Towards dataizing the economy

The recent launch of the National Data Association (NDA) has received attention and expectations from people and businesses about the possibility of forming a data ecosystem, contributing positively to the country's socio-economic development.

Make a breakthrough

Speaking to the press, Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong - Director of the National Data Center, Executive Vice President of NDA - emphasized that Resolution 57/2024 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation has identified the important role of data and set the goal of making data the main means of production.

According to the Executive Vice President of NDA, the association hopes that data will contribute to socio-economic development through the development of data application scenarios, data products and services; forming a data market, data economy, and data industry. The association will be a bridge between organizations, businesses, and individuals in Vietnam's data ecosystem.

Inside the data center of the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel). (Photo provided by Viettel)

"To do that, we will build a wide network of members, going deep and firmly into all fields and professions in social life that need to use data. Thereby creating a complete ecosystem, from state agencies to organizations, businesses, individuals, contributing to realizing the data application scenarios of members" - Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong said.

According to Mr. Cuong, to date, there have been more than 400 members, organizations and individuals, joining the association. Qualified individuals and organizations can join NDA to create a large network of connections, sharing the same ideals and goals of bringing the country to prosperity through data. At the same time, members can improve their knowledge, share experiences, and information about data development and achievements in this field.

Regarding the upcoming goal, Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong said that the association will "datafy" the socio-economic system, that is, bring data into all areas of social life. To realize this, the first thing is to build data application scenarios to have an initial overview. For example, if the economy operates based on data, it will help improve user experience, help businesses better understand the market, optimize processes, improve products and services, and make strategic decisions. "Data will create a breakthrough for the economy, outstanding development and is a key factor in shaping a data-centric economic model, with digital transformation as the foundation..." - Mr. Cuong acknowledged.

Data center investment

As Vice Chairman of NDA, Mr. Nguyen Trung Chinh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMC Technology Group, is committed to contributing to the establishment and development of the association. With the cooperation of the members of the association, Mr. Chinh believes that the Vietnamese information technology industry will make great strides, thereby contributing to enriching the value of data, creating new products and services to serve people and businesses in the digital age.

FPT Corporation Chairman Truong Gia Binh was also elected as Vice Chairman of NDA. According to the documents of the 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, FPT Corporation said it will continue to research and invest in more data centers in Vietnam.

At a recent conference on science and technology development, innovation, and digital transformation, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Minh, General Director of FPT Information System Company Limited (FPT IS) - FPT Group, said that the company will accompany the construction of the National Data Center. FPT IS proposed that the Government build a specific legal corridor on national data to guide ministries, branches, and localities in implementation.

Specifically, it is necessary to quickly have instructions for implementing Resolution 193/2025 of the National Assembly on piloting a number of special mechanisms and policies to create breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation, and national digital transformation.

According to FPT IS representative, Vietnam still has many national databases that have not been deployed or are still unfinished. Therefore, technology companies want to have legal documents on handing over large national systems to ministries, branches and localities for quick construction, ensuring quality, safety and security for these systems.

"Countries with strong AI development such as the US and China have built good legal corridors with effectively operating data platforms, helping technology companies have access to and use big data. We also hope that Vietnam will soon promote the construction of a data platform so that technology companies and scientists have the opportunity to access big data, thereby creating AI products specific to Vietnam" - FPT IS representative suggested.

Previously, in 2024, the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) also opened a data center in Hoa Lac. This is the largest data center in Vietnam with a scale of 21,000 m2, 2,400 racks and a power consumption of 30 MW. This data center is twice the size of the largest data center currently operating in Vietnam at that time.

Privacy Protection

To balance data exploitation and privacy protection, according to Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, there are many issues that need to be addressed, from applying strict legal regulations, increasing transparency in data processing, applying privacy protection technology, encouraging responsible innovation... to developing ethical standards.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tien-toi-du-lieu-hoa-nen-kinh-te-19625032520574746.htm