In 2019, the SAP business in Vietnam has seen a growth trajectory, particularly the cloud business in the private sector, despite Vietnamese state-owned businesses favoring on-premise systems due to stricter cybersecurity legislation that came into effect earlier.
Continuing SAP’s success in the Vietnamese market, the homegrown talent Nguyen Hong Viet has been appointed as the new Managing Director of SAP Vietnam directly reporting to Verena Siow, President and Managing Director of SAP Southeast Asia.
SAP SeA MD Siow expressed:
“As an employer of choice, SAP makes every effort to support our employees to reach their full potential, and Viet’s promotion is testament to the rising local leader that we have in the talent bench. His appointment comes at a very exciting time as Vietnam is powering its way to claim its place in the new digital economy – supported by a young population, high growth rate, and a location in the heart of high-growth Asian economies. Viet is a proven leader who embodies what it means to be customer-centric and employee-focused. I am confident that he will lead the Vietnam business to greater heights”.
Homegrown SAP Leader
Starting as an SAP Account Executive in 2012, Viet progressively rose from the ranks and was most recently the General Business Sales Manager for SAP Vietnam. The sales team that he led contributed to the achievement of company revenue while delivering customer value and innovation through cloud transformation with strategic and key clients.
Viet’s strong work ethics and excellent long-term planning and execution abilities have been welded with the Vietnamese business culture that is based on fundamental trust. Several SAP customer success stories in the public sector, financial services, and manufacturing industries can be credited to the hard work and expertise of Viet coupled with his 19 years of experience in the technology industry across software, hardware, and cloud.
Continuing SAP’s Legacy
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that Vietnam will experience stable growth and continue to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the region between 2019 and 2023. The government’s commitment to Industry 4.0, recognising the private enterprise as the core engine of the economy, makes it the most opportune time for SAP to grow and expand in Vietnam.
Coming in at an extremely challenging time, the new SAP Vietnam MD sheds light and hope to SAP customers and partners in the country. He said:
“COVID-19 has adversely impacted Vietnam’s economy. In the past months, SAP has been supporting our Vietnamese customers and partners to tackle disruptions caused by COVID-19, leveraging intelligent technologies to support remote working, digital supply chains, and manage customer and employee experiences. SAP will continue to help our customers accelerating their digital transformation journey towards becoming Intelligent Enterprises.”
Focusing on Gen Z
In 2018, the Nielsen published an article titled ‘How to engage with Generation Z in Vietnam’ reported the Gen Z will comprise 25{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the labour workforce in the country by 2025. With a relatively young population of nearly 100 million people, of which 60{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} are under the age of 35, Vietnam focuses on developing HR for a digital economy.
Sharing some of SAP Vietnam’s initiative in equipping the youth, MD Viet said:
“SAP Vietnam will also focus on equipping youth with knowledge and skills ready for the digital future through programs such as the ASEAN Data Science Explorers and SAP University Alliances. Our recently announced collaboration with UNICEF Vietnam to provide quality education and essential digital skills training to adolescents in disadvantaged communities in Viet Nam will further accelerate our continuous efforts to help improve people’s lives in Vietnam. No one should be left behind in this digital race.”
