HÀ NỘI — Data has often been described as the 'new oil', powering the digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). Yet in Việt Nam's public sector, this valuable resource remains underutilised, according to a research from Viettel.

As long as data remains fragmented, inconsistent and difficult to share across systems, digital platforms and AI applications will struggle to deliver meaningful improvements in Government efficiency and public service delivery.

Việt Nam has made significant strides in digital transformation across the public sector in recent years. However, the benefits have yet to fully match the scale of investment, as agencies continue to grapple with fragmented data systems.

According to UNESCO, Việt Nam still lacks sufficient structured, standardised and labelled datasets – a key requirement for scaling AI applications. At the same time, the World Bank and the OECD note that fragmented data systems continue to force both citizens and officials to repeatedly enter and verify the same information across multiple platforms, reducing data accuracy and limiting the adoption of analytics and AI in public administration.

The research found that fragmented public sector data systems remain a major barrier to AI adoption.

Ministries, agencies and localities have largely developed separate digital platforms that cannot easily exchange information because of differing technical standards and data formats. As information rarely flows automatically between systems, officials must repeatedly enter or verify the same data, limiting both data analysis and AI applications to isolated tasks rather than transforming end-to-end public services.

Building connected data foundations

 

These challenges suggest that the main obstacle is not the lack of technology, but the way data is organised and managed. Without interoperable data, even well-funded digital systems remain isolated platforms that cannot work together effectively.

According to experts from Viettel AI's Data Services and Artificial Intelligence Centre, Government agencies should build shared data repositories to replace fragmented databases maintained by individual ministries and localities.

By integrating, standardising and sharing data across systems, the model would allow information to flow automatically between administrative processes, reducing repetitive manual work while providing the high-quality data needed to deploy AI at scale.

"When data governance is redesigned, AI evolves from simply assisting individual tasks to becoming an integral part of the decision-making process," a Viettel AI expert said.

Several projects in Việt Nam have already demonstrated the benefits of this approach.

Ninh Bình Province's shared data repository has integrated more than 1,500 sector-specific datasets and recorded nearly 55,000 system accesses, contributing to a 99.1 per cent on-time or early completion rate for administrative applications.

At the national level, the National Population Database managed by the Ministry of Public Security has established a unified digital identity foundation that serves as the backbone for data sharing and verification across Government systems.

The platform has processed billions of transactions, helping reduce paperwork, enable automated identity verification and improve the efficiency of administrative procedures.

Viettel AI is developing solutions to help ministries, agencies and local governments consolidate fragmented data into shared, standardised repositories.

Beyond improving data storage and exchange, these repositories provide the foundation for advanced analytics, operational monitoring and data-driven governance through platforms such as the Viettel Data Analytics Platform.

According to Viettel AI, its platform can automatically consolidate data, generate real-time dashboards and support multidimensional analysis, while reducing reporting workloads by up to 92 per cent and information compilation time by as much as 95 per cent.

More importantly, interoperable shared data platforms could help accelerate the implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW and advance Việt Nam's digital government agenda. By enabling seamless data sharing across ministries and agencies, they would replace fragmented workflows with real-time, data-driven decision-making, improve the delivery of public services and provide the foundation for wider AI adoption across Government. — VNS