In recent years, the phrase “digital transformation” is no longer strange to Vietnamese people and businesses. Along with the strong development of artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other emerging technologies, Vietnam is gradually transforming into a dynamic digital economy. However, to realize this digitalization aspiration, a sustainable infrastructure platform is needed – that is the data center.
Data Center – The Heart of the Digital Economy
Simply put, a data center is a place where organizations, businesses, and government agencies store, process, and manage data. This is where all data – from customer information, manufacturing data, medical data to complex AI algorithms – is stored and secured. In a world where everything is tied to data, from ride-hailing to banking transactions, the role of the data center is becoming increasingly vital.
Việt Nam đang bước vào giai đoạn chuyển đổi số toàn diện, với mục tiêu đến năm 2025, kinh tế số sẽ chiếm khoảng 20% GDP. Để đạt được con số này, cần một hạ tầng dữ liệu đủ mạnh, đủ nhanh và đủ an toàn để hỗ trợ sự tăng trưởng bùng nổ về mặt công nghệ. Đó là lý do vì sao trung tâm dữ liệu không còn là một lựa chọn, mà là một yêu cầu bắt buộc trong tiến trình phát triển quốc gia.
Current status and development trends of data centers in Vietnam
Currently, the country has about 40 medium and large-scale data centers, mainly concentrated in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and some provinces with good telecommunications infrastructure such as Da Nang, Binh Duong, Bac Ninh. Major domestic providers such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, CMC have invested in building centers that meet international standards Tier III, Tier IV, providing services from storage to cloud computing for thousands of businesses.
In addition, many international investors have shown special interest in the Vietnamese data center market. Corporations such as NTT (Japan), Gaw Capital (Hong Kong), or Amazon Web Services (USA) are in the process of surveying, building or announcing plans to expand data centers in Vietnam in the next few years. The entry of these "giants" shows the great potential of the market, and at the same time, it also requires improving domestic competitiveness.
According to many market reports, the size of Vietnam's data center industry could reach 1 billion USD by 2025, with an average growth rate of about 12-15% per year. The main driving force comes from the growing demand for data storage from fields such as banking, education, e-commerce, healthcare and especially artificial intelligence.
National digital transformation and the fundamental role of data centers
The Vietnamese government has issued a National Digital Transformation Program, which emphasizes three main pillars: digital government, digital economy and digital society. In all three pillars, data centers play a key role. If the digital economy is considered a living organism, then the data center is the heart that pumps blood – where all data flows are processed, distributed and stored.
A country cannot be digitally sovereign without its own data infrastructure. Relying on foreign data centers not only increases costs, but also poses risks to security, privacy, and data control. Therefore, developing domestic data centers – especially those that meet international standards – is a strategic priority.
At the same time, Vietnam is also in the process of building an AI ecosystem and large digital platforms. New generation data centers, capable of processing huge amounts of data, supporting GPUs and machine learning models, will be a must for developing core technologies, from medical AI, traffic AI to smart city applications.
Opportunities and challenges
Vietnam has many advantages to develop the data center industry. Its geographical location is located between important submarine fiber optic cables, the climate is not too harsh, the electricity and labor costs are relatively low, and especially a young, technologically agile engineering force.
In addition, investment incentive policies are gradually being improved, creating favorable conditions for businesses to deploy large-scale data center projects. For example, the Digital Connect Hub (DCH) project in Ba Ria – Vung Tau – an AI-integrated data center with a scale of hundreds of millions of USD – is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. This could become a model for building suburban data centers, taking advantage of large land funds, stable power infrastructure and long-term scalability.
However, the challenges are not small. The initial investment cost is very high, requiring high technology, strict standards on operation, safety and security. In addition, human resources with specialized skills in the field of data centers in Vietnam are still limited, especially in Tier III/IV infrastructure management, optimal cooling system operation, and specialized equipment maintenance.
Another issue is the ability to provide stable electricity – a vital factor for data centers. In the context of increasing electricity demand, Vietnam needs to ensure a long-term and sustainable energy strategy, combining traditional and renewable energy sources to meet the standards of “greening” data infrastructure – a global trend.
To build a true digital economy, Vietnam needs to invest properly in data infrastructure, of which data centers are the core element. Developing data centers is not simply about building “data warehouses”, but about creating a foundation for developing AI, edge computing, cloud computing, as well as other value-added services in the future.
Strong investment, long-term vision and synchronous coordination between the State – enterprises – investors will be the key to making Vietnam a digital data transit center of Southeast Asia. At that time, data will not only be a resource, but also a strategic competitive advantage for the sustainable and independent development of the country.