Digital transformation "giants": Lessons from Petrovietnam & EVN for Vietnamese businesses

When “giants” pioneer digital transformation – a positive signal for the entire economy

In the national digital transformation picture towards 2025, with a vision towards 2030, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are seen as the “locomotives” in the economy’s digitalization journey. Under the direction of the Government and the State Capital Management Commission at Enterprises, large corporations such as Petrovietnam and EVN are not only “applying” technology but also “leading” the trend of innovation, creating new operational standards for the entire private sector.

At the macro level, the digital transformation of SOEs is not simply about upgrading information technology systems. It is a transformation of the operating model, where data becomes the center, and technology – especially AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) – become core tools to optimize management, production, and customer service.

The success of these “giants” is a strong affirmation that: digital transformation is not a privilege of large-scale businesses, but a mandatory path for any business that wants to survive and develop in the digital age.

If Petrovietnam and EVN are leading digital transformation at a national scale, then GTG CRM is the platform that helps small and medium-sized enterprises “digitize” with the same mindset – but with optimized costs and resources.

Petrovietnam – Data and AI help optimize exploration operations

For many years, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) has implemented a series of technological initiatives, ushering the oil and gas exploration activities into the digital era.

By synchronously deploying AI, IoT, and Big Data, Petrovietnam can monitor exploration data in real-time, analyze pressure, flow, and temperature indicators to optimize operational adjustments. As a result, exploration costs at key fields such as White Tiger and Dragon have decreased by 10–15%, while labor productivity and safety have been significantly improved.

Along with that, the integrated ERP system helps Petrovietnam consolidate all financial activities, manage materials, assets, and supply chains on a single platform. This not only increases transparency but also supports forecasting production demand, costs, and revenue in real-time – a critical factor in the oil and gas industry, which is subject to strong fluctuations in prices and output.

In addition, Big Data helps the group analyze global market data, predict oil price trends, and adjust business strategies in a timely manner.

As a result, Petrovietnam has not only reduced resource losses but also optimized productivity, efficiency, and decision-making capabilities – factors crucial for survival in a competitive global environment.

Lesson for small businesses: Data is also your “oil field”

Not all businesses are as large as Petrovietnam, but any business has its own “data resources” – customer data, marketing campaigns, purchasing behavior, or market feedback.

With GTG CRM, small businesses can:

• Store and manage all customer data, transactions, revenue, and advertising on a unified platform.
• Utilize built-in integrated AI to analyze customer behavior, suggest optimized advertising content, email marketing, and landing pages.
• Track multi-channel campaign effectiveness (Google, Facebook, Zalo, Email…) through intuitive dashboards, helping business owners make quick and accurate decisions.

If Petrovietnam uses AI to optimize oil rigs at sea, small businesses can use GTG CRM to “drill deep” into customer data – extracting true value from every interaction.

EVN – Comprehensive digital transformation in the power industry

From power substations to offices – when every process is digitized

Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) is one of the pioneering enterprises in implementing comprehensive digital transformation on a national scale. Since 2021, EVN has been building a comprehensive digital ecosystem, covering most operational areas: internal management, production, construction investment, business, customer service, and information technology.

One of the notable highlights is EVN Digital Office – the first electronic office system within state-owned enterprises that allows 100% of electronic documents to be processed, approved, and stored. As a result, millions of pages of paper and thousands of hours of manual work have been saved, while ensuring connectivity between subordinate units nationwide.

In terms of technical operations, EVN also applies UAVs (drones), AI cameras, and IoT sensors to monitor transmission lines and substations. AI-analyzed image data helps detect early incidents, reduce maintenance time, limit risks, and increase safety for the national power system.

Specifically, EVN has transitioned all electricity services to 100% online, from registration and connection to payment. The rate of cashless payments has reached over 99.5%, demonstrating the effectiveness and high level of digital readiness of the enterprise.

Lesson for SMEs: Automation and customer experience are key

You don't need to be a national corporation to apply automation – GTG CRM helps small businesses do the same at an appropriate scale:

• Automation Workflow: set up scenarios for sending automatic emails, messages, or notifications when customers register, place orders, or do not respond.
• Unified Messaging: consolidate all conversations from Facebook, Zalo, Gmail, WhatsApp… into one place for quick customer care, ensuring no missed interactions.
• Live Chat AI: automatically suggest intelligent responses, collect customer information, and save it directly to the CRM.
• E-invoicing & Task Management: supports the management of invoices, contracts, and work progress, reducing administrative procedures and increasing internal efficiency.

EVN digitizes to serve 30 million households, while GTG CRM helps you digitize to serve each customer individually – accurately, quickly, and effectively.

The Government and the “locomotive” role of state-owned enterprises

The Vietnamese Government has clearly defined: “Digital transformation is no longer an option, but a mandatory path.”

In the SOE Restructuring Plan for the period 2021–2025, the goal by 2030 is for 100% of SOEs to complete comprehensive digital transformation, while promoting transparent governance models, efficient operations, and data-driven decision-making.

The State Capital Management Commission, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Ministry of Finance all emphasize the pioneering role of SOEs in:

• Applying digital technology to innovate management.
• Standardizing processes according to international standards.
• Setting an example for private enterprises in innovation.

However, digital transformation is not exclusive to the state sector. In the digital economic ecosystem, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for over 97% of the total number of enterprises in Vietnam, therefore they are the force that determines the pace of national digital transformation.

GTG CRM – “AI Infrastructure” helps small businesses keep up with the digital transformation pace

GTG CRM is developed with the goal of becoming a comprehensive AI platform for modern businesses, helping small and medium-sized enterprises undertake digital transformation steps similar to Petrovietnam and EVN but with minimal cost, time, and human resources.

One Platform – Multiple Integrated Modules:

• Landing Page Builder: create SEO-optimized sales pages with AI-powered content writing, image generation, and automatic live chat.
• CRM: manage customers, companies, tasks, invoices – all data centralized in one place.
• Messaging Hub: consolidate all multi-channel messages (Facebook, Zalo, Gmail, WhatsApp…) with AI support for quick responses.
• Marketing & Ads AI: supports creating Google, Facebook, LinkedIn ads; suggests SEO-optimized headlines, descriptions, and keywords.
• Automation Workflow: automate customer care processes, reminders, email sending, and internal notifications.
• Access Control: manage user permissions, ensuring transparent administration and data security.

Thus, instead of investing tens of billions of dong to build their own infrastructure, SMEs can leverage GTG CRM as a “unified digital transformation platform,” moving all marketing – sales – customer care – operational activities to the digital environment within just a few days.

Conclusion: Digital transformation is not just technology – it is a new management mindset

The stories of Petrovietnam and EVN show that: digital transformation is not just about “installing software” or “using technology,” but about restructuring the entire way a business operates, makes decisions, and serves its customers.

The difference between the pioneers and the laggards lies not in scale, but in the mindset of mastering data and the willingness to change.

GTG CRM was born to realize this for Vietnamese small and medium-sized businesses – turning digital transformation from a slogan into concrete action, enabling each business to operate like a “giant,” even with a small team and limited budget.

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