Vietnamese banks making rapid progress in AI bet88 net Agile methodologies

The first bet88 net largest international Agile conference dedicated to Agile organizations in Vietnam, with the theme “Agile in the Age of AI”, was held recently. It focused on discussing Agile bet88 net digital transformation stories within Vietnamese enterprises, offering diverse perspectives from consulting experts bet88 net leaders of banks bet88 net multi-industry corporations.

On the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Vu Tung Lam, Head of Agile, Corporate Strategy & Transformation, at Techcombank, held an exclusive interview with Vietnam Economic Times / VnEconomy.

Digital transformation is no longer an option but a necessity for organizations bet88 net businesses. As a major bank in Vietnam, what solutions is Techcombank implementing to accelerate digital transformation?

Thank you for the questions. Techcombank has been utilizing many different platforms bet88 net centralized data bet88 net investing heavily in talent. These are the three pillars of the bank’s transformation, with the customer at the center. In the spirit of today’s conference, where we’re discussing Agile, Techcombank sees it as the “superglue” that brings all components together: platforms, digital, data, bet88 net talent. Techcombank has its own Agile way of working, called the “Techcomway”, bet88 net we are very proud of it. We view it as a superpower - the bank’s secret superpower - to unlock the potential of all of our investments.

Could you touch on the difficulties Techcombank has encountered during the digital transformation process?

Any large organization adopting Agile at scale will likely face a few significant questions, bet88 net we are no exception. We started our journey with extensive exploration bet88 net very broad options in terms of how to bring diverse ideas from the field bet88 net different Agile practices together. I believe the first two years of our transformation were marked by a lot of exploration, bringing in various ideas that we tried out. At the end of the two years, we realized one crucial thing: to truly move fast bet88 net scale, we needed to find a way to converge all those ideas, to combine them. This gave birth to the need for our own unique way of doing things, one that is highly tailored bet88 net optimized for Techcombank’s organizational context. The “Techcomway” was born of this necessity.

I think the second challenge, among many, would be the workforce - the people doing the work. The Vietnamese market has experienced about 20 to 30 years of robust outsourcing. So, the talent we have is very proficient in certain areas. However, for digital transformations bet88 net Agile transformation, there is a gap between what the market offers bet88 net what different organizations truly need. We realized we couldn’t rely solely on local talent to meet bet88 net supply that need. So, one of the important things for Techcombank is to build our own talent around Agile. We have different programs, but one key aspect is that once we created a very specific way of working - the “Techcomway” - the next step was to educate bet88 net train a large pool of specialists bet88 net Agile professionals. These individuals would be the champions to help the organization navigate the next phases bet88 net overcome the challenges we encounter along the way.

What competitive advantages do the application of AI bet88 net Agile bring to Vietnam’s banking bet88 net finance sector?

I just had a chat with an expert about Agile bet88 net AI, bet88 net interestingly, the challenges we see in adopting Agile are very similar to the challenges we encounter in Agile bet88 net digital transformation. AI is a new technology with a lot of promise, bet88 net what truly matters in this equation is an organization’s ability to, again, understand the customer’s needs bet88 net pinpoint them. From there, we need to consider what we can offer the customer. AI is probably a game-changing tool, but the fundamental question remains the same: what does it offer the customer?

The second question is about whether we can bring together ideas for new products, new services, bet88 net new innovations that are AI-powered to better serve the customer. That fundamental question is the same. How we do it might change bet88 net be completely different with AI, but the core business question remains. bet88 net the third part is: Is this commercially viable? Can we make money from it? Can we grow a market with it?

So again, it’s not about big data or AI; it’s about empathizing with customers. From that empathy, we understand them bet88 net bring them offerings that are far more advanced than what they experience today. Then, we craft a business model around that, making it both economically viable bet88 net customer-satisfying. That’s how you get a good formula.

From your observation, how does the pace of technology adoption in Vietnam’s banking bet88 net finance sector compare to other countries worldwide?

I think Vietnam is very much on par in terms of awareness of new technologies. As a culture, I believe we are very eager to learn, especially from other people, other countries, bet88 net other organizations. So that’s positive. The topics we discuss in Vietnam are probably the same as those discussed elsewhere. However, in terms of readiness, infrastructure, bet88 net capability, we are probably not yet fully prepared; there’s likely a gap. That is a very difficult gap to overcome, but I believe that once we focus on it, we can overcome these challenges.

Another point is that, given all these challenges, Vietnam probably has an advantage because most organizations here face the skill problem. Usually, for example, banks typically operate within Vietnam bet88 net not in multiple markets. Therefore, the problem we need to solve is simplified, it’s a lot simpler. We also need a robust legal corridor. So, the government plays a strong role in paving the way, informing different organizations bet88 net enterprises what they can bet88 net cannot do, drawing clear lines, bet88 net avoiding too many grey areas. I believe that by combining all of this with good collaboration between the government bet88 net the private sector, along with some large enterprises leading the way, we can tackle these challenges. These challenges aren’t entirely new; every country faces them. bet88 net we have proven in our history that we can overcome any challenges.

If you were to “score” the level of AI application bet88 net agility in the Vietnam’s banking bet88 net finance sector on a scale of 1 to 10, what score would you give it?

I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s somewhere in the middle. If you consider advanced economies to be around 9 or 10, bet88 net more developed countries around 7 to 8, my personal opinion is that we are in the learning phase. Some organizations are taking steps to prepare bet88 net strategize, but we’re not too far behind the latest trends, perhaps six months to a year.

With Vietnam not yet leading but making rapid progress, bet88 net considering its current “score”, how do you envision the future of technology application, especially AI, in its banking bet88 net finance sector over the next 2-3 years?

I speak from my own experience bet88 net will not claim to be an expert on the entire industry. However, from Techcombank’s perspective, we have always been preparing ourselves for disruptive technologies. I mentioned the bank’s three pillars: digital platforms, data, bet88 net talent. If you think about AI, it requires very organized, centralized data from which you can draw insights about business operations, customer behavior, bet88 net so on. AI will thrive when there’s a ready-to-go digital platform bet88 net people who know how to use it. Techcombank has spent many years, especially the last five, investing in these three pillars. I believe we are ready, bet88 net we have strategies in place to explore bet88 net integrate what AI can unlock into the bank’s operations. So, I am very excited to see what will unfold.