Vietnam offers huge opportunities for data center developers: VNG Cloud executive

There are huge opportunities for data center developers in Vietnam amid rising demand, especially from foreign customers, says Nguyen Thanh Danh, chief operation officer of VNG Cloud, an affiliate of leading tech firm VNG.

VNG recently launched a new data center in Ho Chi Minh City. What do you think about investment opportunities in this field amid strong digital transformation in Vietnam?

At present, data center (DC) capacity in Vietnam has yet to meet the real needs of users and is much lower than in other countries in Southeast Asia like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Most of the existing DCs are fully filled with servers.

There are huge opportunities for DC developers in Vietnam amid high present and future demand for DCs in general and high-quality DCs in particular, especially among foreign customers, once regulations on client data storage officially come into effect.

The new DC of VNG is one of the three in Vietnam to obtain Uptime Tier III standards. What are VNG Data Center’s outstanding advantages to attract corporate users?

Among the DCs meeting Uptime Tier III standards, VNG Data Center has been well equipped with all electromechanical, network and security devices imported from the most advanced industrial countries like the U.S., Japan, Germany and France.

With its current capacity of over 400 racks, which can be expanded to 1,600 racks in maximum, VNG Data Center is the largest rack capacity DC in Vietnam, fully prepared to meet the large demand at present and in future from any clients.

In addition, the operators of the center hold all international certificates regarding design and operation like Accredited Tier Designer (ATD), Certified Data Center Expert (CDCE), Certified Data Center Facilities Operations Manager (CDFOM), Certified Data Center Migration Specialist (CDMS), Certified Data Centre Risk Professional (CDRP), Data Centre Foundation Certificate (DCFC), and Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP). They also boast more than 15 years of DC operation experience.

In 2023, VNG Data Center strives to obtain the Uptime Tier Certification of Operational Sustainability (TCOS), a certificate that no data center in Vietnam has been certificated so far.

Which conditions does the system of data centers in Vietnam should have to cater to the digital transformation needs and business trends?

Uptime Tier III or TIA-942 rate 3 recognizes the availability and security of a DC in Vietnam. In addition, large capacity, high scalability and speed are also important factors to meet the current usage and future expansion needs of enterprises and organizations.

What is your forecast on Vietnam's digital transformation pace in the coming years?

Despite being facilitated by the government for a long time, digital transformation in both the public and private sectors did not take place as quickly as expected compared to other countries in the region. However, the process has been speeded up recently as organizations and enterprises have become more aware of the benefits of digital transformation. From 2023, the market is predicted to make strong breakthroughs despite economic difficulties.

There will be huge opportunities for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses, with DC and Cloud Computing playing a great role in IaaS.