1.1. Training and improving Human Resource Policy

The real basis for a software industry in Vietnam is manpower. Good vocational

training for IT professionals plus advanced specialized training and re-training

for programmers and systems analysts will create the necessary conditions for

improved software industry. But highly skilled and experienced programmers

are necessary but not sufficient conditions for such an industrial expansion.

What is needed is a mix of policies to complement the educational efforts:

-  To ensure quality and quantity of human resources, it’s necessary to

    socialize the training of information technology human resources. The

    training policy should include training resource for information technology

    in general and for software industry in particular, training programmers,

    project managers, business administrations.

- To build and implement training plan and improve information technology

   knowledge of managers, leader in the industry in order to stimulate the

   application of information technology in all aspects. Government could

   encourage foreign software producers to transfer, much more systematically

   than today, skills, software methodologies, and experiences to local partners.

   This could be made a requirement when a public agency is buying hardware

   and software from foreign vendors.

- Training users of information technology in enterprises, government, and

   social organizations. These users will increase the role of information

   technology in social activities, thus increase demand for software products.

   Large enterprises and organizations should take care for training staffs

   specializing in software.

- Invest in information technology faculty of universities to reform program

  and method of education to update with new requirements from labor market.

  Focus on training programmers with good knowledge basic, logical thinking

  and creative. These programmers have approach to modern information

  technology knowledge. For that purpose, training and improving the quality of

  lecturers will be very necessary. In order to use state budget more efficiency,

  the supportive programs for training need to have specific objectives,

  complete plan. Part of these budget is invest in the training programmer of

  universities, training organizations, the remainder is invest in specialist

  training programs.

- To encourage enterprises in all economic sector to invest in training software

  programmers and informatic experts as the training activities of Saigon CTT

  with CISCO SYSTEM in network institute. The stipulation of enterprise

  specializes in training that adjusts by Enterprise Law need to be concretized.

  Beside that, kinds of training certifications also need to be concretized.

  Government needs support to programs, subjects that could not be bought by

  enterprises. Building up co-ordination training model between informatic

  companies, research institutes and universities. Government needs to support

  expenses to training key staff for enterprises through training program of

  foreigner, after that these staff could transfer the knowledge they have trained

  to other staffs.

- Through Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, government can

  organizes training courses to improve skills for project managers to have

  adequate capacity building product structure, and dividing job to programmers.

  At present, experts that have adequate capability are very little, so they could

  not obtain big order or be able to producing software packages for export.

- Joint with world well-know companies, centers for training inside Vietnam

  tend to online to have knowledge engineers with international accepted

  certificate.

1.2. Complete legal environment

-   Immediately issue the legal framework to protect the copy right for software

    product, clarify all behavior can be consider as over that legal. At the same

    time, try to complete the anti-monopoly policy, keep the price for software

    appropriate to customer payment ability.

-   Building the system of measuring, controlling and examining for software

    quality. Establish organization to measure and evaluate software quality to

    help the process of selling and buying software.

-   Ask for people to implement the copyright policy for software programs.

    Every people, special for implementers, that the most important factor for

    software companies existing and developing is able to protect the copyright

    for their developed soft wares. To do it, it can not be lack of coordination

    between universities, information centers, state organization and so on.

-   Strictly mange and have penalty policy for any one who make any violation

    activities such as computer shop, information companies. Their bad actions

    are tending to make money so it is enough through permitted by money only.

-   Complete the regulation, law and sub-law to help the officers in solving the

    problem of violation in using software without payment. It is very effective to

    take some foreign experiences in the same situation.

-   Government should give particularly favorable and priority taxing policy to

    software producers. At recent, tax is not very affecting factor to investment

    of software producers. But in long term favorable taxing policy will be

    motivation for software companies to expand their operation.

-   Through reduce the component tax, the price for computer will down, so

    customer for software will raising. This is very effective and considerable

    method to generous computerizing Vietnam social.

1.3. Building Infrastructure for Software Industry

-   Telecommunication technology infrastructure is very important to software

    enterprises. They need information networks with large capacity, thoroughly

    channels to look for information, exchange information supporting them in

    producing software. Therefore, it’s essential for Vietnam to continue

    modernizing information technology infrastructure.

-   This is infant industry, most companies in the Vietnamese software business

    are small and not financially strong enough to expand into advanced software

    production, so government should have some priority and policy to invest, to

    build information technology industry zone. The key for investment is to

    have the appropriate infrastructure for software companies, especial for

    newly introduced company.

