Tech large Microsoft sees Türkiye as a “key market” and is dedicated to increasing its presence, an organization’s govt mentioned not too long ago, detailing the scope of initiatives in R&D, cloud community and broader strategy to synthetic intelligence options.
“Türkiye, celebrating 30 years of Microsoft presence, is a key market for us, and we’re committed to expanding our presence here,” mentioned Kristina Tikhonova, Microsoft General Manager for Southeast Europe.
“We’ve already made substantial investments, including a technology center, regional shared services center, and an R&D center focused on both core AI and open-source technologies, many of which power our global products,” Tikhonova informed Daily Sabah not too long ago.
Evaluating the corporate’s key collaborations within the nation, Tikhonova answered a few of the questions concerning the potential of AI and AI brokers and the way companies in Türkiye are adapting to the usage of this expertise to streamline their operations.
“For Türkiye, AI offers an unparalleled chance to reshape industries and drive productivity in sectors like finance, manufacturing, startups, and public services,” she mentioned.
“Turkish companies such as AkBank, Intertech/Denizbank, and Enerjisa are already using Microsoft AI tools like GitHub Copilot to streamline operations and boost efficiency,” she added.
Moreover, Tikhonova cited that they see throughout areas, banks, vitality corporations, and governments to be adopting AI to enhance providers and deepen citizen engagement.
“Countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Poland provide inspiring examples of AI-led transformation in public administration, creating new experiences for citizens,” she famous.
Tikhonova was one of many key audio system ultimately month’s “Microsoft AI Tour Istanbul,” the place business leaders, informatics and tech specialists and journalists gathered for key insights and discussions on AI growth, innovation, funding and its potential.
In a solution to a question by Daily Sabah, she described AI’s potential as “transformative” however famous that “we’re just beginning to see its impact.”
“By 2030, AI could account for around 11.5% of Southern Europe’s GDP, positioning it as a significant growth driver,” she mentioned.
Moreover, with regards to Türkiye, Tikhonova mentioned that Türkiye’s tech ecosystem, startups and ISVs (impartial software program distributors) are “essential players, increasingly harnessing Azure AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot to create innovative, AI-powered solutions.”
She added that with potential ROI from AI adoption at 350%, it is clear that entry to high quality, cloud-ready information and a security-first strategy can be important for sustainable progress.
“The question now is not if AI will drive growth but how quickly Türkiye will embrace it to realize its full potential,” she outlined.
AI Tour
Elaborating on the AI occasion in Istanbul, Tikhonova mentioned it was “a chance for us to share how Microsoft’s vision for AI can help Turkish businesses grow, improve efficiency, and build resilience, especially now when we navigate economic and climate challenges, societal divides, and international conflicts.”
She expressed their purpose to develop Türkiye’s R&D position and combine the nation’s expertise and information infrastructure into the broader hyperscale cloud community.
“Microsoft is equally committed to data localization, strengthening compliance and building trust with Turkish partners. As AI-driven solutions gain traction, we’re actively exploring opportunities to accelerate our local investments, empowering Turkish businesses to innovate securely with AI,” she famous.
Furthermore, she cited Microsoft Türkiye was working intently with trade leaders, NGOs, and the general public sector to align with the nation’s strategic growth objectives centered on AI and cloud providers.
AI brokers, customization
Providing particulars on the idea of AI brokers, which grew to become a stylish matter in latest months, Tikhonova mentioned that AI brokers signify a brand new period the place “AI systems work together seamlessly, with one AI agent able to request actions from others.”
She supplied an instance by saying: “Imagine a government AI Agent for Citizens that connects with other connects to other AI E-Gov Agents – like a retirement services AI Agent – to handle citizen’s queries or complete tasks efficiently question or ask action to do.”
She added that with their providers, corresponding to Copilot Studio and the ability of Azure AI Services, corporations can create and handle these clever assistants to deal with something from routine duties to advanced operations, thus saving each time and sources.
“These AI agents are already transforming functions like sales, customer service, finance, and supply chains, adding real value across businesses,” she famous, however once more highlighted that that is “just the beginning,” as extra AI brokers will emerge to assist corporations innovate and stay aggressive.
Apart from this, she additionally addressed the query of customizing or “fine-tuning” the AI fashions and mentioned: “Prompt Engineering allowed us to design and refine prompts, enhancing the relevance and accuracy of AI responses. Fine-tuning, where models are trained with specific data, helps generate content that’s closely aligned with unique tasks.”
With Microsoft’s instruments making these customizations accessible, we anticipate this tailor-made AI strategy to change into widespread throughout the subsequent yr or two, she mentioned, particularly as industries like well being care and finance search extremely customized options.
Türkiye’s innovation ecosystem, highway map
Also touching upon collaborations and presence in Türkiye, Tikhonova famous that Türkiye’s innovation ecosystem holds “immense potential” and Microsoft is “fully committed to supporting it.”
“We are actively engaging with local startups and tech companies to develop Turkish-language models, ensuring that AI solutions are tailored to the unique needs of the Turkish market,” she mentioned, recalling that Turkish was included within the second wave of languages supported by Microsoft’s LLM.
“Several AI data technologies are being developed at our Microsoft Türkiye Development Centre (MTDC), such as Azure Open Source Data Services,” she added.
“We are also proud to support over 1,000 Turkish startups at every stage, from ideation to maturity, providing over $100 million in cloud and software development credits to fuel innovation.”
Moreover, she identified that partnerships like these with the T3 Foundation for native language fashions, SabanciDX with Sabancı Holding, and Dtech Cloud with Demirören Holding “underscore our commitment to empowering Türkiye’s digital transformation.”
“Our roadmap includes expanding these initiatives to cultivate a dynamic AI ecosystem, empowering Türkiye’s businesses, startups, institutions, and society as a whole to lead in the AI era,” she concluded.
Source: www.dailysabah.com