Robotization of Turkish enterprises speeds up

ISTANBUL

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Nearly 20 percent of the enterprises with 250 or more employees has been using robot technology, according to a survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

About 5 percent of the enterprises that have 10 or more workers said that they have been using industrial robots or service robots this year, according to a statement released by TÜİK on Aug. 28.

“It was observed that 3.9 percent of the enterprises with 10-49 employees, 9.4 percent of the enterprises with 50-249 employees and 19.6 percent of the enterprises with 250 or more employees used robot technology,” it said.

Some 3 percent of the enterprises having 10 or more employees stated that they used their own 3D printers or 3D printers provided by other enterprises in 2019. When the enterprises using 3D printers by size group are examined, it was calculated that 2.7 percent of enterprises with 10-49 employees, 4 percent of enterprises with 50-249 employees and 9.1 percent of enterprises with 250 or more employees have been using 3D printing.

According to the survey results, 94.9 percent of the enterprises having 10 or more employees have been using the internet actively in their business operations in 2020. The figure was nearly 98 percent for companies with 50-249 employees and 99.4 percent for those employing 250 or more workers.

In 2020, 92.5 percent of enterprises have been using fixed broadband connection to access the internet. Considering the maximum contracted download speed of enterprises with fixed broadband internet access, it was determined that 10 percent of enterprises used internet connection with below 10 Mbit/s, 61.9 percent of enterprises used with 10-99 Mbit/s and 28.1 percent of enterprises used with at least 100 Mbit/s.

About 54 percent of the enterprises having 10 or more employees have their own website. The proportion was 2.2 points higher than previous year. The highest website ownership proportion was 89.2 percent in enterprises with 250 or more employees. It was followed by the enterprises with 50-249 employees with 74.1 percent and the enterprises with 10-49 persons employees with 49.2 percent.

In 2019, the enterprises having 10 or more employees engaged in e-commerce were mostly preferred their own website or mobile application as a platform for e-sales with 77.1 percent. Besides, 55.7 percent of them have been making sales through online stores and marketplaces where different enterprises could sell.

Over 14 percent of the enterprises having 10 or more employees reported that they have used cloud computing services in 2020. This proportion was 10.1 percent in 2018. The proportion of using cloud computing services for the enterprises having 250 or more employees was 40.8 percent. This proportion was followed by 22.2 percent for the enterprises with 50-249 employees and 11.9 percent for the enterprises with 10-49 employees.

IT companies await investors

The total turnover of Turkey’s top 500 information technology firms hit 133 billion Turkish Liras ($23.4 billion) in 2019, according to Turkish weekly BThaber.

A quarter of those companies recorded annual growth above 100 percent last year, BThaber said in a report released at a virtual conference on Aug. 27.

Total lira-denominated revenue of top 500 IT companies rose 11 percent in 2019, however in U.S. dollar terms revenues dropped 6 percent.

Nearly 30 percent of the 500 firms have been in search for investors, the report said.

“Information flows into cloud [technologies] via computers, augmented reality, virtual reality, robotics, machines, sensors and wearable computers. Communication is present everywhere with mobile broadband in the new world. This environment offers great opportunities for the future and we have seen a development in the four months of the pandemic that would be normally seen in 10 years,” said Sytem Optima chair Süreyya Ciliv at the event.

“With the 5G technology, development will be faster and real time optimization more smart systems will appear. Those companies carrying their business to the digital world have doubled their capitalization,” he added.

Globally, investments in IT technology is expected to decrease 5.1 percent to $2.25 trillion in 2020, said Ali Taha Koç, chair of the presidential Digital Transformation Office.

On the other hand, infrastructure will rise 3.8 percent, he added.

“With its effects on our way of life and habits, the pandemic has reminded once again the vital importance of the telecommunication infrastructure and usage of digital technologies, and how they create opportunities to exit from crisis. In our era, life cycle of a company is determined by its adaptation to innovation and innovative technology,” said Koç.