-   Negative effects of monopoly of Telecommunication Industry need to be

    eliminated by establish competitive mechanism in this industry. Government

    needs to reinforce the control over operation of this industry in order to

    eliminate negative effects to national benefits. In short term, it is necessary

    to reduce cost of accessing Internet equal to or lower than other neighboring

    countries.

1.4. Policies for  market development

Domestic market: The policies of market creation to software industry through

stimulate the application rate of information in national economy and social

activities need to be improved. First, find the way to inform to all of

Vietnamese companies, organizations about the important of applying the

information technology in their operation. When top manager full recognize

the imperative of improve the effective based on using information technology,

organizations and corporations will invest more into this industry. Demand for

software will be raising. At the same time, enrich and enlarge experience and

knowledge for employees to fulfill their skill in using IT in their work. When

having qualified employees, the potential for software industry will be real

demand.

International market:

In order to sell software products on international

markets, Vietnamese soft- ware developers must assure buyers that their

software will work with the buyer's system. To do this, developers should test

their software with a wide range of computer systems, local area network

configurations, and peripheral devices such as printers. By helping to establish

facilities for the testing and verification of software products, the Vietnamese

government could assist small software developers, interested in selling

software internationally. Such a testing facility would not cost very much for

the central government or even a provincial administration. But it will be too

expensive for a small software developer to buy all the equipment necessary to

perform this kind of detailed testing and verification. Program developers

could rent the facilities by the hour to test their software. The center may also

provide expert staff to assist software developers and help correcting problems

as they arise.

Improve the role of the Business Software Development Promotion Centre and

the Vietnam Software Business Association to help software enterprises in

finding markets, introducing Vietnamese software products, sponsoring training

courses on managerial skill, exchanging information on technology and

experiences with foreign producers. They are also responsible for increasing

international co-operation and create more opportunities for software

enterprises to meet with each other, promoting the development of the

software industry and the competitiveness of Vietnamese software enterprises.

Exploiting the capability of Vietnamese oversee to find market, build

relationship and represent for domestic software producers at those market.

This is a low cost approach to penetrate and that is cheaper than establishing

representative offices for Vietnamese companies at those markets.

2. In term of Software Enterprises

On the basis of reviewing and analyzing the current conditions of software

enterprises, we realize that software enterprises need to:

-    Continuously improve their knowledge in economics, social and managerial,

especially in practice problem of Vietnam to able to produce software

appropriate for the requirement of domestics companies first. Based on that,

software producer will ensure the target market with enough potential

customers for them. In fact, a lot of domestic software producers only sold

very simple program but not appropriate software meet the particular

requirement for customer needs. Software producers have to improve their

product for even quality but also quantity of their human resource, especially

on manager who can manage and organize project in the best way to perform,

to convince and service customer in effective and efficiency strategy.

-     Build relatively advanced marketing competence and after-sales facilities in

order to increase demand for software product, persuade customers apply

information technology in their operation.

-     Improve skill and capacity of enterprises’ managers, cause’ in almost of

small enterprises, management skills are still poor. Vietnam does not only lack

of high quality programmers but also lack of high skilled managers. Therefore,

training high skilled manager of software enterprises will be necessary.

Enterprises need to stable their organization, build a long-term strategy, and

plan their investment.

-     Most of software enterprises are small scale to the contrary with many

large software projects (software products). The implementation of these

projects calls for numerous experts in many fields, so the co-operation among

software enterprises will be necessary. Virtual corporation models need to be

studied and completed. This co-ordination model among software enterprises

is consistent with information technology characteristics, economical,

allowing for utilize available information and knowledge most efficiently and

improving market exploitation performance. Software enterprises participate

into virtual corporation will supplement together to build up common capacity

to meet the requirement of high technology and competitiveness.

-    Some large software enterprises, especially overseas Vietnamese

investment enterprises, could subcontract the implementation of large projects

they have to domestic software enterprises. This co-operation is consistent

with the initial stages of domestic software enterprises because small

enterprises could find it difficult to have order directly from foreign markets.

-    Invest for promote of Vietnam software companies’ image around the world.

Vietnamese software companies should go into group to go to exhibition,

reference, open web-site by using their own software and information

technology to introduce their capability and product to global market. Go hand

in with foreign companies through business agreements or export, so introduce

Vietnamese products through those foreign companies.

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