Application developers undertake mobile solutions that facilitate and change our lives. Apps to be used not only in Turkey, but also all over the world pave the way for software exports to dozens of countries. As a result, it is possible to generate income through foreign exchange. However, it is necessary to take long-term steps in education for this transformation to occur. Training people and creating appropriate job opportunities will be formed with funds that support technology ventures. If we ask the right questions as to why we currently lose people in this industry, in the future we are less likely to lose people we train in the future. At the end of last year, OC & C Strategy Consultants revealed what application development platforms offer to consumers, entrepreneurs, application developers and companies in terms of contribution to the economy.
175 billion applications
We are talking about an economy where 175 billion applications were downloaded to mobile devices. Mobile is the driving force behind the development of the internet user base in Turkey. Mobile subscriptions in 2016 reached 68 percent, one of the most important factors for increase in mobile data traffic that went up to 102 million GB in 2016 with an average growth of 92 percent per year. This development was due to the growing rate of smartphone ownership.
Suitable for all budgets, Android and iOS operating systems offer great opportunities for application developers. In particular, the Android platform makes it easy for Turkish consumers from every income level to afford smartphones and in turn access to the internet and all kinds of mobile and digital content.
Every sector is mobilizing
With the platform it offers, Android offers the largest support to businesses, government organizations, digital enterprises and application developers, as well as consumers, telecom operators, device manufacturers and retailers, who are the major stakeholders of the mobile internet ecosystem.
Android enables local device manufacturers and developers to compete in the world.
Android supports the emergence of local champions and international players in the digital arena, backing local production and enabling the production of local smartphones, tablets or TVs.
In Turkey, sectors such as finance, retail, logistics, as well as many public institutions, have recently invested in digital transformation, gradually using the mobile channel to increase growth, innovation, efficiency and productivity in their operations, business processes and services.
E-government services
Turkey is aiming to increase e-government services and transfer all services to digital by 2020. Government agencies and public institutions actively use mobile channels to serve millions of citizens. Citizens actively benefit from mobile channels in many fields from education to health, from transportation to taxes, from smart cities to smart hospitals. As 83 percent of broadband subscribers are mobile, increased access to the state's digital services can be increased only by mobile.
From a dream to a video game venture
Video art is another challenging process in the already challenging game production sector, and Recontact has undersigned a venture that many people would not even dream of. Recontact, which was founded by Eray Dinç and Simay Dinç in October 2017 with Erdem Yurdanur as an angel investor, decided to convert their dreams of a game venture in 2015 into a reality and announced an investment of TL 22 million ($3.67 million). Investments by Hande Enes and Akın Babayiğit stood at TL 1.8 million.
These entrepreneurs are undertaking a creative process by choosing investors that will add value despite the challenging production process.
The world-renowned Recontact is a creative form of new media art fully realized by Turkish entrepreneurs. Noting that they are very fortunate to have Hande Enes as an investor, who has significant experience and human network, the Recontact team said that Enes's investment in a highly innovative and competitive industry like video games is a bold move in spite of fluctuations in global markets and an important step for the Turkish game industry.
Developed by Recontact Istanbul, Recontact Digital Arts: Eyes of Sky has won awards on many local and foreign platforms. According to the website Webrazzi.com, the amount of this particular investment is TL 1.8 million. Recontact: Istanbul, was named the best mobile game in Turkey by Apple. Having managed to reach 80 million people in the Apple iOS platform, Recontact: Istanbul was among the top games in 2016. Recontact's second game, Recontact: Istanbul Eyes of Sky, which was launched by Apple as the world's first cinematographic mobile game, won awards at many international contests.
Recontact: London, which will be the third game by the company, is scheduled to start production in 2019. The game aims to be available on mobile platforms globally by next year. The most popular metropolises of the world and the stars from those countries will share the lead in the game. The London office of Recontact is set to be opened by 2019.
Domestic content leads to domestic digital advertising
The emergence of different options in digital advertising platforms and the number of solutions using domestic resources are increasing. In a market, where domestic content is predominantly consumed, it is not reasonable to advertise on international platforms. Now, local alternatives are beginning to emerge as well. For this purpose, Türk Telekom, which developed the domestic and national technological media purchasing platform Programattik for the use of advertisers two years ago, has now started to attract the attention of different companies after signing with domestic Admatic, which provides digital advertising platform services for broadcasters.
"Everyone should do their part regarding the economic sanctions against Turkey. We have signed a cooperation agreement with Turkey's domestic technology platform, Admatic Group, considering that some global companies that generate large amounts of advertising revenue in our digital advertising market are not subject to taxation because they are not subject to our tax system and Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) regulations," Türk Telekom CEO Dr. Paul Doany said. "Thanks to this cooperation, which will create a synergy with our existing Programattik platform, we have initiated a new campaign which will be an example to the sector in the use and development of alternatives of domestic and national technology platforms. The choice of domestic platforms providing added value to the country will keep high media expenditures flowing abroad so far back to in-house and add strength to the country's economy in this difficult time."
E-commerce appetite of Turkish giants increases
Alibaba.com invested in Trendyol in the beginning of summer and achieved the largest technology venture acquisition in Turkey. Now the world's largest giant Amazon has launched its local service with Amazon Turkey.
Amazon entered Turkey by relying on its technology and supplier power, thinking that an opportunity exists in the Turkish market. Amazon, which decided to take a step on its own instead of buying a venture in Turkey, launched its operations silently. Even though they have significant deficiencies and failures, it is said that the turnover they achieve in half a day leaves the major players of the sector far behind. We will see the results in the coming period. Gittigidiyor, which grew with the economic crisis in 2001, was purchased by eBay. The yemeksepeti.com venture, which again flourished during the same economic crisis, has also undertaken one of the biggest acquisitions.
Amazon is said to have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure and technical services so far to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access new customers worldwide.
With the opening of Amazon, businesses in Turkey will be able to easily sell their products to customers all over the country without any product listing fees. Amazon provides these businesses with the services to support sales, such as listing tools, 24/7 online sales support, clear and transparent sales conditions, pricing information, reports and analyses. Let's see what kind of competition occurs with other e-commerce platforms in the country.
