On October 10, 2025, Vietnam celebrated the fourth National Digital Transformation Day, spreading the spirit of digital transformation faster, more effectively, closer to the people.

Not only an annual event, National Digital Transformation Day is becoming a symbol of the spirit of innovative thinking, inspiring creativity and spreading the aspiration for digital transformation to every citizen, every business, every community, where technology becomes a tool to serve people, not replace people.

Data - The driving force for economic development

Every revolution starts with data, if steam, electricity and computers once changed the world, today, data is the energy of the digital age.

Data is considered the "heart", "blood vessel" of all organizational activities in digital transformation. A strong data platform not only ensures the success of the digitalization process but also helps organizations maintain and enhance their competitive advantage. Good data and complete, transparent statistical information will increase the efficiency of management, exploitation, use and economic development.

Cashless payments are on the rise.

The 2022 report compiled by market research firm Statista shows that the revenue size of the global big data market exceeded 271 billion USD by the end of 2022 and is estimated to reach 308 billion USD in 2023. This figure is forecast to increase sharply, reaching more than 655 billion USD by 2029. This trend shows that data is no longer limited to being a tool for management and administration but also a driving force for economic development.

Currently, OECD countries are making efforts to expand access to "smart data", including big data as well as facilitate the use of administrative, commercial and geospatial data. OECD recommends that countries should promote the provision and use of open government data in areas such as the public sector to build an honest government and sustainable development.

Building a data ecosystem is one of the important strategies of digital transformation in every country in the world. In Vietnam, Decree No. 47/2020/ND-CP on management, connection and sharing of digital data of state agencies, and Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo are strategic levers, affirming the inseparable link between science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. This is the shortest path for Vietnam to develop rapidly, sustainably and integrate deeply in the data era.

At the launching ceremony of the National Data Association (NDA), General Secretary To Lam affirmed that we are entering the dawn of the digital era, a period when data has become an important resource, means of production, new energy, even the "blood" of the digital economy. To successfully transform digitally, it is necessary to have a policy to create a strong enough data ecosystem, building the premises for the birth and formation of a data industry.

Promoting the application of science and technology to serve national digital transformation

The Party and the State have had many policies and solutions to promote the application of science and technology to serve the national digital transformation, building e-Government, digital Government, digital economy, and digital society. Typical examples include: Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW dated September 27, 2019 on a number of policies and strategies to proactively participate in the fourth industrial revolution, emphasizing the urgent need to accelerate the digital transformation process; Decision No. 749/QD-TTg dated June 3, 2020 approving the national digital transformation program until 2025, with a vision to 2030, clearly defining three pillars including Digital Government, Digital Economy, and Digital Society. This is an important guideline for the comprehensive, extensive and sustainable digital transformation process in Vietnam.

The implementation of digital transformation continues to be affirmed in Decision No. 749/QD-TTg, 942/QD-TTg and 2289/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, Directive No. 34/CT-TTg on the development of digital transformation projects of ministries, branches, and localities... At the 13th National Party Congress, digital transformation was identified as one of the key tasks.

Digital infrastructure, the backbone of the digital economy, is being invested heavily, digital transformation is no longer a slogan but a specific action, spreading to every citizen and every business.

The Ministry of Public Security is presiding over the development of a list of 12 national databases that are likened to the gene map of the digital nation. This list not only helps avoid duplication, increase connectivity and data sharing among ministries and sectors, but also ensures the integrity, safety and effective exploitation of national data sources. This is an important foundation for modernizing state governance, streamlining administrative procedures and promoting data-based socio-economic development - bringing Vietnam closer to the goal of becoming a truly digital, comprehensive and people-oriented nation.

The national database catalog increases connectivity and data sharing among ministries and sectors.

The goal is to build a unified, synchronous, and consistent data infrastructure for the Government, businesses, and people to share and develop together. When data is connected, each decision becomes more accurate, each activity becomes more effective, and each person is better served.

Data is only valuable when it is analyzed, connected, and turned into action. The government can predict epidemics early, businesses can predict the market, and people can receive fast, transparent, and convenient services. Good data is the intellectual energy that turns uncertainty into predictions and information into power.

Digital transformation cannot go far without trust. People only share data when they believe that the data is protected and used for the common good, because protecting personal data means protecting human dignity in the digital age.

A digital government is essentially a government led by data, not just managed by command, when all areas from population, health, education, to transportation are connected, policies will be based on live data streams, reflecting reality every second.

Digital transformation is not a technology race but a revolution in perception. Data is the way. People are the goal. When data helps people live better, more transparently, happier, that is true digital transformation. Data is the soul of digital transformation, for a digital Vietnam that develops quickly, sustainably and humanely.