NEWSROOM

Cloud technologies, which have become indispensable for the business transformation forced by digitization, are also being adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While it is known that SMEs' adoption of cloud has increased by at least 56% in 2022 compared to 2019, high costs are challenging SMEs.

With the digitalization of business processes, digital transformation has become inevitable for companies of all sizes. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aiming to accelerate their growth journey, have hastened the adoption of cloud solutions to transform their business processes and establish secure corporate networks by setting up data centres. A global cloud user survey conducted by Research and Markets revealed that about four out of five SMEs use general cloud solutions for some of their business applications and data. This data indicates that SMEs' adoption of the cloud has increased by 56% compared to 2019.

Faki Özgür, CEO of the next-generation cloud integrator Codit Teknoloji, shared his insights on the matter, stating, "Small and medium-sized businesses, especially since the pandemic, are digitizing their business processes, which is accelerating the adoption of cloud services. However, as most cloud services or physical server hardware are priced in dollars, SMEs are suffering from rising costs."

Four out of five SMEs complain about high cloud costs

In the 2023 Cloud Status report published by Flexera, both enterprises and SMEs were asked, "What is the biggest challenge your business faces regarding the cloud?" To this question, all companies responded with "managing cloud expenses." According to the report, it was revealed that for four out of five SMEs, the most significant challenge in cloud transformation is cloud costs.

Faki Özgür, noting that cloud expenses continue to rise despite economic uncertainty, stated, "This research, conducted in more than 17 markets, including Turkey, highlights the burden of cloud costs on businesses. Especially as business processes become more complex, increasing cloud needs and scalable architectures are raising annual cloud expenses. According to the report, 39% of SMEs spend up to $600,000 on cloud expenses annually, while 30% can spend up to $1.2 million annually. SMEs, already structures ready for growth, can face unforeseen costs, especially when currency shocks are added to the equation. As Codit Teknoloji, a company in the IT Valley, we have dedicated our expertise in the field of IT to providing cost-effective solutions tailored to the needs of SMEs," he added.

Seven out of ten SMEs work with a technology partner

Highlighting that one of the challenges SMEs face is the availability of qualified human resources to manage cloud transformation, Faki Özgür emphasized, "Data shows that seven out of ten SMEs collaborate with a technology partner to implement their digital strategies. As Codit Bilişim, we provide end-to-end support to SMEs on their journey to digitization. While establishing digital architectures for businesses with scalable and manageable cloud solutions, customer-centric digital transformation, cloud-based single office, and high-performance supercomputer services, we offer on-site support to businesses of all sizes with cloud security, network setup, backup, archiving, and disaster recovery solutions. To date, Codit has provided state-of-the-art cloud solutions to over 400 companies and continues expanding its customer base daily.”

Providing cost advantage with renewed server products

Faki Özgür, CEO of Codit Teknoloji, also reminded that with their brands under the Codit umbrella, named Rack, they provide businesses with servers, storage, switches, and spare parts. He concluded his comments with the following statements: "Rack, a leading independent server hardware supplier operating under the Codit umbrella, primarily sources refurbished products. We enhance these products with better hardware, renewing them to meet the long-term needs of businesses. This allows businesses and factories to use this high-performance refurbished hardware in local data centres at more affordable costs with a 2-year warranty. As a domestic technology company operating in Bilişim Vadisi, we are developing cost-effective solutions for SMEs' cloud needs with private cloud solutions as part of our 3-year plan. Taking advantage of benefits such as VAT advantages provided by operating in Bilişim Vadisi, we can price our services with a customer-focused approach and in TL (Turkish Lira), allowing small and medium-sized businesses in Turkey to access cloud and data centre solutions at global standards, especially during this economic tightening period where costs are increasing every year.”