Vietnamese information technology firms get the nod from Prime MinisterNguyen Tan Dung to use outsourced services, the English language newswebsite VietNamNet Bridge reported.

IT firms will provide software products and technology systems under the mode of service packages to customers for use.

Thesystems will run on the suppliers’ platforms. Customers can order theservices they want and pay for service packages, while the serviceproviders will take the responsibilities for all the stages of theservice deployment, from operation to maintenance.

According toDo Cao Bao, Chair of FPT Information System Company (FIS), there arefour basic benefits institutions and individuals can enjoy when usingoutsourced services.

They can cut down expenses, save time, improve productivity and reduce labour costs.

Regardingthe investment rate, the companies only have to pay small sums of moneyfor what they receive for years, instead of having to spend big moneyat once to build up information systems of their own.

Customerswill also be able to save time because they do not have to follow thecomplicated administrative procedures. If they use IT firms’ services,they will not have to worry about procedures because this will beundertaken by the IT firms.

Using IT services instead ofdeveloping information systems of one’s own is believed to be aneconomical solution for everyone. They do not need to maintain a largeworkforce to run IT works.

Nguyen Xuan Hoang, CEO of Misa, saidIT services are especially suitable for small and medium enterprises andstate agencies, which can easily access high-level management systems,and do not have to spend too much money on servers and systems.

However,analysts commented that it is too early to say the Government decisionon allowing state agencies to use outsourced IT services would helpdevelop the market.

In fact, Vietnamese institutions andindividuals have been aware of the benefits of IT services. However,they are hesitant to go ahead.

Bao of FIS said that this isunderstandable. The “hesitancy” is the thing regularly seen indeveloping countries, where the management level remains lower than indeveloped economies.

However, Bao said, this does not mean thatthe opportunity to develop the IT outsourced service market has notcome. Vietnam is believed to have all the necessary conditions to dothis right now.

IT has been developing more rapidly than theaverage development of the other sectors of the national economy. Someexperts believe that Vietnam’s readiness index is even higher than thatof other countries with similar GDP growth rates.-VNA