Hanoi, Vietnam - As Vietnam ramps up efforts to transition to a digital economy and society, local tech companies are playing an increasingly important role in developing digital infrastructure and platforms that cater specifically to the needs of Vietnamese users. Several prominent Vietnamese software and hardware startups have set ambitious growth targets for 2024, expecting to seize new market opportunities and compete more directly with global leaders like Google.

Base (Base.vn), a leading Vietnamese startup focused on providing digital transformation software-as-a-service (SaaS), has already helped numerous enterprises transition digitally based on its own custom-built platform. Founded in August 2016, Base is one of the pioneers in independently developing enterprise management platforms in Vietnam. In an interview with VietNamNet, Base CEO Nguyen Thuong Tường Minh said the company aims to “continue expanding our product platform both in depth and breadth in 2024, with the goal of solving more business problems in a more specialized and comprehensive manner.”

In addition to deepening its existing product capabilities, Base's goal for 2024 is to bring the newest, most advanced technologies and best user experiences closer to Vietnam's 800,000 businesses. According to forecasts from Gartner and IDC, the global SaaS market is expected to reach $172.8 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, Vietnam's SaaS industry is projected to reach $1.2 billion by 2024, growing at a 29% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2022-2024. This rapid growth is being driven by increasing demand from businesses undergoing digital transformations of their core operations. More companies are investing in multiple SaaS solutions to build integrated digital and data systems that allow for holistic, focused management.

On the smart home front, though still a nascent sector in Vietnam, the market is already showing clear divisions among product segments. Local Vietnamese companies have a growing presence in each segment due to advantages in customizing for the local context. Vconnex, a leading Vietnamese IoT startup, expects the smart home market to experience a breakthrough year of growth in 2024 after initial challenges. In an interview, Vconnex CEO Nguyen Duc Quy said the company completed R&D on 9 new smart device products in 2023, achieving over 20% growth.

For 2024, Quy remains optimistic that prep work establishing product variety and security will fuel expanding success. Vconnex has set an ambitious revenue growth target of 200% by focusing product development on safety, security and energy efficiency. Not limiting itself to smart home devices, Vconnex also aims to utilize its mastery of the international oneM2M IoT standard to undertake smart factory, agriculture and other digital transformation projects supporting Vietnam's ongoing digitization. "We believe that with our technology ownership and cultural understanding, Vconnex can compete with both domestic and international brands," Quy noted.

While the digital realm is fueling new economic opportunities, it also poses challenges for ensuring cybersecurity, data protection and national digital sovereignty against dominance by global tech giants. For this reason, developing homegrown search and browser tools that allow citizens safe, convenient access to the online world is important for Vietnam's digital transition.

Currently, Vietnam's homegrown Coc Coc browser has over 30 million users, with the Coc Coc search engine alone attracting over 600 million monthly queries. According to Coc Coc CEO Nguyen Vu Anh, the platform aims to become Vietnam's national digital platform based on current product capabilities and technical strengths. In 2024, Coc Coc will continue investing in generative AI to develop an optimized Vietnamese language large language model (LLM) in partnership with major European tech firms. It also aims to integrate the LLM into search and browsing to make features truly useful and solve specific pain points, creating the best possible user experiences. Coc Coc also targets increased market share, especially on mobile.

Anh notes that ongoing moves in Europe and the US to strengthen antitrust regimes against big tech monopolies open opportunities for Coc Coc to compete on fair terms with global industry leaders. "With the proper foundations and determination, Vietnamese platforms can match and even surpass foreign counterparts in catering to domestic needs," he asserts. Overall, 2024 looks set to be a breakthrough year for Vietnamese digital sovereignty as local platforms gain traction and take on fair competition with dominant overseas peers.

Vietnamese digital transformation platforms and smart device manufacturers expect explosive double-digit percentage growth in 2024 by further cultivating the domestic market and gaining competitive parity with global brands. Firms like Base, Vconnex and Coc Coc aim to wield local technical know-how, regulatory support, and deep understanding of user needs to carve out niches against entrenched overseas competitors. With a thriving startup ecosystem and supportive policies, "Make in Vietnam" is laying the groundwork to compete internationally on its own terms in the high-stakes arena of digital industries and commerce.