In recent years, Vietnam’s IT industry has continued to grow steadily. From a market primarily focused on cost-competitive offshore development (IT outsourcing), Vietnam is evolving into a diverse digital ecosystem in Southeast Asia, bringing together a wide range of technologies, talent, and services. This transformation is being driven by growing domestic demand for digital transformation (DX), along with increasing investment and software development partnerships from global IT companies.

Today, digital technology companies in Vietnam are increasingly supporting the entire system development lifecycle, from requirements definition, business analysis, system architecture design, development, and testing to cloud infrastructure, operations, security, and maintenance, rather than simply carrying out development based on predefined requirements. This enables Vietnam’s IT industry to expand its service capabilities in international markets and strengthen its competitiveness.

2. Vietnam’s IT Industry Growth in Data (2024 Statistics)

The growth of Vietnam’s IT market is also reflected in statistics and assessments published by the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam (MIC) and international evaluation organizations. Key indicators are as follows:

Indicator	Statistical Data	Strategic Implications
Number of ICT Industry Employees	Approximately 1.26 million people	Size of the IT Industry Talent Base
Number of Digital Technology Companies	73,788 companies	A Digital Ecosystem Formed by Diverse Companies
Total Industry Revenue	Approximately USD 158 billion	Scale and Growth Foundation of the Digital Economy
Contribution to GDP	14.4%	Importance of the IT and Digital Technology Industry to the National Economy
Number of Companies with Overseas Sales	1,900 companies	Track Record in International Markets
Revenue from Overseas Markets	Approximately USD 11.5 billion	Track Record in Providing Software and IT Services to Global Markets
IT Outsourcing Attractiveness	7th in the world	Kearney’s Assessment in the 2023 GSLI

3. FDI-Driven Growth and the Development of Domestic IT Companies

In addition to its abundant talent pool, foreign direct investment (FDI) is another key driver of Vietnam’s IT industry growth. Global companies such as Samsung and Microsoft have established operations in Vietnam, contributing to the development of expertise in R&D, technology, and business operations. These investments have also helped promote the adoption of international operational standards and strengthen the project management capabilities of local engineers.

At the same time, domestic IT companies are expanding their business areas. Companies such as Viettel and FPT have expanded into international markets, including Japan, the United States, and Europe, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese companies to serve the global market.

4. A Diversifying Digital Business Ecosystem

As IT infrastructure continues to develop, various digital businesses are growing in Vietnam. Services and technologies across different sectors complement each other, contributing to the development of an increasingly integrated digital value chain.

5. Enhancing Competitiveness for the New Digital Era

Vietnam’s IT industry is shifting from traditional offshore development based on low labor costs toward a broader range of technologies and services. The industry is currently progressing through the following stages:

This shift indicates that the role of Vietnamese IT companies is expanding from simply carrying out development tasks to solving business challenges through the use of advanced technologies such as AI, Cloud, Big Data, and IoT.

These changes in the market environment are also creating more opportunities for Japanese companies to collaborate with Vietnamese IT companies. As an IT partner connecting Japanese companies with development teams in Vietnam, Smile Software provides project-specific support from requirements definition through development and operations.