As international know-how corporations are cutting down their operations as a part of price optimization and organizational restructuring methods, native tech corporations in Türkiye are seizing the chance to develop their footprint.
Over the previous few years, corporations like Microsoft, IBM and Google have decreased their presence, creating area for home IT service suppliers to develop and develop their affect.
This shift has led to strategic acquisitions, together with DESTEK’s buy of IBM Türk’s subsidiary SERI Bilgi Teknolojileri, whereas Sabancı DX has strengthened its cloud companies portfolio by buying Bulutistan.
Meanwhile, KoçSistem’s enterprise, KoçDigital, has expressed ambitions to develop into a pacesetter in synthetic intelligence and knowledge analytics inside Türkiye and the encircling area
Cost, operation overhaul
Global tech corporations are shifting away from constructing native groups in markets like Türkiye, opting as an alternative for outsourcing or working with native companions to streamline operations and cut back prices.
Their efforts towards localization typically battle with centralized international methods, making administration more and more advanced.
This pattern has accelerated post-pandemic, as corporations streamline their buildings and shift towards managing operations through regional hubs.
As these international manufacturers withdraw or downsize their subject operations, native service suppliers are stepping up, taking up elevated duty in areas similar to assist, set up, upkeep and end-user companies.
DESTEK’s acquisition of SERI Bilgi Teknolojileri is a strategic response to this shift. SERI’s energy in end-user assist, widespread subject personnel and logistical companies for EFT cost terminals brings important depth to DESTEK’s service portfolio.
Spreading pattern
Gone are the times when banks, authorities establishments and enormous companies completely relied on international tech giants similar to IBM, HP and Dell for his or her IT companies.
Companies similar to DESTEK, KoçSistem, Sabancı DX, Netaş and Proline have stepped as much as fill the hole, providing safe and versatile options tailor-made to native wants.
The restructuring of world tech corporations has created a elementary market shift, permitting home IT service suppliers in dynamic areas like Türkiye to develop, tackle better duties and play a pivotal position in shaping the trade.
AI energy spreads to area
KoçDigital is advancing synthetic intelligence options past Türkiye, with ambitions to steer regional digital transformation efforts throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
“AI is not just a technology, it is the business model of the new era. In this transformation, we are not only developing the technology, but also creating an impact that originates from Türkiye and expands across the region,” mentioned KoçDigital General Manager Evren Dereci.
By 2025, KoçDigital goals to deploy humanoid robots at services throughout Türkiye, additional strengthening the corporate’s management in manufacturing, power, protection, automotive and retail sectors.
KoçDigital’s achievements in AI and knowledge analytics have been promoted at a current summit that featured over 200 firm representatives from 13 sectors.
Dereci famous that the corporate has already executed greater than 500 tasks throughout 14 international locations prior to now three years, serving greater than 150 shoppers.
“These tasks have generated a recurring profitability affect of $350 million and touched an financial quantity of roughly $85 billion. Our success lies not solely in creating know-how but additionally in providing options that immediately contribute to business worth,” Dereci famous.
Global recognition
Dereci highlighted that KoçDigital has spearheaded a change from digital twin applied sciences to creating “talking factories” within the subject. He mentioned AI is now actively used not simply in knowledge analytics but additionally in manufacturing strains, resolution assist techniques and operations administration.
One of its breakthrough improvements, the GENTIO resolution, helps companies cut back prices by 30% whereas accelerating digital transformation fourfold.
Its wildfire prediction venture, developed in partnership with Koç Holding and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, was acknowledged by the French Ministry of Economy beneath the “AI for Efficiency” program and listed among the many world’s high 20 AI tasks.
Additionally, KoçDigital’s AI-driven water useful resource administration resolution has been accredited for local weather change adaptation.
Cloud experience expands
As international tech giants cut back operations in Türkiye and close by areas as a consequence of considerations over knowledge sovereignty, safety and price pressures, native know-how corporations are seizing the chance.
One of essentially the most profitable examples is the strategic partnership between SabancıDx and Bulutistan. In 2024, Sabancı Holding acquired a majority stake within the native cloud service supplier.
Their built-in development technique indicators the emergence of a brand new regional tech powerhouse that extends its affect from Türkiye to Europe, Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.
