Digital transformation of Ho Chi Minh City in 2023: The year of digital data

Editor's note

With the highest average population size and density in the country, Ho Chi Minh City continues to hold the 2nd position for 3 consecutive years according to the 2022 DTI digital transformation index ranking results announced by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City holds a high position in the Digital Institutions index (ranked 1st), Digital Infrastructure (ranked 1st), Digital Government Activities (2nd), Digital Economic Activities (4th). VietNamNet has learned the lessons for Ho Chi Minh City to maintain this success.

Lesson 1: Lessons from 3 consecutive years of Ho Chi Minh City holding the top position in digital transformation
Lesson 2: Strong commitment from the government creates success for digital transformation in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City's vision is to run the city's administration on a digital platform. 2023 is the Year of Digital Data, the city will focus on activities of developing, connecting, sharing, exploiting, and analyzing data to serve digital transformation, developing digital government, digital economy, and digital society.

In particular, the key objectives set by Ho Chi Minh City are: People and businesses only provide information once to State agencies when performing online public services; Businesses are allowed to exploit data and open data provided by State agencies to serve production and business; State agencies use data from real-time information systems to support decision making, minimizing manual reporting activities between levels.

To achieve the above goals, in 2023, Ho Chi Minh City will complete the plan to put into operation the unified administrative procedure settlement information system, connecting with the National Public Service Portal; the identity authentication system, the population database of the Ministry of Public Security as well as the National Database of ministries and branches.

At the same time, unify the process of digitizing records and administrative procedure results in receiving and handling administrative procedures. Restructure internal processes based on effective exploitation of data from the City's data warehouse, ensuring the principle that organizations and individuals only provide information once to State agencies. Complete the target of providing 100% of online public services throughout the process (for eligible procedures).

The Digital Citizen application will also be deployed by Ho Chi Minh City on mobile devices so that people and businesses can easily access services from state agencies anytime, anywhere. Digital signatures will be integrated into the system so that people and businesses can sign directly on electronic forms, which have legal value like handwritten signatures and seals, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses when performing online public services.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City continues to complete and operate a group of 5 platforms serving the direction and administration of the City. These five systems, together with the administrative procedure monitoring system, will provide a basic set of tools for the City's authorities to direct and administer, and for elected agencies to supervise using a technology system and objective data. These are also important tools for operating smart cities according to the City's Project and for city governance on digital platforms.

Ho Chi Minh City will also implement two important strategies: Data Management Strategy and Information Security Strategy. In particular, it will focus on developing three groups of data: Data group serving land and urban management; Data group related to people's information; Data group on financial and business development.

The city continues to develop a shared data warehouse, a smart urban operations center, a socio-economic simulation and forecasting center, and a city information security center; focus on developing a synchronous and modern digital infrastructure to serve smart urban development and digital transformation; establish a digital transformation center as a unit under the City People's Committee to implement digital transformation strategies and plans to promote the development of the digital economy and digital society; organize a systematic and scientific digital economic index assessment system; promote activities to support small and medium-sized enterprises in digital transformation, contributing effectively to the development of the digital economy.

The City will focus on the local community digital technology team to operate more effectively, to popularize digital skills for people to implement digital transformation. First of all, it is necessary to guide and support people to use online public services; make cashless payments. Train and educate officials, civil servants and public employees on digital transformation to perform assigned tasks; improve skills in applying digital technology and information security; pay special attention to training and fostering skills in analyzing and exploiting data for decision making.

Promote the effectiveness of communication work to raise awareness and positively motivate all civil servants, people, businesses and the City to participate in implementing the Digital Transformation Program and the Smart City Construction Project.

In addition, Ho Chi Minh City has issued documents directing digital transformation such as Strengthening the Steering Committee and Working Group on Digital Transformation of the City; Issuing the City's Data Management Strategy; Issuing the City's Digital Transformation Assessment Index and the City's Digital Transformation Index Implementation Plan in 2023; Issuing the Plan to implement pilot models in the Project "Developing applications of data on population, identification and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the period of 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030" to serve digital transformation in Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, the City has proposed the implementation of 20 pilot models as a basis for evaluating the completion and replication to improve the effectiveness of the Project's results.

In 2023, the City will develop and implement the Project to establish a Digital Transformation Center under the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, in order to mobilize resources to carry out tasks related to the deployment and implementation of digital transformation programs, projects, and plans, smart cities; provide digital transformation support services for State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political professions, and enterprises; Develop and implement the Project to improve digital transformation capacity for ward, commune, and town authorities.