The AI Narrative Is More Than Just a Story

With all the current AI chatter in ERP and cloud, one naturally knows all the major vendors are playing the artificial intelligence game. One could also assume that the happier vendors are to talk up AI, the easier it is to introduce new software on the market. Rightly or wrongly, the presumption here would be that AI is mostly hype and nothing less, and that the big vendors are in an echo chamber. Outside of this chamber, one could suspect their ecosystem and customers are not yet applying or promoting AI – certainly not on a practical and day-to-day level.

But let’s take a look at Vietnam for a moment, where Hanoi-headquartered FPT Software is proving that AI is real and happening, and that its presence is not limited solely to vendor demo product sessions.

The tech provider and consultancy is home to Enterprise Business Serviced (EBS), a business group which provides enterprise services and solutions via some of those aforementioned vendors – SAP, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle. It particularly specialises in in-house distribution and retail solutions to both clients in Vietnam and on a global scale. On the SAP side, its SAP implementation and maintenance services come from a foundation of certified and experienced SAP resources and firmly-established project management frameworks. According to Mr. Ngo Minh Tri, EBS Director, the unit is committed long term to “delivering business transformation advantages” to clients, down to a synergy of SAP product line and integrated solutions.

With an OKR target of a 20% productivity increase set for 2024, EBS has focused on developing and applying AI across all production, business, and operational activities. To help reduce manual efforts in project tasks for distribution and retail clients, EBS has developed automated testing tools for SAP, DNM, and .NET. It is also using tools such as SAP Joule, ChatGPT and FPT.AI from FPT for creating test cases, and deployed Github Copilot, MS Copilot, FPT’s CodeVista, and internal DevSage for software development. In the words of Mr. Ngo Minh Tri, AI is “the tool to help our unit increase productivity and create a difference.” 

The Vision for CodeVista

A concrete example of AI in action comes from the EBS use of CodeVista, FPT’s own AI tool. Developed by FPT Software AI Center, CodeVista is an example of GenAI which uses conversation history and any uploaded code files as context for generating responses. It supports a wide range of programming languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Java and more, alongside shell scripting languages. It’s also orientated towards tasks such as zipping and saving files, plus connecting databases. 

After nearly a year of application, EBS found the solution has saved an average of 30% effort in certain tasks, with some projects reaching up to 50%.

According to Mr. Ngo Minh Tri, CodeVista is capable of filtering sensitive information to mitigate security risks, which is a key concern for SAP users wary of the AI hype machine. The EBS director also believes it helps users shorten the learning curve by condensing knowledge.

Mr. Tri has also revealed that EBS is aiming to build a specialised platform for the SAP segment based on CodeVista. However, he notes that there are still challenges in deploying CodeVista on a wide scale:

• Being a new tool that utilises the still-nascent technology of AI, it requires time for users to familiarise themselves with new thinking and approaches. 
• Additionally, convincing customers of information security remains an issue.
• Finally, transforming the skepticism of employees into concrete actions to foster a culture and community of AI users at FPT Software is an area of ongoing improvement.

On a more positive note, Mr. Tri believes “AI will enable us to create a competitive advantage”. This is the AI “pitch” made by many vendors today, which is being put into practice by companies like FPT Software to explore risks, product development and potential benefits to the end client.

In other words, the AI narrative seems to be more than just a fairytale story.