The Digital Brain of Da Nang’s Smart City: Unveiling its Unique Features

Transformational Changes in Da Nang After 1 Year of Implementing IOC

Described as the “digital brain” of a smart city, the IOC Center, developed by Viettel Solutions, a member of the Viettel Group, in Da Nang, has become an integral part of the city’s smart city architecture. Its ability to aggregate data from various sources, analyze big data, and apply artificial intelligence (AI) in decision-making support for leaders sets it apart.

Over the years, Da Nang has invested heavily in technology infrastructure, building shared digital platforms and databases toward digital transformation and the development of a smart city. However, the city faced challenges with data fragmentation and inefficient utilization.

After 10 months of focused development tailored to the city’s needs, Viettel Solutions provided a solution to Da Nang’s data dilemma. Officially operational since August 2023, the Da Nang IOC has become an integral part of the city’s management, familiar to authorities, businesses, and residents alike in this livable city of Vietnam.

“Da Nang’s IOC applies AI technology to analyze camera data for management and specialized tasks, utilizes data analysis for statistics and forecasting to support decision-making, and forms an IoT management platform with over 1,000 integrated sensors. It serves as a centralized, multi-task command and control center for the city,” said Mr. Tran Ngoc Thach, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Da Nang.

Over the past year, the Da Nang IOC has brought about significant changes. In the field of public services, solutions developed by Viettel Solutions engineers have enhanced monitoring, management, and enforcement. In the first half of 2024, the rate of overdue dossiers decreased to 0.12%, a 96.8% reduction compared to the same period in 2023. Specifically, the number of overdue dossiers per month, which used to be in the thousands, has been reduced to a few dozen, or even less than 10. This has noticeably improved the quality of public services in the city and increased citizen satisfaction.

Additionally, disaster management has seen positive developments. With real-time information from 1,000 IoT field sensors (including 600 cameras, 31 rain gauges, 69 monitoring stations, etc.), timely monitoring and information gathering are ensured.

Consequently, the coordination of support forces and disaster prevention measures, with early response plans, has empowered leaders and citizens to be more proactive. This was a crucial factor in minimizing casualties and property damage during the October 2023 floods compared to the historic floods of October 2022.

Furthermore, citizens and businesses now have additional tools to interact with the government in the digital era. As of June 2024, the rate of processing and responding to feedback from agencies and units reached 99.7%, with 91.3% processed and responded to on time. Currently, 100% of new administrative procedure results are digitized and added to the digital repository of administrative procedure resolution results.

A Turning Point in the ‘Core Functionality’ of Da Nang’s IOC

Developed and researched over the past five years, Viettel Solutions has advised and established over 40 IOCs across Vietnam. Through continuous improvement and upgrades, Viettel IOC not only ensures core monitoring and management functions but also incorporates new features to meet the specific requirements of each locality.

Starting with the Da Nang IOC, the system has been equipped with intelligent features such as AI (AI virtual assistant) and data analysis (prediction and diagnosis) to support decision-making. Additionally, new features like a mobile subsystem for flexible leadership management and the pioneering implementation of a new-generation AI chatbot to optimize leadership and administrative efforts have been integrated.

As a member of Vietnam’s leading technology group, Viettel Solutions also offers a comprehensive ecosystem of digital transformation products, with Vietnamese engineers owning the technology. As a result, Viettel IOC can be easily customized to meet specific requirements, fulfilling most customer expectations.

Furthermore, Viettel Solutions has optimized the user interface and experience, continuously enhancing information security to ensure system confidentiality. This has been validated through level 3 information security certifications and demonstrated during information security drills for various projects.

“Da Nang’s IOC incorporates the most modern features of the current IOC version. Da Nang also has the necessary factors to develop the product toward the best version of Viettel IOC,” said a representative from Viettel Solutions.

Da Nang has a complete IT infrastructure, relatively comprehensive data for feature development in multiple fields, and a well-organized institutional framework. Additionally, the city’s leadership has shown deep interest and enthusiasm for improving IOC’s effectiveness in city management, providing Viettel Solutions with opportunities to develop and upgrade the product according to the right direction.

The journey of developing the IOC in Da Nang also bears the strong imprint of Viettel Solutions engineers. Born within just 10 months, the Da Nang IOC is equipped with 100% technology and products owned by Viettel. While technology was not a barrier, the workload on each team member was immense. The project team had to work through weekends, holidays, and often held meetings until 2-3 am to find solutions…

Overcoming these challenges and implementing the project methodically has provided invaluable and practical experience for Viettel in deploying other projects.

“The project has imparted extensive knowledge about government operations, enabling Viettel experts to acquire skills and expertise in handling public services, petition processing, environmental monitoring, and city management indicators. These experiences are invaluable as the Viettel team provides consulting and implementation services to other provinces and cities,” shared a representative from Viettel Solutions.