SOUTHEAST ASIA CONSTRUCTION15 Jun 2023
Vietnamese contractor Coteccons signs MOU with Microsoft to accelerate digital transformation

One of Vietnam’s leading contractors, Coteccons, has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Microsoft Vietnam to accelerate its digital transformation effort by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technology.

“We would like to be one of the first examples in how to digitalise the construction industry in Vietnam. We recognise that there is an urgent need to apply established technologies and techniques in new ways in order to improve not only management efficiency and productivity, and ultimately the welfare of stakeholders, but also ESG performance,” explained Vo Hoang Lam, CEO of Coteccons.

“Coteccons decides to take the journey to the cloud. We are looking for a trusted technology partner who can help accelerate the growth strategy and do more with fewer resources, enabling us to focus on innovation. We are confident about this collaboration with Microsoft as the backbone of our digital journey.”

Founded in 2004, Coteccons has grown into one of the top contractors in Vietnam, delivering world-class projects including residential, commercial, hospitality, infrastructure and industrial. Coteccons said the company, which is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, always aims to invest in modern construction practices and the most advanced technologies to ensure that it remains at the cutting edge of the industry.

Through this strategic collaboration, Coteccons will leverage Microsoft technology and solutions to accelerate its digital transformation in four areas: helping the company engage with its customers better; landing secured modern workplace; optimising the company’s operations; and transforming its products and services.

According to Coteccons, the company’s digital core needs to be equipped to handle technology innovation for competitive advantage, and to build next generation platforms and scalable infrastructure, modern and modular architecture along with data security, compliance and privacy requirements.

Coteccons will conduct a comprehensive assessment of its current data centre infrastructure with the help of Microsoft including hardware, software, networking and security systems, then analyse its existing data centre operations, vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for improvements.

Coteccons will also apply the design cloud reference architecture for modern infrastructure and platform as a service to unlock the benefits of cloud computing, such as scalability, cost efficiency and improved agility. The company added that it will implement and migrate its current workloads to Microsoft Azure for better performance, operations and centralised management. Coteccons plans to use Microsoft Power Platform to accelerate its business automation and digital transformation to better provide its professional design & build solution in the construction industry.

Moreover, Coteccons will establish a modern workplace with the AI-empowered Microsoft 365, which enables the company to significantly improve experience, productivity and development for its 2,000 employees, especially the frontline workers’ communication and collaboration. Coteccons said it will also integrate Microsoft Zero Trust security solutions to create a more secure workplace, which can protect and manage its employees’ identity, device and all data across the company.

Under the MOU framework, Coteccons will invest resources to work with and build projects that can leverage the strength of Microsoft technologies and solutions. At the same time, Microsoft will provide training to Coteccons employees on Microsoft technologies, ensuring they have the necessary skills to use, manage and maintain the system.

“Today, cloud and AI technology play a critical role in the transformation of the construction industry by reducing labour costs, increasing safety and improving the quality of the building’s design. By embracing our industry-proven cloud and AI technologies, Coteccons will be enabling construction companies to achieve incredible designs and buildings in Vietnam,” said Nguyen Quynh Tram, country general manager of Microsoft Vietnam.

Coteccons further highlighted that Vietnam’s construction industry is the best performing in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The local construction market was valued at US$108.6 billion in 2022, noted the company, and is projected to grow at an AAGR of more than 6% during the period of 2024-2027.

All images: Coteccons