Strength of native alternate options
SabancıDx and Bulutistan CEO Tevfik Kor emphasised that, in a interval when international corporations are limiting or exiting their service choices, they’re making a construction that meets all cloud and managed service wants beneath a single roof.
“We need to create a end-to-end native different that retains Türkiye’s knowledge throughout the nation, presents AI-powered hybrid and multicloud options. With the withdrawal of world giants, we’re filling the hole by leveraging our locality and regional proximity benefits,” mentioned Kor.
New period of knowledge sovereignty
Kor additionally drew consideration to the rising significance of knowledge sovereignty globally.
“The new definition of sovereignty begins with the ability to control data. To achieve this, both technological infrastructure and geographic diversity are essential. That’s why we’re expanding into Europe, Central Asia and now the Arabian Peninsula,” he added.
Highlighting the shift in international markets, Kor asserted that Türkiye mustn’t simply import know-how, but additionally present it.
“Our goal is to create a global Turkish tech giant and achieve regional leadership in markets where global players are retreating,” he famous.
1,000-strong workforce, over 30 places of work
With the acquisition of SERI, a former IBM subsidiary in Türkiye, DESTEK Bilgisayar has taken a big step ahead. This transfer goals to fill the hole left by international tech corporations withdrawing from sure service areas.
With the completion of the acquisition, DESTEK has absorbed all of SERI’s property and now integrates IBM’s international end-user assist methods and operational imaginative and prescient into its personal operations.
Together, DESTEK and SERI will proceed to serve a variety of sectors together with public, finance, telecommunications and basic industries. With over 1,000 workers and greater than 30 places of work, together with one within the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the corporate is well-positioned to ship accessible, high-quality IT companies throughout Türkiye.
Founded in 1996 as Bordata Bilgisayar and later changing into a licensed service supplier for IBM in 1997, DESTEK had over years expanded its community by partnering with international manufacturers similar to Lenovo, Hewlett Packard and Lexmark.
Operating with round 600 employees throughout seven regional places of work in Türkiye and one within the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the corporate views this strategic acquisition as a pivotal breakthrough for the Turkish IT sector.
By taking up a crucial IBM asset in Türkiye, DESTEK goals to reinforce its competitiveness each domestically and internationally.
AI-based knowledge labeling startup Co-one secures $1M pre-seed funding
Technology startup Co-one, which focuses on knowledge labeling, a vital constructing block for synthetic intelligence, has secured a $1 million pre-seed funding because it gears up for international enlargement.
The funding marks a big step for the corporate, which goals to supply high-quality labeled datasets to assist AI mannequin improvement.
The international knowledge labeling market has surpassed $3 billion in 2024 and is projected to achieve $7 billion by 2028. In the quickly rising subject, early movers like Co-one are solidifying their strategic positions, particularly as AI tasks in Europe and the U.S. place better emphasis on ethics, security and knowledge accuracy, which has additional elevated demand for high-quality knowledge labeling options.
Co-one is a graduate from Pilot, a startup acceleration program of Türk Telekom (considered one of Türkiye’s main telecoms and know-how corporations), and its visibility has grown considerably since securing the brand new spherical of funding.
Founded in 2021 by Ataberk Arman Kayhan and Mert Menekşe, Co-one delivers clear, labeled knowledge essential for AI techniques in areas similar to pc imaginative and prescient, pure language processing and autonomous techniques.
Growing want
The Annotation Management Dashboard platform they developed permits centralized administration of knowledge labeling operations, whereas their cell software, Kovan App, offers over 3,500 customers with the chance to earn earnings by knowledge labeling.
Data labeling is among the most important assets that energy AI’s “vision” and “understanding.” AI fashions utilized in picture processing, pure language processing and autonomous techniques can solely produce significant outcomes with correct and constant knowledge labeling. That’s why the demand for labeled knowledge continues to develop.
Co-one has quickly elevated its month-to-month knowledge labeling quantity by 20 occasions and is now collaborating with over 35 company shoppers. The firm plans to make the most of its new funding to reinforce product improvement, develop its crew and strengthen its presence within the European market.
Backed by strategic assist from Türk Telekom, Co-one has accelerated its worldwide enlargement and secured its first clients in Europe. While addressing a crucial want in Türkiye’s AI ecosystem, the corporate additionally goals to spice up its international competitiveness with an moral and scalable knowledge infrastructure.
Source: www.dailysabah.com