Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan attended the CloudTalk Summit, Eurasia's most comprehensive Cloud Technologies event.
Participating online in the program's opening, Sayan delivered a speech on the impacts of technological advancements on our lives. Stating that technology is a determining factor in terms of competition, Sayan shared the following information: “While players capable of digitalizing across all sectors and offering contactless service alternatives are rapidly gaining strength, those unable to keep up with this change have fallen behind in the new normal caused by the pandemic. At this point, the importance of cloud computing services has once again become clearly understood. For many countries, cloud computing services have become one of the areas considered strategically important. As a result of the need to store data in the cloud, there has been a significant increase in the number of cloud computing service providers worldwide and in the size of the service market. Cloud services have been steadily increasing year by year since 2010, reaching a value of $370 billion in 2020 with a 380% growth over the 10-year period. Cloud computing is estimated to have a market exceeding $800 billion by 2025.”
Drawing attention to the rapid developments in many areas thanks to cloud computing, Sayan said, “However, research shows that 30% of global cloud investments are wasted. At this very point, it is crucial for our businesses to benefit from the variety in cloud computing technologies with conscious and correct strategies, rather than a rote and populist culture, by selecting the most suitable solutions tailored to their own needs.”
Sayan also shared the following information about the Ministry's efforts in this area: “In response to these developments we have witnessed globally, we placed special emphasis on cloud computing in the ‘National Broadband Strategy and Action Plan’ covering the years 2017-2020. We set important action targets to promote cloud computing and took various steps to achieve these targets. In line with the ‘Support for Investments under the Attraction Centers Program’ decision put into effect by the Council of Ministers in 2018, energy support is provided to data centers, which play a significant role in providing cloud computing services, to encourage data centers in the designated provinces. Increasing user trust in cloud services is crucial for the sector's success. Efforts continue by the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) to establish ‘Cloud Computing Security and Usage Standards’ for determining security standards in cloud computing services.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Attach Great Importance to Increasing the Use of Domestic Cloud Services
Reiterating the emphasis on “domestic production,” Deputy Minister Sayan added: “To compete with global cloud service provider giants and ensure the preference of domestic firms, the goal is to create a data ecosystem consisting of service providers that have adopted EU principles on data sovereignty, data privacy, and data security, particularly the protection of personal data, as in projects developed by European technology companies. We are aware of how important it is that data is the oil of our time and that domestic and national solutions are developed in cloud computing services, and we attach great importance to increasing the use of domestic cloud services. It is unacceptable for data to be stored and processed by global big tech firms instead of the countries that own it, preventing the country that rightfully owns the data from benefiting from the economic value it generates. I want to emphasize that necessary steps are being taken across all our institutions, with the belief that our citizens' data should enable our domestic entrepreneurs to produce value-added services, and by adopting policies in this direction.”
Stating that the Ministry has two important goals, Sayan said, “To ensure that data produced in our country is not transferred abroad unless technically necessary, and to create attractive conditions to turn our country into a regional data center hub. There are significant investments by both the public and private sectors to increase data centers in Türkiye. Important supports for this area are included in the Attraction Centers Program. Our Ministry's affiliated institution, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), has two large data centers under construction—one in İncek and the other at the BTK Central Building—with 2,500 square meters of white space. The BTK Data Center has the largest data storage capacity in the public sector. In this context, with the awareness of the importance of the issue, BTK continues its efforts uninterruptedly to keep Türkiye's data on these lands.”
Drawing attention to the importance of cybersecurity at this point, Sayan said, “Within our vision of being a country that leads technology rather than just following it, we need to produce domestic and national solutions in cloud computing services, just as in every field of technology. Moreover, domestic and national cloud computing services are important not only economically but also for cybersecurity, i.e., our national security.”
Concluding his speech, Deputy Minister Sayan said, “Finally, while talking about the benefits of technology in economic and security dimensions, I would like to emphasize one issue I am particularly sensitive about. There is another element we must not forget in technological progress: Our nature! To leave a greener, more natural, and healthier world for our children, we must reduce our carbon footprint. This matter must always be at the top of our list in all technology efforts and innovations.”