from suppliers, create their own products to sell on the platform.

At that time, Travelbook will also play a role as an online travel fair, integrating with the e-commerce platform to increase interaction, connect trade, provide virtual exhibition platform services to help tourists experience virtual tourism and create business booths, destinations organized via online conferences.

Travelbook provides features for businesses such as booking management, services, suppliers, customer information, automatic statistical reports, and real-time updates.

At the same time, the product also integrates with travel social networks, a smart travel card payment platform, and Mobile Money to make payments easy and fast.

Recently, Travelbook was honored to receive the Sao Khue 2022 award in the category of New Solutions and Software. This award is a confirmation that Viettel Solutions is ready to create a new solution in the tourism sector, leveraging the power of both government agencies, localities, and businesses.

Viettel Solutions' expectation when participating in this game is to gather Vietnamese businesses to be able to compete fairly with foreign businesses, prevent tax evasion as well as capital outflow to foreign businesses.

On April 27-28, 2022, in the city of Soc Trang, Viettel was the only technology company to showcase its digital transformation ecosystem at the 30th Anniversary of the Reunification of Soc Trang Province and the Soc Trang Province Investment Promotion Conference. The event was attended by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; leaders of ministries and departments; leaders of the Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee; leaders of provinces in the region; leaders of departments, agencies and businesses.

At the event, Viettel brought a Digital Transformation Ecosystem of products that Viettel is implementing in Soc Trang City, including three main pillars: Digital Government, Digital Society, Digital Economy based on the large scale of Digital infrastructure platform and High security technology platform.

In the field of Digital Government, Viettel has deployed many products, including the Smart City Operation Center, through which the government can easily monitor, supervise, and operate all activities of Soc Trang City. To implement IoT-based smart cities, Viettel also self-researched and developed essential devices, such as traffic surveillance cameras, to ensure high accuracy and security.

In the field of Digital Economy, Viettel has built many solutions for smart tourism, smart agriculture, and notably the implementation of an e-commerce platform combined with digital payment, helping farmers in Soc Trang easily trade and sell local specialties through smart devices. In addition, Viettel has built a set of digital transformation solutions for businesses, effectively managing all activities of businesses and organizations.

In the field of Digital Society, Viettel has deployed many solutions for digital healthcare, digital education, and supported effective pandemic prevention work. In particular, the citizen application helps to increase two-way interaction between citizens and local governments; quickly resolve citizen feedback, and also effectively support management agencies' administration.

Viettel's participation in this event is a testament to the company's commitment to helping Soc Trang achieve its digital transformation goals. Viettel's ecosystem of products and services is designed to help the province improve the efficiency of its government operations, boost its economy, and improve the quality of life for its citizens.

Prior to that, on April 24, 2022, the People's Committee of Soc Trang City and Viettel officially launched 5G and the Smart City Operation Center (IOC). The IOC is one of the key projects with important significance in the economic and social development of the city, considered as the "digital operating brain" including the subsystems: A system of video walls, specialized office equipment, a security camera system, and a smart meeting system. A solution that effectively meets the needs of monitoring and managing economic and social indicators; statistical reporting indicators; monitoring the activities of the government; monitoring the management and use of land, environmental sanitation, etc.

On April 19, 2022, at Quy Nhon, the Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) officially announced the landing of the international submarine cable ADC (Asia Direct Cable) at Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam. This is the largest bandwidth fiber optic cable in Vietnam, three times the capacity of the APG (Asia Pacific Gateway) cable. ADC is the fifth submarine optical fiber, with the largest investment scale to date for Viettel, on the basis of cooperation investment and construction with major international telecommunications groups in the world such as: Singtel, China Telecom, SoftBank, China Unicom, NT, PLDT, TATA Communications.

The ADC submarine cable has a length of 9,800 km, a capacity of over 140 Tbps, using the most modern transmission technology available, connecting countries/regions in the Asia-Pacific region with a total initial investment of 290 million USD.

Together with other currently operating submarine cables, Viettel's ADC cable is expected to add 18Tbps to Viettel's total international connectivity when put into commercial operation, contributing to providing a large amount of high-speed connectivity from Vietnam to the world.

Mr. Doan Dai Phong, Deputy General Director of Viettel Business Solutions Corporation (Viettel Solutions) - a member of Viettel Group, said: "After completing the landing, the ADC submarine cable will be officially put into commercial operation by Viettel in 2023. This will affirm Viettel as a leading unit in building and developing digital infrastructure in Vietnam, promoting comprehensive digital transformation, meeting the needs of high-speed data transmission, effectively applying 4.0 technologies and ensuring national information and communication security."

The ADC cable meets the requirements for deploying international Internet connection applications that require high speed, such as: Internet of Things (IoT), automation, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (AR/VR); at the same time ensure network safety, redundancy, ensure the quality of Viettel's Internet services and other international connectivity services.

