Vietnam is currently striving to accelerate digital transformation in public administration and administrative reforms, achieving remarkable successes through various e-government platforms. The digital transformation effort is being vigorously promoted across all levels and sectors, with a clear strategy and long-term vision to modernize public administration infrastructure, enhance operational efficiency, and better serve the public.

The massive pressure of handling nearly 10,000 reports annually

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is the state regulatory body overseeing sectors such as media, broadcasting, postal services, telecommunications, information technology, and digital transformation, playing a crucial role in developing the digital economy. Every year, the Ministry has to handle a massive volume of reports with high accuracy requirements to make decisions on numerous national development indicators and plans. Specifically, Departments of Information and Communications (DoICs) submit over 8,300 reports to the Ministry annually, containing thousands of metrics and explanatory content, many of which are duplicated, making it difficult to compile. This enormous workload requires a large team at the local level to prepare monthly and quarterly reports. However, manual processing not only consumes significant resources but also creates immense work pressure, leading to errors that directly impact the accuracy of strategic decisions and operational efficiency of the Ministry.

In light of this, the Ministry has set forth a plan to develop a system that not only digitalizes reports but also ensures data and reporting format consistency across its units. Notably, the system allows DoICs and units under the Ministry to enter data once, after which it automatically aggregates and generates output reports, thereby reducing workload and improving operational efficiency.

Over 3 months, 100,000 queries, and 12-hour workdays

As soon as the team received the task from MIC leadership, the Viettel AI research team recognized that this was a complex challenge requiring maximum focus and resources. One of the primary requirements was that the system must ensure "input once, use multiple times" — meaning that from a single input report, the system could automatically generate up to 42 different output reports, each with diverse structures and high complexity. The Government’s regular reports are a prime example, consisting of 190 charts and 28 tables, equivalent to about 500 calculations. The complexity further increased as MIC required the use of a single comprehensive reporting framework for 63 DoICs and another for 34 units under the Ministry. The total number of data items to be processed reached more than 1,500 indicators and 700 reporting and explanatory items.

"Each indicator represents a specific field and requires its own formula to accurately reflect the performance of that particular DoIC or unit. To build this set of indicators, our team worked continuously for two months with each unit to fully understand every metric and determine the most suitable calculation methods," shared Pham Huy Long, a Data Analyst Engineer at Viettel AI. "We lost count of how many days we worked from 8 AM to 8 PM with four or five units, without a break".

Nguyen Anh Tuan, a Software Development Engineer at Viettel AI, spoke about the project's most challenging phase: "Optimizing the software was not easy, as we had to develop all specialized features while ensuring long-term quality and efficiency. However, close collaboration with MIC brought about many creative ideas, improving user experience".

Moreover, the rapid implementation, driven by the Ministry’s urgent need to alleviate the reporting overload and improve management efficiency, made the project requirements even more stringent. Normally, with this workload, the project team would need about three months to implement it. In reality, the timeline was shortened to just one-quarter of that, with the system having to be operational for testing after only three weeks, forcing the team to push themselves four to five times harder. "For nearly four months, our team hardly had a day off, even on weekends", Ms. Mai Thi Anh Hong, Head of Business Solutions at Viettel AI recalled.

Towards a comprehensive reporting system for MIC

On July 18, 2024, Ministry of Information and Communications held a training conference for the online reporting system, attended by over 270 representatives from Department of of Information and Communications of 63 centrally managed provinces and cities, as well as units under the Ministry. This marked a milestone as the system was officially launched for trial operation on a large scale.

The online reporting information system of MIC is designed to meet the need for various types of reports, ranging from numerical data to explanations, with flexible adjustments to suit the specific requirements of each DoIC and unit. The integration of reporting assignment and approval processes helps automate handling steps, ensuring compliance with actual workflows while minimizing errors. With a user-friendly interface and customizable features, the system optimizes data processing and has the potential for broad application in other ministries and sectors, supporting the national digital transformation process.

"This reporting system can assist in analysis and forecasting, elevating strategic decision-making. It lays the foundation for smart management, comprehensive upgrades, user experience improvement, report automation, and data visualization," said Ms. Hoang Thi Phuong Luu, Chief of Office at MIC, at the Conference on the Deployment of the Reporting Information System and its Connection to the National Reporting System, held in Nam Dinh on October 28-29.

Although it is not the first online reporting system in Vietnam, it is, as of now, the only system that provides a comprehensive and thorough online reporting solution, allowing the complete discontinuation of manual reports through 100% digitalization of previously complex reporting tasks.

Alongside the tireless efforts of the project team, the rapid deployment of the system was made possible thanks to the vision and decisive direction from MIC leaders. Despite the challenges faced during development, the leadership and officials of MIC maintained a high level of determination, working side by side with the project team through every meeting and late-night overtime, all with the goal of completing the system on schedule. "Our greatest motivation came from the support of MIC leadership, who were involved at every step, helping us stay persistent and determined to finish," said Ms. Mai Thi Anh Hong.

A milestone in the digital transformation of public administration

Following the direction of MIC, starting from December 2024, the Ministry will fully adopt online reporting, ceasing all manual reports. The successful development of the online reporting system marks an important milestone in the modernization of public administration in Vietnam. This digital platform helps the country save resources while contributing to environmental protection by reducing paper use and minimizing manual processes. It also gradually contributes to building e-government to ensure transparency and enhance service quality for citizens. Furthermore, the system serves as a critical input data source for the telecommunications and information technology sector’s database, laying the groundwork for implementing advanced AI solutions, such as the Virtual Assistant supporting MIC staff.

In the future, Viettel AI will continue researching and developing data analysis solutions and applying AI technology to create even more groundbreaking reforms in public administration while expanding applications for other ministries, agencies, and localities. This also forms part of Viettel Group's commitment to being a pioneering force in creating a digital society, contributing to making the aspiration for Vietnam to become a strong, prosperous, developed, civilized nation, with a deserving position in the international community, a reality.

Viettel AI is a unit under Viettel Group, pioneering in developing products and services in the fields of AI, Big Data, Robotics, and Digital Twin. Currently, Viettel AI's ecosystem includes a wide range of high-quality products that lead the market in Vietnam, trusted by many major domestic and international organizations and enterprises.