Good Morning, Vietnam! Bashny.Net

Cursory impression of the IT-market stronghold of communism in Southeast Asia





I recently spent five days in Vietnam, participating in the trip of top managers of Russian companies that are organized Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. The aim of the Ministry was to promote Russian high-tech companies to the Vietnamese market. We visited the local universities, technology parks, talked with the leaders of large companies, and even visited the Academy of Sciences. As a part of our group were people from different companies, even farmers. But of course, I will judge about Vietnam in terms of "IT specialist". By the way, our company CDNvideo this trip invited RVC.

In Vietnam, a lot of visitors from Russia. There's even a whole city Russian oilmen , where he lives about 1, 5 thousand. Our countrymen. Also a lot of Russian programmers, but for some reason they do not come into contact with the local reality. They are satisfied with cheap food and shelter, warm sea, good weather, and they are corny write code for Moscow employer. But if they pay attention to what's happening in the local technological environment, and would unite with the Vietnamese, they could create their global products here. We have a well with the design and with the ideas, and the Vietnamese with the executive and meticulousness.

For example, a story about Vietnamese meticulousness. One day we went to dinner with our compatriots, who a few years living in Vietnam and help Russian firms to develop relationships with local large company. Then he called his wife - Vietnamese, and dinner all participants passed each other on the cell phone and turn to present her to have fallen away doubts that her husband at the meeting, and not with the girls. We chatted with her, by the way, in Russian.

«Husband and wife if a couple of chopsticks." Vietnamese proverb i>

In Vietnam, the Russian language is quite common. In the center of Hanoi, I saw an ad on which was written in large letters, "Welcome!" It was an advertisement for the center, which offer education services in Russia and the locals know that this phrase means of advertising without translation into Vietnamese.

When you come to a large company, then you certainly found its leaders, and they speak in Russian. Some, however, 10 years before that did not speak our language, but that does not stop almost without accent and with a large vocabulary to remember how they were studying in Moscow. Exactly where they were trained, I did not elaborate. It is possible that in some military school: between our countries is a longstanding relationship in the military field.

«When you eat fruit, remember who planted the tree." Vietnamese proverb i>

Leaders of Vietnamese companies are not spoiled by the attention. The arrival of top managers from abroad for their event. And since our trip was supported by the Economic Development Ministry, we are greeted as government delegations and representatives of Big Brother.

When we came into the hall at the conference at a local university, everyone applauded. In general everything was very pathetic, and I, unfortunately, forgot his suit in Moscow. I went to the biggest clothing store in Hanoi - all designed for the Vietnamese, no suit does not fit. As a result, I found the biggest jacket and pants for him is the same color and climbed into them with grief in half. It turned out okay, though a bit crowded.



According to the degree of interest in the Russian business Vietnam reminded Kazakhstan. The local market is developed slightly worse than the Russian, and when you come with your ready and beautifully packaged products you queue of those wishing to sell it. In Western Europe, for example, you're no use to anyone. And in Vietnam for the trip at least five local companies offered their services for the sale of our products, and it's nice. Among them were found partner of "1C" and "1C-Bitrix". These were the Vietnamese, the owners of a local company - system integrator, which, again, are fluent in Russian.

They puzzling fact that Russian companies are so inactive in their market. After all, the political situation that has developed in Vietnam for us. All large companies (in particular, telecom, television, IT and Internet companies) seriously controlled by the state, which is not allowed on the market nor the Chinese, nor the Americans. With China now there is a conflict over the disputed territory. With America understandable - not so long ago with a war. So invest in the local market, Japanese and European companies (more Japanese). And for Russian companies like us skazaali be most favored.

«Without a bull elephant and great" Vietnamese proverb i>

What exactly are the Vietnamese market? It's 90 million people, while the population under the age of 18 years is 25 million people - in Russia as much. So it's a growing market. The Vietnamese are not rich, but even the poorest people have a mobile phone or tablet with cheap Internet access, and that unlike India and China, where many do not have such needs. Vietnamese love football (own league is very weak, so they watch European football, and would not believe - Russian), the interests of political life. In general, the information environment like ours. There is a great demand for content and CDN services in Vietnam needed. When we go out there, we can get a piece of the market, if not late.

