HKDC in Japan Aims to Bridge R&D and Deployment for Vietnamese HealthTech in Global Markets

For many years, Vietnamese technology companies have gradually affirmed their ability to develop products. However, when entering international markets—especially high-standard sectors such as healthcare—a growing reality has emerged: technology development capability does not automatically translate into deployment capability in real environments.

The gap between “making a product” and “operating within real systems” has become the biggest barrier. This issue is also addressed in Resolution 57-NQ/TW, which stresses that Vietnamese technology enterprises should not only develop but also participate more deeply in the global value chain.

In this context, the establishment of OmiHealthTech Knowledge & Delivery Center (HKDC) by OmiGroup in Fukuoka, Japan, is presented as a systemic approach to narrow this gap.

From technology development to deployment capability

HKDC is positioned with four core objectives: to train international-standard digital health workforce; to build a knowledge platform and network of HealthTech experts; to promote R&D activities linked to deployment; and to serve as a bridge bringing Vietnamese digital health solutions to the global market.

Among these, the two pillars—integrating R&D with deployment and building an international bridge—are identified as the main focus, reflecting a common bottleneck for many technology companies.

In practice, many Vietnamese technology products face no difficulty at the development stage, but encounter obstacles during deployment in markets such as Japan. The challenges are not only technical standards; they also include the ability to operate within real systems, where products must integrate with existing infrastructure, comply with medical processes, meet data requirements, and prove effectiveness in clinical operations.

These factors cannot be completed within a domestic environment. As a result, the gap between R&D and the market is described as not being in technology itself, but in the absence of a deployment-ready environment.

Bringing R&D into real-operation environments

HKDC is designed to address this gap by bringing R&D activities into deployment environments from the outset.

Through strategic partnerships with Kyoto Hokenkai—a system of 38 hospitals and clinics in Japan—digital health solutions are tested within the actual operating environment. Products are evaluated not only technically, but also across the full system workflow, from patient examination processes and data flows to the behaviors of doctors and patients.

Development and validation occur in parallel, which is intended to shorten the product refinement cycle and reduce risk when scaling deployment.

Track record as a condition to expand markets

Beyond technology capability, another major barrier for Vietnamese enterprises entering international markets is the lack of real deployment experience in standardized environments.

In digital health, a product can only be accepted if it demonstrates operational success within a comparable system. This is described as the “track record,” a key factor for opening markets.

HKDC is designed to create this foundation. Through pilot projects (POCs) at Japanese hospital systems, enterprises can validate products to international standards, accumulate deployment data, and build a capability profile.

From there, the center is positioned not only as a place for technology development, but also as a bridge helping enterprises gradually gain acceptance in international markets.

Integrated model: training – knowledge – deployment

A notable feature of HKDC is its integrated approach combining training, knowledge, and deployment. The engineering team and experts are not only educated in theory, but also participate directly in deployment projects within Japanese hospitals. Knowledge is therefore formed from practice.

At the same time, deployment experiences are standardized into data, processes, and reusable models, creating a scalable knowledge base.

At the ecosystem level, HKDC functions as a connector between Vietnamese enterprises and the international health system, opening opportunities to participate directly in real-world deployment and progressively raise deployment capabilities to global standards.

A different approach to “Make in Vietnam”

According to Mr. Trần Quốc Dũng, CEO of OmiGroup, the core challenge today is no longer “making a product,” but “making a product that can operate in an international environment.” Validation in Japan—a high-standard market—is described as helping refine the product and laying a foundation for expansion into other markets.

From a broader perspective, HKDC is presented as a new approach to the “Make in Vietnam” question: starting from deployment capability in a global environment, rather than stopping at technology development.

When this problem is solved, bringing Vietnamese technology to the world is framed as a measurable, step-by-step feasible plan.