Only a few months after Google Cloud announced a $3 billion investment in partnership with Turkcell in November 2025, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has also unveiled its expansion into Türkiye. AWS is launching a Local Zone access point in Istanbul.
The back-to-back decisions by two global technology giants are no coincidence. With its strategic geographic location and rapidly expanding digital economy, Türkiye is increasingly positioning itself as a bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, supported by tangible infrastructure investments.
While the full-scale Google Cloud region planned with Turkcell is targeted to become operational between 2028 and 2029, AWS's Local Zone is already live.
AWS Local Zones place cloud infrastructure closer to major metropolitan areas, enabling single-digit millisecond latency for end users. This capability is particularly critical for financial institutions conducting high-frequency trading, health care providers processing sensitive patient data, and public-sector organizations delivering digital services to citizens.
Among the first users of the Istanbul Local Zone are ForInvest, which processes a significant portion of Borsa Istanbul's equity market data, and MigrosOne, which operates supermarket chain Migros' digital platforms.
Exceptional decision
From a technical perspective, the Istanbul Local Zone is among the first locations globally to offer Amazon S3 services within a Local Zone environment.
Key features include seventh-generation EC2 cloud servers, local object storage capabilities, and a high-bandwidth backbone connection to the AWS Europe (Frankfurt) Region.
Organizations subject to data localization requirements can keep workloads physically within Türkiye while simultaneously accessing the broader AWS ecosystem through Frankfurt connectivity.
Data sovereignty and localization sit at the center of both investments. Like the Google Cloud Region planned for Türkiye, the AWS Local Zone allows organizations to store and process data within the country's borders. This is a decisive advantage for public institutions and financial organizations operating under strict personal data protection regulations.
Building digital economy foundations
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır previously stated that Türkiye aims to attract $10 billion in data center and artificial intelligence investments by 2030.
The consecutive announcements from Google Cloud and AWS provide tangible evidence of the country's progress toward that objective.
Commenting on the development, Kacır said the launch of the AWS Istanbul Local Zone represents an "important milestone" for Türkiye.
"This step supports not only our artificial intelligence strategy but also our goal of positioning Türkiye as a leading digital economy. We expect AWS's investment to help businesses succeed while generating economic benefits, efficiency gains and competitive advantages for our country," Kacır noted.
AWS Türkiye General Manager Berrin Özselçuk said with the launch of an AWS Local Zone in Istanbul, the company is enabling organizations to develop and run applications directly in Türkiye.
"Local Zones are designed specifically for workloads that require low latency and local data residency, including public services, financial transactions demanding microsecond-level response times, and latency-sensitive live media broadcasts," Özselçuk said.
"Importantly, all of this operates using the same AWS tools and APIs that customers already know and use," she added.
Low latency, local data storage
The financial sector stands among the most immediate beneficiaries of this infrastructure. For brokerage firms and banks engaged in high-frequency trading, microsecond-level latency can be decisive. Achieving this level of performance without local infrastructure was previously difficult.
For health care providers, compliance is just as important as speed. Requirements that sensitive patient data remain within national borders have traditionally necessitated costly in-house infrastructure. Local Zones shift that burden to the cloud.
Media and broadcasting companies gain the ability to localize live content processing. During traffic spikes such as major sporting events or election nights, capacity can be scaled instantly, minimizing latency that would otherwise affect viewer experience.
In retail, the critical moment is the checkout process. During peak promotional periods, real-time inventory visibility and uninterrupted payment processing directly prevent revenue losses. MigrosOne's adoption reflects this need.
For government institutions, data sovereignty is both a technical and strategic issue. Citizen data can now remain within Türkiye without requiring agencies to build and operate their own infrastructure.
Educational platforms also benefit significantly. Periods such as nationwide examinations and enrollment cycles often generate unpredictable surges in demand. The flexibility of cloud infrastructure allows institutions to manage these spikes more effectively, directly improving the user experience.
Tech, branding become way forward for manufacturing in Türkiye
While traditional manufacturing sectors face mounting challenges, Turkish confectionery producer Şölen is demonstrating that sustainable growth increasingly depends on investments in advanced technology and brand building.
The company's experience shows how returns from strong brands can help finance large-scale automation projects, creating a self-reinforcing growth cycle.
Food and confectionery manufacturers such as Şölen are expanding capacity and strengthening their position in global markets through multi-million-euro investments in so-called "dark factories." The company is seeing the results of its technology investments through higher efficiency and growing export revenues.
With the addition of its latest facility, Şölen has expanded its total production footprint in Gaziantep by 70%, reaching 172,500 square meters, an area equivalent to 27 football fields. Yet the more significant achievement lies in the technology investments supporting these new facilities.
Brand investment and technology investment create a mutually reinforcing ecosystem. Automated warehouses, advanced hygiene systems and quality-enhancing technologies ultimately translate into stronger export performance. Turkish companies that have successfully established this cycle continue to invest in new production facilities.