Speech at the event, Mr. Tran Kim Kha, Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Binh Dinh Province, emphasized: "I believe this is a particularly important national security project, marking a new step forward in the development of telecommunications and IT infrastructure. We will continue to work with Viettel and businesses and government agencies to strengthen protection and ensure the safety of the ADC marine optical fiber."

It is known that Viettel is the only Vietnamese member to invest in the ADC submarine cable. The landing station in Quy Nhon will also be Viettel's third exclusive submarine station.

ADC connects countries/regions in the Asia-Pacific region such as: Singapore - Japan - Hong Kong - China - Philippines - Vietnam - Thailand.

To date, Viettel has invested in 5 submarine cable projects, including: AAE-1 (landing station in Vung Tau), TGN-IA (landing station in Vung Tau), APG (landing station in Da Nang) and AAG (landing station in Vung Tau) and ADC (landing station in Quy Nhon)

Hanoi, April 18, 2022 - Viettel Business Solutions Corporation (Viettel Solutions), a member of Viettel Group, officially launched the "K12Online Arena" contest for students in grades 10, 11, and 12 at high schools and continuing education centers that are currently using the K12Online online learning and assessment system. This is one of the activities aimed at creating a knowledge playground for students, while also improving their knowledge and skills in using the K12Online software in learning and exams.

Accordingly, the "K12Online Arena" will be held from April 18, 2022 to May 22, 2022, starting with an English contest with 3 official rounds: Grammar Master, Phonetics Superstar, Vocabulary King. In order to participate in the contest, each contestant will be given a login account to the K12Online system, answer questions within the specified time and predict the number of students who will get the maximum score.

K12Online Arena is an opportunity for students to showcase their passion for English and improve their IT skills in the learning process. Through the contest, teachers and schools can comprehensively and accurately assess the abilities of each contestant; thereby guiding and promoting the development potential of each student.

With just a smart device or computer with an internet connection, each contestant can participate in the K12Online Arena online anywhere. At each round, Viettel awards 1 First Prize, 2 Second Prizes to the contestants with the highest scores nationwide and who predict the closest number of students who will get a perfect score.

Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Lan, Director of the Digital Education Solutions Center, Viettel Solutions, said: "The contest has initially received overwhelming support from teachers and students nationwide. With the experience in organizing major competitions, we believe that the K12Online Arena will be a beneficial knowledge playground for students after hours of tense studying."

As is known, K12Online Learning and Examination Management System is a key solution in Viettel's Education Ecosystem; was born with the goal of supporting the entire process of management, training, evaluation, and online testing for general education and vocational education units. From 2021 to now, K12Online has supported the creation of accounts for over 419,000 teachers, 4 million students from 35,000 educational institutions nationwide; a repository of up to 6 million digital learning materials, page views up to 360 million.

Starting today, students in grades 10, 11, and 12 at high schools and vocational training centers who are currently using the K12Online system can participate in the K12Online Arena at the link: https://hotro.k12online.vn/dau-truong-k12online

On April 5th and 6th, 2022, the Supreme People's Court held a virtual conference to train on the use of the Virtual Assistant software. The conference was connected to over 800 demand points of contact in the court system, with the participation of over 5,000 delegates from 63 provinces/cities.

The conference was organized with the aim of putting the Virtual Assistant to work online 24/7 to support judges in quickly searching for legal documents, guidance on the application of law for specific legal situations, legal regulations, precedents, and judgments with similar legal situations for reference; contribute to ensuring the correct and uniform application of law. From there, help the Virtual Assistant software become more intelligent through the use and feedback of the judges of the Court.

The Virtual Assistant software system was developed by the Supreme People's Court in collaboration with Viettel Group with the aim of digitizing the knowledge and experience of the generations of good and experienced judges; create an online virtual secretary 24/7, supporting judges in the process of researching, analyzing, and resolving cases.

Currently, the software has completed phase 1 and is ready to be put into use throughout the court system. The system is capable of quickly performing information search requests based on the questions and commands of the judge to support the work of searching and making accurate decisions, shortening the processing time of cases. More than 100 judges and experts have participated in the process of validating content, making the system intelligent through AI technology.

At the conference, judges were instructed on how to install and use, and practiced using the Virtual Assistant software on tablets and smartphones. In addition, judges can actively update and contribute additional question-and-answer content to the software to "intelligentize" the system, update and integrate reference information sources for the software.

The Virtual Assistant software developed by Viettel is seen as a powerful tool to support administrative justice officers of the Court in receiving and processing various types of legal documents; provide legal guidance and judicial prediction services for people in the future such as being able to answer about the crime or type of civil dispute based on data about behavior, legal situation, etc. This is also considered as one of the important solutions in the process of building an electronic court, demonstrating the determination in the digital transformation of the Supreme People's Court.