Tech giant Microsoft sees Türkiye as a "key market" and is committed to expanding its presence, a company's executive said recently, detailing the scope of initiatives in R&D, cloud network and broader approach to artificial intelligence solutions.

"Türkiye, celebrating 30 years of Microsoft presence, is a key market for us, and we’re committed to expanding our presence here," said Kristina Tikhonova, Microsoft General Manager for Southeast Europe.

"We’ve already made substantial investments, including a technology center, regional shared services center, and an R&D center focused on both core AI and open-source technologies, many of which power our global products," Tikhonova told Daily Sabah recently.

Evaluating the company's key collaborations in the country, Tikhonova answered some of the questions regarding the potential of AI and AI agents and how businesses in Türkiye are adapting to the use of this technology to streamline their operations.

"For Türkiye, AI offers an unparalleled chance to reshape industries and drive productivity in sectors like finance, manufacturing, startups, and public services," she said.

"Turkish companies such as AkBank, Intertech/Denizbank, and Enerjisa are already using Microsoft AI tools like GitHub Copilot to streamline operations and boost efficiency," she added.

Moreover, Tikhonova cited that they see across regions, banks, energy companies, and governments to be adopting AI to improve services and deepen citizen engagement.

"Countries like the UAE, Qatar, and Poland provide inspiring examples of AI-led transformation in public administration, creating new experiences for citizens," she noted.

Tikhonova was one of the key speakers at last month's "Microsoft AI Tour Istanbul," where business leaders, informatics and tech experts and journalists gathered for key insights and discussions on AI development, innovation, investment and its potential.

In an answer to a query by Daily Sabah, she described AI's potential as "transformative" but noted that "we’re just beginning to see its impact."

"By 2030, AI could account for around 11.5% of Southern Europe’s GDP, positioning it as a significant growth driver," she said.

Moreover, when it comes to Türkiye, Tikhonova said that Türkiye’s tech ecosystem, startups and ISVs (independent software vendors) are "essential players, increasingly harnessing Azure AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot to create innovative, AI-powered solutions."

She added that with potential ROI from AI adoption at 350%, it's clear that access to quality, cloud-ready data and a security-first approach will be essential for sustainable growth.

"The question now is not if AI will drive growth but how quickly Türkiye will embrace it to realize its full potential," she outlined.

AI Tour

Elaborating on the AI event in Istanbul, Tikhonova said it was "a chance for us to share how Microsoft’s vision for AI can help Turkish businesses grow, improve efficiency, and build resilience, especially now when we navigate economic and climate challenges, societal divides, and international conflicts."

She expressed their goal to expand Türkiye’s R&D role and integrate the country's technology and data infrastructure into the broader hyperscale cloud network.

"Microsoft is equally committed to data localization, strengthening compliance and building trust with Turkish partners. As AI-driven solutions gain traction, we’re actively exploring opportunities to accelerate our local investments, empowering Turkish businesses to innovate securely with AI," she noted.

Furthermore, she cited Microsoft Türkiye was working closely with industry leaders, NGOs, and the public sector to align with the country’s strategic development goals centered on AI and cloud services.

AI agents, customization

Providing details on the concept of AI agents, which became a trendy topic in recent months, Tikhonova said that AI agents represent a new era where "AI systems work together seamlessly, with one AI agent able to request actions from others."

She provided an example by saying: "Imagine a government AI Agent for Citizens that connects with other connects to other AI E-Gov Agents – like a retirement services AI Agent – to handle citizen's queries or complete tasks efficiently question or ask action to do."

She added that with their services, such as Copilot Studio and the power of Azure AI Services, companies can create and manage these intelligent assistants to tackle anything from routine tasks to complex operations, thus saving both time and resources.

"These AI agents are already transforming functions like sales, customer service, finance, and supply chains, adding real value across businesses," she noted, but again highlighted that this is "just the beginning," as more AI agents will emerge to help companies innovate and remain competitive.

Apart from this, she also addressed the question of customizing or "fine-tuning" the AI models and said: "Prompt Engineering allowed us to design and refine prompts, enhancing the relevance and accuracy of AI responses. Fine-tuning, where models are trained with specific data, helps generate content that’s closely aligned with unique tasks."

With Microsoft’s tools making these customizations accessible, we expect this tailored AI approach to become widespread within the next year or two, she said, especially as industries like health care and finance seek highly personalized solutions.

Türkiye's innovation ecosystem, road map

Also touching upon collaborations and presence in Türkiye, Tikhonova noted that Türkiye's innovation ecosystem holds "immense potential" and Microsoft is "fully committed to supporting it."

"We are actively engaging with local startups and tech companies to develop Turkish-language models, ensuring that AI solutions are tailored to the unique needs of the Turkish market," she said, recalling that Turkish was included in the second wave of languages supported by Microsoft’s LLM.

"Several AI data technologies are being developed at our Microsoft Türkiye Development Centre (MTDC), such as Azure Open Source Data Services," she added.

"We are also proud to support over 1,000 Turkish startups at every stage, from ideation to maturity, providing over $100 million in cloud and software development credits to fuel innovation."

Moreover, she pointed out that partnerships like those with the T3 Foundation for local language models, SabanciDX with Sabancı Holding, and Dtech Cloud with Demirören Holding "underscore our commitment to empowering Türkiye’s digital transformation."

"Our roadmap includes expanding these initiatives to cultivate a dynamic AI ecosystem, empowering Türkiye’s businesses, startups, institutions, and society as a whole to lead in the AI era," she concluded.