On 29 May 2020, Ministry of Information and Communications held the launching ceremony for the online meeting solution provided by CoMeet - an alliance of 6 members including: CMC TSS, NetNam, iWay, CyRadar, FDS and DQN.

Under the patronage of Ministry of Information and Communications and with the companion of Authority of Information Technology Application and Vietnam Free and Open Source Software Association (VFOSSA), CoMeet online conferencing solution has been put into operation by the Alliance from April 2020, timely meeting the need to use online working tools during the social distancing period due to the global impacts of Covid-19 epidemic.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong, Deputy General Director of CMC TS (2^nd from the left) together with representatives of VFOSSA and CoMeet Alliance perform procedures to launch the online video conferencing solution on Jitsi open source platform

The online video conferencing solution on Jitsi open source platform being deployed by CoMeet Alliance offers variety of services, from consulting, designing, deploying, integrating, supporting to maintaining the system. The cost of solution packages for organizations and businesses is estimated to be from 349 million VND per each time of deployment, with maintenance, version upgrade and technical support in the first year. In the following years, only technical supporting service fees will be incurred if necessary, and there is no software copyright fee.

Notable features of the solution include: organizing online meetings with unlimited number of participants; sharing the screen of all members according to the coordination of the administrator; private conversation through Chat feature; recording contents of the meeting, etc. Especially, users can be assured of safety and security thanks to data encryption and participant control mode.  Currently, users can easily use the service on all platforms of MS Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung said that, after the initial entrance to the market thanks to the "nudge" from Covid-19, online meeting solutions will grow strongly, because users have already formed the new work and study habits. Vietnamese digital technology firms also need to quickly seize the opportunity and develop solutions to build the market.

The Deputy Minister also said that, to guide the development of the online video conferencing market in Vietnam, Ministry of Information and Communications has identified two key trends. The first is solutions developed by Vietnamese enterprises, such as Zavi online meeting platform recently launched by the Ministry on 15 May 2020. The second is solutions developed based on open source code, including the CoMeet online video conferencing solution launched today, which is a typical example of using open source code and mastering the technology to deploy solutions and provide services to businesses, organizations and individuals in need.

According to the Deputy Minister, CoMeet Alliance offers services to the market through a new business cooperation model, namely: From the strength of each member, the companies cooperate and join forces to provide online conferencing solutions and services based on open source software, thus bringing a comprehensive, private and flexibly integrated online conferencing solution to organizations and businesses, which uses domestic bandwidth and ensures safety and security.

"This has once again affirmed that, with solidarity and consensus, Vietnamese businesses will create more and more "Make in Vietnam" services and products that meet international standards, contribute to the career of technology autonomy, reduce dependence on foreign platforms and help accelerate the process of national digital transformation," the Deputy Minister said.

Ministry of Information and Communications calls on agencies, institutions, organizations and businesses with the need for online meetings to prioritize and use solutions and services offered by Vietnamese enterprises. The support from domestic clients will help digital technology firms quickly dominate the market, create a complete foundation to consolidate and develop their products towards reaching out to international market, improving capability of domestic enterprises in general and fulfilling the aspiration of acting for a strong Vietnam.

At the event, in the witness of Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung, CoMeet Alliance conducted an online meeting that connects 7 locations in the Northern and Southern regions, using CoMeet online video conferencing solution.

Speaking at the ceremony, representative of CoMeet Alliance added that, in recent time, IT businesses in Vietnam have had the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity, master the technology and reduce dependence on foreign technologies, as well as help other businesses in their digital transformation.

"The "Made in Vietnam" online meeting solution based on Jitsi open source software of CoMeet utilizes domestic bandwidth and does not depend on international transmission line. As a result, in recent undersea optical cable incidents, CoMeet online meeting solution still works stably.

The solution also ensures absolute safety and security thanks to its end-to-end encryption. Organizations using the solution have the source code in their hands, so it's possible to completely eliminate problems of information leakage, eavesdropping, etc.," said the representative of CoMeet Alliance.