Vietnam is a fast-growing destination for IT outsourcing thanks to its young and talented workforce, competitive costs, and favorable business environment. The country’s IT outsourcing sector has experienced significant growth, with an annual increase of 13.31%, according to Kearny’s Global Service Location Index.
However, with hundreds of IT companies in Vietnam, how do you find the one that matches your needs and expectations? In this article, GEM Corporation explores the FIVE tips that help business leaders and decision-makers identify the most suitable Vietnam IT company.
An overview of IT outsourcing in Vietnam
Vietnam is among Asia’s most prominent destinations for IT outsourcing. The IT landscape is nurtured by two major factors – a dynamic and competent workforce, a rapidly thriving tech infrastructure, and a range of favorable governmental policies.
The innovation and excellence of Vietnam’s IT workforce
Vietnam has emerged as a dynamic force in the global IT outsourcing landscape, and at the heart of this transformation lies its exceptional IT workforce. With a unique blend of skills, adaptability, and innovation, Vietnamese IT professionals have become sought-after assets for businesses worldwide.
The country is placed fourth in the Southeast Asian area and 75th globally in the Global Skills Index 2023. This is a huge step forward compared to its 2021 position of 82nd. Apparently, the level of competency found among Vietnamese talents is increasing rapidly. They excel in operating systems, computer networking, and human-computer interaction, among many other skills.
Therefore, they can offer a highly diverse range of services with varying levels of task complexity, from software development, mobile app development, and web development, to cloud computing, IT support, and technical strategy consultancy. Your business can easily find an IT vendor who matches your needs and available resources.
Favorable governmental policies
Vietnam’s potential as a tech hub is nurtured by a highly supportive government with various active action plans.
The National Digital Transformation Program by 2025 with a vision towards 2030, which aims to develop the economy based on digital technologies. The program’s goal is embedding digital transformation in all aspects of society and the economy, making it a key driver for development, innovation, and improved quality of life.
Drastic actions taken by the Government and Prime Minister to assist foreign investors and eliminate challenges in investment disbursement. These actions have resulted in a 66.3% increase in project numbers and 43.6% growth in registered capital recorded, as of October 2023.
The prioritization of building and improving tech-related laws and regulations to create a reliable legal framework. Examples include the passing of the Telecommunications Law and the Electronic Transactions Law at the 15th National Assembly.
The abovementioned initiatives are among the many comprehensive and multifaceted strategies devised by the Vietnamese government to foster a conducive climate for foreign investors.
Prominent services of IT outsourcing in Vietnam
What are the available options of services that you can outsource in Vietnam? With the country’s rapid pace of advancement in terms of tech-savviness, the diversity of these services is truly impressive.
Custom software development
Custom software development is the process of designing and developing a software solution from scratch to cater to the unique needs of a business client. Most IT vendors in Vietnam can create innovative custom-made solutions that yield measurable and tangible results such as profit gain and boosted customer engagement. The products include web apps, mobile apps, games, e-commerce apps, and enterprise apps.
Software testing
Quality assurance is paramount for delivering a functional product that helps businesses achieve their goals. Like any counterparts in other renowned IT outsourcing destinations, service companies in Vietnam provide a large range of testing methods to serve every testing demand. Examples of available testing services in Vietnam range from design, security, and functional testing to user experience testing and performance testing.
Staffing services
In many countries, the scarcity of IT professionals is a daunting challenge. For instance, as of 2021, it was estimated that the world was lacking 40 million skilled IT workers. By 2030, the figure could double and reach 85 million.
This reality has urged businesses to seek talents from overseas to work on their projects. Staffing services are divided into many models, such as dedicated team, module-based, and extended team.
Technical consulting services
Apart from delivering assigned tasks, a Vietnam IT company can give insightful advice on your technical strategy and digital transformation journey. With its IT expertise and in-depth experience in working with companies from different industries, the Vietnamese vendor is a trusted advisor who helps you align business goals with technical strategies so that your organization stays ahead of the competition.
Choosing a Vietnam IT company – Five points of consideration
Before you reach out to a Vietnamese partner for IT development services, below are five recommended actions to take to make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of them.
Have well-defined strategies and requirements
Before you choose Vietnam IT companies for building a remote technical delivery center you need to have a clear idea of:
What business challenge(s) do you wish to address with this project? What output do you want to achieve both in tactical and strategic approach?
What kind of skills and technologies do you need?
What is your estimated budget and timeline?
Defining these criteria helps you narrow down your options and communicate your expectations to potential partners
Do your research and investigate the vendor closely
Once you have a clear project scope and requirements, you can start searching for IT companies in Vietnam that offer the services you need.
A common and reliable approach to analyzing potential vendors is asking for recommendations from your business networks and associations.
