Vietnam Innovators Ep.14 Recap: Bruce Delteil Speaks On Building Digital Ecosystem In Vietnam

Our guest for Episode 14 is Bruce Delteil, the managing partner of McKinsey & Company’s Vietnam office. Bruce, who works at the intersection of digital, strategy, and implementation, serves leading corporations, local conglomerates, state-owned enterprises, and multinationals not just in Vietnam but in all of Southeast Asia.

A French native but Asian by heart (having spent more than half of his life in countries like Singapore and Indonesia, and now Vietnam), Bruce has extensive experience in helping clients from strategic planning and growth to large-scale transformations and mergers and acquisitions. He designs end-to-end product journey for companies and supports them throughout the process of becoming the “giants of tomorrow”. Fun fact: Outside of work, Bruce is a published songwriter and recording artist.

Building Vietnam’s digital ecosystem

McKinsey & Company is one of the world’s leading and most trusted advisors that helps the most influential organizations to embrace the opportunities and challenges of the digital era. Utilizing the power of data and bringing together the capabilities needed for an enterprise to thrive, McKinsey helps their clients understand their digital potentials: from optimizing and automating operations to building digital talent and culture.

Leading McKinsey’s work on merger management in Southeast Asia, Bruce’s main role is introducing and emphasizing the importance of digital ecosystems to business leaders and investors.

A digital ecosystem is a group of interconnected information technology resources or set of services that fulfill the needs of the consumers in an integrated model, explains Bruce.

In Vietnam, full digital transformation has yet to take off, says Bruce, like that of Singapore and Indonesia. But Bruce quickly adds, “I believe that the gap can be filled very so quickly”, with Vietnam’s natural resilience and adaptability to changes and modernization. “And with the Vietnamese consumers much younger than in other countries, acceleration can be a lot sooner.”

For this digital transformation to happen and be successful in the country, Bruce lists down four ways Vietnamese companies can win in the digital ecosystem world.

1. Adapt that ecosystem mindset. The worst that could happen is not to embrace what’s bound to happen -- the digitalization of businesses.
2. Follow what data is telling you. Harness the power of data and use it to your advantage.
3. Re-understand your customers. Businesses can’t force their products and services anymore. Build that customer intimacy.
4. Get the right talents. If companies want to be part of the ecosystem, they need people and resources that understand the technology and what’s happening inside the ecosystem.