Private industry, the academy and enterprises are coming together at SabancıDx Digital Campus
The Silicon Valley of Turkey opened its doors:
SabancıDx Digital Campus was formally opened. Making a speech at the opening,Mr. Cenk Alper, the CEO of Sabancı Holding, stated, “We are also establishing an innovation-oriented ecosystem in our SabancıDx Digital Campus, which is supplied from different areas and strengthens the cooperation.”
As the new generation digital and analytic company of Sabancı Holding, SabancıDx opened its new centre, which was founded with the objective of leading the digital transformation of Turkey by focusing on advanced technology solutions. Such new generation technologies as big data, advanced data analytics, cyber security, industrial IoT, robotic labour, artificial intelligence and the blockchain will be the focus of the SabancıDx Digital Campus.
Mr. Alper said, “We will take such steps that contribute to the development process of Turkey thanks to SabancıDx.”
Referring to the importance of the SabancıDx Digital Campus in the mission of “Sabancı of the New Generation” in his opening speech, Mr. Cenk Alper, the CEO of Sabancı Holding, noted, “We are re-defining our business methods in all fields based on the philosophy of “Sabancı of the New Generation”. We will continue to carry out our existing business activities by way of developing them further and besides, we will establish a new structure. We established the SabancıDx Digital Campus on our most valuable land in the middle of İstanbul. This is a tangible indicator of the importance attached to technology and digitalisation by us. In this context, we assigned the task of being the driving force of digital transformation to SabancıDx. Each industry digitalises depending on their dynamics. However, strengthening our business processes with digital and analytic solutions and creating new lines of business are a vital condition for our sustainable success. Data is indeed a vital point for all companies. Data based decisions are regarded as a basic factor in determining which companies will keep pace with competitors or fall behind them. Digital products and services developed with a focus on data are needed by all industries. SabancıDx is positioned at the junction point for the whole Group. SabancıDx will be the digital multiplier of our companies and reveal their digital energies. We believe that the products developed under its roof will offer a number of opportunities to the Sabancı Group. Moreover, we will take steps that will contribute to the development process of Turkey beyond the Sabancı Group.”
Mr. Alper continued, “Transformation is possible only with people. For this reason, one of the most important elements of our process is cultural transformation. We adapt our business culture and methods to the new world by focusing on courage, passion, sincerity, continuous development and engagement, all of which are included in the core values of Sabancı. We prioritise making more use of the strength of our ecosystem. Beyond improvement or technology integration, we intend to have a future in which new approaches will be determinant and where business methods will be more flexible and agile at the same time.
We have established an innovation-oriented ecosystem in our SabancıDx Digital Campus, which exploits different areas and strengthens cooperation. We have always believed in the power of industry and university cooperation for the development of Turkey in the long run. With the involvement of the Sabancı University in this campus, an environment will be established in which the academy, business world and all stakeholders work, produce and create added value together. I believe that SabancıDx Digital Campus will set a model in this sense.”
Mr. Burak Ayhan, the General Director of SabancıDx, stated the following in the speech he made at the opening, “Technology, industry, university and start-up collaborations are a magical combination." We have put the SabancıDx Digital Campus into service on this huge plot of land assigned to us, which is one of the most valuable locations in İstanbul, with the vision of building the Silicon Valley of Turkey. This is an exemplary centre equipped with an agile frame of mind and a garage culture. We will gain our competitive strength from new generation business models and our innovative, agile and flexible mobility. We position the start-up culture at the centre of our campus. Thanks to our Catalyst Start-Up programme, launched by us as a start-up friendly company, we gain the advantage of improving our organisational structure and provide the start-ups with the opportunity to make use of our developed infrastructure and accumulation of knowledge. Now, ideas will be produced, and activities will be performed, with a focus on innovation in the Hangar, which was previously a production plant. In the meantime, we will maximise the combination of industry-university by working on innovative products using the cooperation of the university in the upcoming period. This is actually a familiar model around the world. The main objective of the working systems of the campus is to establish an innovation habitat by way of combining the ability of the academy to design software along with the flexibility of start-ups. The whole world witnessed the economic contribution of this model with Silicon Valley. We believe that the industry, university and start-up collaborations achieved in SabancıDx Digital Campus are a magical combination and that they have great potential for the Turkish economy. We are glad to be the first technology company to have implemented this model in a campus area in Turkey.”
“We will reveal the innovation potential of Turkey through software exports”
Expressing that they intend to achieve 25% of their income from new generation technologies and exports to foreign countries in 3 years, Mr. Aydın emphasised that they would focus on software exports, “We intend to target international markets thanks to the products developed with the use of new generation technologies, and place expansion abroad in our prioritised agenda. We will reveal the innovation potential of Turkey by means of focusing on software exports. We make investments in new technologies, developed with the support of science, and offer the same for the use of the business world and desire to strengthen our claims of discovering what is unknown. The ability of the academy to follow and design software will allow us to reveal what is “new” and create value for the business world. We predicate upon a business process based on advanced technology including big data, advanced data analytics, cyber security, industrial IoT, robotic labour, artificial intelligence and blockchain. We moved our R&D centre located in İzmit to the Campus because of the fact that it is at the centre of our research and product development tasks. Along with the opinion that R&D centres should be located at the heart of the business world rather than out of the city or in an insulated area, this decision will strengthen our ability to develop products and generate solutions for the digital and analytic needs of companies with new generation technologies. We will invest 7 percent of our turnover for the studies in our R&D centre in 2020. Now, we are working on 74 analytical projects in total, consisting of 18 projects in the industrial sector, 9 projects in cement, 11 projects in energy, 19 projects in insurance and 17 projects in retail. We anticipate creating a total of 200 Million TL value thanks solely to these analytical projects. As SabancıDx, we expect a 35 percent income increase with our innovative products, services and solutions by the end of the year in comparison with the previous year.”
“The Campus offers an exciting future for everybody”
“We want this Campus not to be simply a workplace but also an ecosystem.” said Mr. Aydın and provided the following details about the opportunities offered for a flexible and agile business culture to be developed in the Campus:
“SabancıDx Digital Campus is an urban ecosystem in touch with nature, where any companies not included in the structure of Sabancı Holding can still come together and meet with start-ups, common products can be developed and, shortly, all stakeholders can get together. We have prepared a more independent workplace for about 250 employees of ours, half of whom are engineers. We established the campus this way in order that different opinions are paid attention to at all times and that diversity is regarded. We encourage mobility and cooperation with our open offices. We have left the spatial arrangement of hierarchy aside thanks to designs that will maximise sharing. We work in teams with a customer and efficiency focus, in order to generate a solution for the needs of all industries through our agile business methods. We believe that this innovative business model will offer a new generation workplace, which is live 24/7, is enjoyable to work in and inspires our employees, and that it will become a centre of attraction for the abilities of the Y and Z generations. This ecosystem involves cooperation which will transform the business world with the strength of software and innovation, opportunities for self-development for young, skilful people, facilities to help materialise business ideas for start-ups and, in brief, an exciting future for everybody.”