Tenth Anniversary of VIO and VCW

A seminar on the Vietnam Information Technology and Communication Outlook (VIO) was held in Ho Chi Minh City from July 5-10/2005  within the 2005 Vietnam Computerworld Expo (VCW), which was organised by IDG Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City Computing Association (HCA) and VCCI under the sponsorship of the Vietnamese Government and other relevant agencies.  

Over the past decade, since 1996, VIO and VCW have been recognised as the most important information technology and communication event in Vietnam and Indochina . According to the Ministry of Trade, the event is a good opportunity for manufacturers introduce and promote their products. This is an ideal place for trade and investment promotion in information technology, contributing to the development of the industry as a spearhead sector to meet the requirement of the country’s industrialisation and modernisation. The US trade mission in Vietnam said that the event was considered as an effective promotion channel for the import and export of information technology goods and services of American firms.

Twelve reports by leaders of world leading firms, Canon, Sony, HP, Intel, Qualcomm, provided attendants knowledge about market development orientations in 2005 and the coming years, and market strategies of these firms. What attracted attention at the event were document processing technology of Canon and electronic solution for image distribution network of Fujifilm, support solutions for ‘E-house and E-office’ and market strategy of Intel in Vietnam, new generation network technology of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Corporation (VNPT).  

The attendants had an opportunity to get updated information about VIO. Reports on Vietnam’s position in the world information technology map in 2004-2005, and open source software in Vietnam, information technology application in Hanoi and the banking sector provide information and data bout Vietnam’s information technology and communication over the past decade and future development orientations, in particular when Vietnam promotes its international integration and after a visit paid by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai to American information technology firms and universities when he visited the US.  

Vietnam Computerworld Expo 2005 attracted 207 enterprises, corporations from many countries and territories, including the US, France, Japan, China, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, including famous firms such as Canon, Intel, Fufifilm, Sony, Epson, HP, Samsung, VNPT, Netsoft, Panasonic, Risco (Thailand), TCL (China), Viettel and Digilife. Software exhibition area attracted many successful start-up businesses, and international corporations, such as Lac Viet, Misa, the Information Technology Centre of the University of Natural Science , AZ, KHa Thi, CNF (France) and Schoolnet.  

Also, during the expo, individuals, who have made a great contribution to the development of information technology in Ho Chi Minh City over the past two decades, were presented with medals. IDG scholarships were presented to outstanding information technology students in the south. Gold medals and cups were presented to products and top Vietnamese information technology enterprises in 2005 selected by HCA.  

VIO and VCW 2005 attracted attention from senior officials of ministries, agencies, associations, organisations and consumers. More importantly, the event saw the attention of guests from Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the US and European countries. The success of the recent VIO and VCW has affirmed its position as the biggest information technology and communication event in Vietnam .