Cities in Vietnam will benefit from smart initiatives already finding success elsewhere Over the last decade, the urban population in Vietnam has grown at an annual average of nearly 3 per cent, the fastest in Southeast Asia. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which have grown 3.8 and 4 per cent per year respectively, will need substantial changes in order to promote sustainable living. Increasing population density is also adding pressure to aging infrastructure and is impacting the environment. Vietnam has 800 urban areas in which the rate of urbanisation increased from nearly 24 per cent in 1999 to 37 per cent in 2017. The figure is expected to climb by 50 per cent by 2025. This rapid urbanisation is not without its challenges, as it has implications for important issues such as city congestion, water and air quality, poverty, rising inequalities, the urban-rural divide, and the security and safety of citizens. As a result, the Vietnamese government has approved a sustainable smart city … [Read more...] about Digital solutions for an urban future
How virtualization works with an example
Vietnam News Agency – an example in modernisation of OANA’s website
VNA Director General Nguyen Duc Loi (R) worked with OANA President Aslan Aslanov while attending the 43rd Executive Board Meeting of OANA in 2018 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) is one of the most active members in modernising the website of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), and is an example to other agencies, according to President of the organization Aslan Aslanov. He made the remarks in a recent interview with VNA reporters on the occasion of the 44th Executive Board Meeting of OANA, which will be hosted by the VNA in Hanoi on April 18-20, under the theme “For a professional and innovative journalism”. The following is the full text of the interview. Reporter: We all know that innovation in the press is constant, and each news agency needs to keep up with modern trends and improve product quality. However, these efforts should not be made by only member news agencies. What measures should OANA take to support the … [Read more...] about Vietnam News Agency – an example in modernisation of OANA’s website
Layer by layer
Employees examine a metal component created by an M2 LaserCusing machine, part of the Concept Laser system at the GE Additive facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. GE coined the trademarked term LaserCusing from the C in Concept Laser and the word fusing. Most of us still think of 3D printing in terms of small units that can print simple three-dimensional solid objects from a digital computer file. But big industrial companies such as General Electric (GE) have taken this concept to extraordinary lengths and are applying it on a much larger scale to create highly complex machine parts made from metal. 3D printing is the operation at the heart of a process known as additive manufacturing (AM), which involves creating an object by building it one layer at a time. AM has been around for three decades but until recently most of the items produced were polymer-based. Recent advances that allow for the creation of sophisticated metal parts have created a new buzz in the industry. That … [Read more...] about Layer by layer
Going beyond the SD-WAN hype in Asia: The early evangelists
Going beyond the SD-WAN hype in Asia: The early evangelistsBy Dipesh Ranjan (*) Dipesh Ranjan is Head for the Asia Pacific at NetFoundry Businesses in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) are actively considering increasing their investments in networking technologies based on the cloud. In a study by technology analyst firm IDC, they claimed that worldwide software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) infrastructure and services revenues will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 69.6%, to reach US$8.05 billion in 2021. That is an impressive figure. IDC says that in Southeast Asia, almost 56% of organizations have already deployed, or are planning to deploy, SD-WAN. Almost 30% of those surveyed singled out the policy-based control and WAN optimization capabilities of SD-WAN as top drivers for implementing the technology. IDC Asia-Pacific says that most WAN traffic today – to and from branch and remote sites – is destined for the cloud on either … [Read more...] about Going beyond the SD-WAN hype in Asia: The early evangelists
How best to maintain brand value?
Companies in Vietnam have experienced fierce competition over the last few years, both qualitative and quantitative. Many have been forced to close down while others are still in business but struggling to move forward. The question is how to make a brand not only sustainable but also grow in value in the context of fierce global competition and rapid digitalization. There are many approaches to answering this question. Here I note the three key driving forces for brands: digital transformation, globalization, and brand leadership. In my observation, these forces help grow a company’s brand value if implemented successfully. Customer-centric digital transformation Unlike in the past, customers now have many brand choices for a particular product in Vietnam. Let’s take bakery goods for example. Customers would have previously mentioned Kinh Do in the south or Hai Ha in the north, but today they may name a long list of bakery brands: Top Cake, Tous Les Jours, ABC, … [Read more...] about How best to maintain brand value?