In addition, websites like TechBehemoths or Clutch are reliable sources where you can browse through profiles, portfolios, reviews, and ratings of a Vietnam IT company.
Evaluate their expertise via service offerings
The service offerings of an IT vendor tend to reflect their capability and savviness. It demonstrates the depth of their technical knowledge, the width of their understanding of different domains, and how mature they are in handling projects of different scales.
Nonetheless, it does not mean that vendors who specialize in one or a few particular services cannot be a good fit for you. In fact, they could be excellent choices if your business wishes to outsource the development of a certain module or function due to their extensive experience in one field.
Also, many vendors in the country offer both outsourcing development and technical consulting services. This means software companies in Vietnam have risen above completing pre-defined tasks. Their role now includes giving insightful advice to help businesses navigate in the digital age.
To evaluate a Vietnam IT company’s expertise and experience, you can read their portfolio, awards, case studies, and customer testimonials. It is preferable if the company has worked on similar projects to yours in terms of tech stack and requirements. You can also contact their previous or current clients to get feedback on their performance, quality, and reliability.
Assess the vendor’s communication ability
Communication and collaboration are essential to achieve successful IT outsourcing in Vietnam. Indicators of a Vietnam IT Company with good communication and collaboration skills are:
English fluency
Responsiveness and proactivity in communication
Clear and frequent reporting and updates
Streamlined project management processes
Consider the value derived from the project
Price is a significant factor when choosing an IT company, but it should not be the only one. The value you get from that price tag should be considered too. What does the IT company in Vietnam offer in terms of quality, speed, flexibility, and innovation? In other words, you should look for an IT company that gives the best value for your money, not the cheapest one.
Where is a Vietnam IT company located?
In which cities in Vietnam can you find prestigious software companies? The most prominent cities for IT outsourcing services are Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi – the country’s capital, and Da Nang.
Hanoi
Vietnam’s capital city has a vibrant IT market with a considerable development history. With numerous universities and technical institutes in the city, Hanoi boasts a large pool of young, educated, and tech-savvy professionals. It is also a culturally diverse city.
The workforce in Hanoi often demonstrates good English language skills and a cultural understanding of Western business practices, which eases communication and collaboration. Therefore, the capital city is a top-of-mind location for those who are looking for an IT vendor in Vietnam.
Credit: Dang Nguyen from Unsplash
Ho Chi Minh City
As the largest and most populous city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh city is considered the country’s economic and financial hub. The city has a rapidly growing tech ecosystem with a burgeoning number of startups, tech companies, and incubators. This vibrant environment fosters innovation and attracts both local and international tech talent.
Da Nang
This is a newly rising IT center in Vietnam. The coastal city has seen significant investments in its infrastructure, including the development of high-tech parks and improved transportation networks, which are immensely important for the development of tech companies and startups.
Top 5 choices if you wish to work with a Vietnam IT Company
Below is a list of trusted software companies in Vietnam, whose delivery and consultancy capabilities have been proven in their extensive portfolio and various customer success stories.
GEM Corporation
Over 10 years since its establishment in 2014, GEM Corporation has provided digital empowerment for customers of all business scales and industries. Demand-driven and customer-centric, GEM works closely with clients to solve challenges with the help of digital technologies.
GEM offers custom software development services, emerging technology development, and technical strategy consultancy. The leading IT service provider has been delivering innovative solutions that boost productivity and revenue to businesses in many industries such as retail, telecommunications, logistics, and manufacturing.
Saigon Technology
Saigon Technology is a well-known Vietnam IT company that has served customers from the US, UK, Australia, and the EU markets. Saigon Technology’s outsourcing services are appreciated for their cost-effectiveness and diversity.
VTI
VTI aspires to become a leading IT outsourcing vendor in Vietnam. VTI is characterized by a large collection of IT services such as software development, testing, and maintenance. The company is trusted for its domain knowledge in different industries such as banking, finance, insurance, and telecom.
TECHVIFY Software
TECHVIFY is a rising provider of customized software solutions to businesses of various scales. In addition, it is the trusted assistant of companies and organizations in their digital transformation processes. TECHVIFY consults its clients in the analysis, architecture, and planning phases.
KMS Technology
Founded in 2009, KMS Technology Vietnam is one of the many offices of a US-based firm that caters to various digital needs of businesses. The company receives the widespread trust of international clients thanks to its high delivery quality and its Vietnamese engineers’ tech savviness. KMS’s services and expertise range from custom software development services to testing and IT strategy services.
Conclusion
Choosing a Vietnam IT company that suits you can be a challenging task given the large number of vendors in the market. Nonetheless, once you have thoroughly understood your business needs and resources and evaluated the potential partners based on solid criteria, you can surely find a suitable match among the many software companies in Vietnam.