Revenue doubled in 5 years
"Over the past 10 years, we have invested more than $500 million, all of it in Gaziantep. Over 36 years, our total investments have exceeded $1 billion," said Şölen CEO Erdoğan Çoban.
"Today, we export to more than 120 countries across five continents and reach billions of consumers. We are Türkiye's export leader across all food categories. Through our R&D center, which holds 35 patents, we are designing the future," Çoban added.
With the new factory, he said their three production facilities now cover nearly 300,000 square meters, making them one of the world's largest chocolate production centers.
"Our goal is to rank among the top 10 companies globally in our sector and reach $1.2 billion in revenue by 2030," Çoban noted.
"We achieved 40% growth in production volume over the past five years. In 2025, exports reached $360 million following double-digit growth compared with the previous year. This year, supported by our new factory, advanced technology, innovation and R&D-driven production model, agile management structure and proven brands, we will continue investing and maintaining our steady growth trajectory," he said.
"We will continue launching new products. In exports, we expect approximately double-digit dollar-based growth and revenue of $386 million. We remain firmly committed to our goal of joining the world's top 10 companies in our industry."
Investing in ecosystem, not just equipment
At the heart of this story lies Şölen's Industry 4.0-based investments in Gaziantep, which provide a compelling case study in industrial transformation.
What makes a chocolate factory more profitable than a textile mill or an automotive parts producer is not the cocoa bean itself, but how it is processed and marketed.
Şölen's strategy sits squarely at the center of manufacturing's structural transformation. Rather than focusing on labor costs, the company has entrusted production to fully autonomous robotic lines capable of operating around the clock at consistent standards and with virtually zero waste.
Dark warehouses, where products are transported by autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and automatically stored on massive shelving systems, have significantly reduced operating costs while standardizing quality. In this context, technology investment is not simply a cost item; it is a technological shield against global economic volatility.
Power financing technology
Yet advanced technology alone is not enough. Even the world's most sophisticated factory can take decades to generate an adequate return on investment if its products are sold solely as contract manufacturing output.
Şölen's real achievement lies in financing its technology investments through the strength of its own brands, including Biscolata, Ozmo, Luppo and Boombastic.
While many manufacturers produce goods under the labels of foreign brands and operate on thin margins, Şölen sells its own brands, packaging and consumer story. Strong brand equity differentiates products from competitors and provides greater pricing power.
This higher value-added model generates the cash flow needed to withstand economic downturns while simultaneously creating the capital required for the next wave of robotic and automation investments.
Türk Telekom expands into dark factories, 5G-powered industrial IoT
One of Türkiye's leading telecoms and technology companies, Türk Telekom is helping pave the way for the next generation of industrial automation through major investments in 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.
By reducing network latency to milliseconds, the company's 5G infrastructure is bringing fully autonomous "dark factories" closer to reality.
In a new industrial era shaped by rapid digitalization, telecommunications infrastructure is no longer just a communication tool; it is becoming the nervous system of modern manufacturing facilities.
Through strategic investments in 5G networks and IoT technologies, Türk Telekom is preparing Türkiye's industrial sector for Industry 4.0 and the vision of fully autonomous factories capable of operating with minimal human intervention.
Unlike conventional production facilities, dark factories rely entirely on sensors, machines and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, eliminating the need for continuous human presence or even permanent lighting. The most critical requirement for such facilities is uninterrupted, ultra-low-latency connectivity.
Through its 5G network trials and research initiatives conducted within international consortiums such as Clear5G (Reliable 5G MTC), Türk Telekom has succeeded in reducing data transmission latency to below one millisecond. This capability enables IoT devices and industrial robots to operate simultaneously and without error, maximizing flexibility and efficiency across production lines.
Autonomous, remote operations
Türk Telekom is pursuing this vision not only with global technology partners but also through collaboration with Türkiye's growing startup ecosystem.
One of the most prominent examples is the country's first domestic industrial 5G mobile network project, implemented in the OSTİM industrial zone.
Through the initiative, the company supports software and artificial intelligence integrations developed by local technology firms, including i2i Systems, NaraXR and IQVizyon. These collaborations are helping create AI-powered IoT systems and AR/VR-controlled drone technologies designed for both small and medium-sized enterprises and large industrial organizations.
The effort contributes to the development of a domestic hardware and software ecosystem while supporting a stronger data economy in which industrial data is processed and retained within the country's borders.
Most recently, at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Türk Telekom and Nokia showcased 5G-enabled smart factory applications and the MX Industrial Edge platform on the global stage.
Industry 4.0 demonstrations conducted in a live production environment illustrated how real-time video analytics and IoT sensors can improve workplace safety, instantly identify production defects and autonomously implement corrective actions.