Vietnamese companies are actively implementing several measures to ready themselves for an artificial intelligence (AI)-centric future. According to an industry survey released recently, 99% of organisations have either established a robust AI strategy or are currently in the process of developing one.
Over 87% of organisations are categorised as either fully or partially prepared, with only 2% falling into the category of not prepared. This indicated a significant level of focus by C-Suite executives and IT leadership, possibly influenced by the unanimous attitude among respondents that the urgency to implement AI technologies in their organisations has heightened in the past six months. Notably, IT infrastructure and cybersecurity emerged as the foremost priority areas for AI deployments. However, only 27% of organisations in Vietnam are fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI-powered technologies.
The survey included over 8,000 global companies and was created in response to the rapid adoption of AI, a transformative shift affecting nearly every aspect of business and daily life. The report emphasises the readiness of companies to leverage and implement AI, revealing significant gaps in crucial business pillars and infrastructures that pose substantial risks in the near future.
The survey was an assessment of companies that were examined on 49 different metrics across these six pillars to determine a readiness score for each, as well as an overall readiness score for the respondents’ organisation. Each indicator was weighted individually based on its relative importance in achieving readiness for the respective pillar. It classified organisations into four groups—Pacesetters (fully prepared), Chasers (moderately prepared), Followers (limited preparedness), and Laggards (unprepared)—based on their overall scores.
Although AI adoption has been steadily advancing for decades, the recent strides in Generative AI, coupled with its increased public accessibility in the past year, have heightened awareness of the challenges, transformations, and new possibilities presented by this technology.
Despite 92% of respondents acknowledging that AI will have a substantial impact on their business operations, it has raised concerns regarding data privacy and security. The findings showed that companies experience the most challenges when it comes to leveraging AI alongside their data. 68% of respondents acknowledged that this is due to data existing in silos across their organisations.
As per an industry expert, in the race to implement AI solutions, companies should assess where investments are needed to ensure their infrastructure can best support the demands of AI workloads. It is equally important for organisations to monitor the context in which AI is used, ensuring factors such as ROI, security, and responsibility.
The country is working to foster a skilled workforce in AI to actively contribute to the expansion of Vietnam’s AI ecosystem and its sustainability. As per data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) last year, there were over 1,600 individuals in Vietnam who were either studying or engaged in AI-related fields. However, the actual number of professionals actively working in AI within Vietnam was relatively low, with only around 700 individuals, including 300 experts, involved in this specialised work. Considering the substantial IT workforce of nearly 1 million employees in Vietnam, the availability of AI human resources remains relatively limited.
To tackle this challenge, businesses can recruit AI experts globally or collaborate with domestic and international training institutions to enhance the skills of existing talent. They can also partner with universities to offer advanced degrees in data science and AI for the current engineering workforce, fostering synergy between academic institutions and industry demands.
https://opengovasia.com/ai-readiness-in-vietnam-trends-and-strategies/