Some situations reminiscent of the Russian market, as it was ten years ago. For example, operators do not want to share each other's traffic. We have a "Rostelecom", "TransTelecom" and the three largest mobile operators who are sharing traffic, while the rest are sold. In Vietnam, the operators have not yet agreed among themselves on the terms of cooperation. This is clearly at hand CDN-independent companies, like us, because of this, every large operator, like, he provides the service CDN, but it concerns only its users, not just the Vietnamese Internet.

«Who is in the middle, it does not lose any shred of blankets." Vietnamese proverb i>

In some Vietnamese and we are ahead. For example, the Institute of technology parks they have been successfully operating for ten years. And when I say the phrase like "Well we still far from your Skolkovo" I prefer not to tell the Vietnamese that Skolkovo technology park was built and opened just this month (by the way, one of these days we will move back one of the first). However, we have a long running industrial parks (eg "Strogino" in Moscow and "IT Park" in Kazan) and Skolkovo really interesting Vietnamese industrial parks in terms of tax incentives and investments.

In Vietnam, we were in two local industrial parks - in Hanoi and Saigon . Each 50-60 residents, one of which - the largest. In Saigon, it Global Equipment Services , assembly production of industrial robots for Japanese companies that built on means Japanese investors. And in Hanoi - FPT Software , the largest company in Vietnam which specializes in outsourcing programming. Generally in the country are not very many programmers - only 30 thousand. Against our 300 th., And culture offshore software not developed in India or China. But there is even a private FPT University:



Technoparks placed outside the customs area of ​​Vietnam, it is a free economic zone. So to build and maintain such a plant in Japan would cost probably ten times more expensive. In this sense, the Vietnamese are trying to implement the same model that works in China Shenzhen, where I came from many local electronics manufacturers, including Huawei. Better to base oneself on their parks trite outsourcing, though tech.

«The son of the king is the king, the son of a poor man will be day and night to catch crabs." Vietnamese proverb i>

But the main advantage of Vietnam - still cheap labor of very good quality, as in Russia of 1996. I remember how he started his career at about this time. And wages were about the same - $ 150-200, and the labor market is the same - a lot of people with a good education and difficulties with work.

In Vietnam, it is assumed that if you are hired, you must repay. One of our compatriots who live there about three years and sells Russian information systems for hotels, told me that he experienced this myself. He hired Vietnamese to the post-marketing consultant with a salary of $ 400. After that, the new employee's relatives have presented gifts to him an amount equal to his salary for six months.

«Took plum - give a peach." Vietnamese proverb i>

Another local feature - a special relationship to the innovators. For example, one of the Vietnamese emperors, who ruled about 1 thousand. Years ago, as we were told, especially revered for having invented a more productive way of growing rice.

For the same reason the Vietnam respects the former colonizers - the French. Though it is considered that they are for years plundered the country, but have taught local grown coffee, and now Vietnam the second largest exporter of coffee after Brazil. It seemed to me, to us, too, looked on as innovators, while in the West appreciate Russia as a source of natural resources, and certainly not as a technology center.

«How to know where to find gold, and where - a toad." Vietnamese proverb i>

We met with the leaders of all the major telecoms and TV companies. With all hope will work. Outside the CIS for Russian companies do not market more understandable than Vietnam. However, many things we still have not yet understood. For example, the Vietnamese "yes" does not mean "yes, I agree," and "yes, I understand." This will have to get used to. And yet, in spite of socialism and state-owned companies in Vietnam strong family, ancestral links. To you just bought a few good products and dobrozhelatelnocti. You need to be immersed in this world and to understand the internal structure of the society. At least, so says a lot.

Source: habrahabr.ru/company/cdnvideo/blog/241011/