KoçSistem and Equinix Accelerating Digital Transformation

Turkey’s long culture of invention and ingenuity can be seen in the acceleration of digital transformation (DX) among its businesses. With 74% of enterprises in Turkey surveyed by IDC executing DX strategies, the analyst firm believes that “organizations across sectors are presently investing in DX initiatives at twice the rate of global gross domestic product (GDP) growth. This level of spending is likely to double over the next five years.”[i] Innovative projects such as Turkey’s first indigenous electric, smart car announced this year are also indicators that Turkish investors and entrepreneurs are poised to jump into brand new digital markets to grow the country’s economy.

At Equinix, we see the DX wave revolutionizing the Turkish market and compelling businesses to implement digital innovative approaches, such as cloud adoption at the edge. But to do this, it takes some rethinking and re-architecting of legacy IT infrastructures to succeed in the global digital economy. It also takes forming strategic partnerships, such as the one that we enjoy with KoçSistem, a long-established and leading information technology company in the region for 75 years.

A cloud-first strategy requires interconnection first

An independent APCO survey sponsored by Equinix showed that 75% of organizations in Turkey plan to move more of their business operations to the cloud. But one of the barriers to entry for cloud adoption has been security and data protection. According to the IDC survey, 89% of Turkey IT decision makers consider improving their respective organizations’ cybersecurity as an important priority and 91% regard complying with data protection regulations as a top priority.

Today, businesses can access the cloud more securely by using private interconnection that bypasses the cybersecurity and performance risks of the public internet to directly connect with networks, clouds and SaaS providers. Case in point, the third annual Global Interconnection Index (GXI), published by Equinix, estimates that private interconnection bandwidth between enterprises and cloud and IT providers will increase annually at a rate of 112% between 2018-2022.

Turkish IT leaders must understand and leverage the power of interconnection bandwidth to compete in the digital age. This means taking steps to rearchitect their companies’ IT platforms for easier and safer consumption of cloud and cutting-edge digital services, such as software-defined networking (SDN). By leveraging virtual networking capabilities to connect with cloud service providers (CSPs), businesses can realize greater performance benefits without compromising security. For example, dedicated connections between businesses and CSPs on Platform Equinix^® deliver single-digit latency (<10 milliseconds). It is the direct and secure interconnection to these more agile and scalable digital services at the edge that will enable companies doing business in Turkey to provide greater value to their customers and gain a competitive advantage.

Leveraging EMEA channel partners for greater cloud adoption

Turkey’s cloud adoption is representative of a global shift to the cloud, which is one of the major forces driving the evolution of the EMEA channel industry. The APCO survey showed the cloud as the number one driver for organizations to engage with channel partners, with 48% of the 836 EMEA IT decision-makers surveyed, saying they use the channel to access cloud-based services.

For Equinix EMEA channel partners, the expansion of Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric™ (ECX Fabric™) represents a significant opportunity to help global businesses respond to an increasingly dynamic world including competitive pressures, growing customer demands, globalization, and challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed to support enterprise digital transformation initiatives, ECX Fabric is a global software-defined interconnection service that allows businesses to exchange their data between each other and digital and business partner ecosystems on demand.

Turkey channel partners can leverage ECX Fabric to enable their enterprise customers to simplify hybrid multicloud deployments and expand their global interconnection opportunities around the world on Platform Equinix.  In fact, as a key traffic route for submarine cables between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Istanbul is also one of the fastest growing ECX Fabric locations.

Equinix and KoçSistem: Partnering for Turkey’s digital success

Equinix and KoçSistem play a leading role in the digital transformation of companies in Turkey. KoçSistem offers a wide range of products and services in areas such as the internet of things (IoT), big data and analytics, security, cloud, corporate mobility, business solutions, digital workforce and robotics process automation (RPA). The company provides products and services for customers in banking, retail, energy, durable consumer goods, automotive, government, insurance, and many other vibrant industries in Turkey. KoçSistem digitalizes its customers’ total value chain  ̶  from the supply chain to the customer experience  ̶   with innovative technologies and solutions.

KoçDigital, a new technology company established within KoçSistem, is a solution partner for advanced data analytics and the IoT. KoçDigital offers advanced technologies via a fast and flexible approach to customers at home and abroad, and will play an important role in Turkey for the new digital era. KoçSistem was recently awarded as the Most Valuable Information Technology  Brand in Turkey by Brand Finance.

“We are very proud to be listed as the most valuable IT Brand of Turkey…our deepest gratitude to all our customers and partners for their trust. All the credit goes to our great team…I am honored and blessed to be a member of this great family,” said Mr. Mehmet Ali Akarca, KoçSistem General Manager and KoçDigital’s Vice Chairman.

A key challenge facing any enterprise in Turkey is staying competitive in an everchanging landscape. For example, to meet the increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, KoçSistem moved quickly to deliver remote working technologies to its customers, further accelerating their digital transformation objectives. To address these and other business  priorities and capture new value, organizations will need scalable technology infrastructures that interconnect participants and related digital data flows for real-time interaction across different ecosystems. KoçSistem has developed strong strategic partnerships with the world’s major technology producers, and have brought customer needs together with business partners to create an efficient ecosystem. This ecosystem is additive to the global ecosystems on Platform Equinix, where KoçSistem customers have access to more than 9,800 companies, 1,800+ networks and 2,900+ cloud and IT providers. Together, Equinix and KoçSistem are helping Turkey enterprises shift from centralized networks to distributed models at the digital edge by enabling interconnection between ecosystems of partners and other businesses to exchange data.

Said Mr. Mehmet Ali Akarca; “We are happy to work in partnership Equinix, where together we are helping to accelerate digital transformation in Turkey.”

For more information on Turkey’s digital transformation strategies, read IDC report: “A Cloud First Approach for a Value Driven DX Strategy for Organizations in Turkey.”

[i] IDC, “A “CLOUD-FIRST” APPROACH FOR A VALUE-DRIVEN DX STRATEGY For Organizations in Turkey,” Author: Aslı Koçkal, 2020.

[ii] Daily Sabah, “Interest in Turkey’s first fully homegrown car running high,” January 6, 2020.