A maturing market

As the Turkish market grows end users are requesting ever more sophisticated AV solutions. This is bringing a wealth of opportunity to the industry but creating a competitive environment. Anna Mitchell learns more.

Economic and democratic reform has dominated Turkish politics for the last decade and as infrastructure develops, the private sector grows and tourism thrives the country’s AV industry is ready and waiting to take advantage of the opportunities.

Ateksis, an Istanbul headquartered company that began life as a building electronics specialist in 1998, is a key player in the industry. Over the years the company has added broadcast and professional sound and lighting divisions to its portfolio and now employs 65 staff across three locations including one in the United States.

"In 1998 it was a very different market," explains

Atila Ozcan, the company’s general co-ordinator. "The market was not very developed. People weren’t ready to invest in and didn’t understand the value of high-end solutions. But, there weren’t many qualified people in the market and there was very little competition in Turkey. Now, it is different. People want fully featured, functional products and demand sophisticated solutions. But, we have a lot of competition to contend with."

Ozcan seems to embrace the matured market despite having more rival companies to contend with. "When customers want more full featured projects our engineers can add more value. Competition is tough but we can differentiate ourselves and now many end users understand and value high-end solutions."

Many larger enterprises are now using AV consultants in the region and Ozcan says this contributes to a greater understanding of and demand for the high-end solutions that he mentioned previously. He also notes a shift within many organisations towards implementing technologies that can increase productivity.

"A large part of this increase in awareness comes from an ability to access information far more easily," he notes. "Exhibitions used to be the only way people could learn about new technologies. The internet has changed that. People are far more informed on what can be done."

High level projects mean that Turkish AV integrators must have the skills to meet sophisticated demands. Ozcan says it’s not easy to find well-qualified staff and the company largely relies on in-house and on-the-job training. He says manufacturer training is also very useful.

He does value the CTS qualification but believes that understanding of its worth has not yet reached those specifying AV technologies in Turkey. "The CTS programme brings value to the business but in Turkey most end users are not looking for this. They want project references, will look carefully at the brands we are using and of course consider price and competition."

Ozcan pinpoints two big trends in Ateksis’ business at the moment as IP and IT. These trends are ushering in new, lucrative and exciting opportunities for the country’s AV industries as videoconferencing and collaboration solutions grow in popularity.

"These technologies have the ability to bring people together and reduce travel costs," says Ozcan. Turkey is a vast country and its urban areas are spread across the region, which makes video communications attractive for any organisation with multiple offices.

"This means we have to be far more involved in IT integration. We don’t try and pretend we can be the best in the IT world, that’s not our speciality. However, we do have to be able to handle IT requirements when they relate to an AV installation. Most of the time we have to integrate out solutions into existing networks rather than building or managing new networks. We’re constantly improving our knowledge and abilities in IT integration."

Government spending in particular is healthy in Turkey at the moment with investment in energy sectors, transportation, technical business parks, sports venues and health care. According to Ozcan all areas are good for business.

On the transportation side the country is focused on developing and expanding its road and rail networks. In sports, stadiums and arenas are being built and updated due to high demand and the fact that investment had recently been lacking. Ozcan cites a recently built basketball venue that provided a good opportunity for Ateksis. He says healthcare had also recently suffered a lack of investment and there was a huge demand for larger and more modern facilities.

Meanwhile the country’s hotel industry continues to flourish. And it’s not just driven by tourism. Business hotels are constantly springing up with large chains, such as Sheraton and Hilton, investing and expanding in the region. Many of these new developments are located in industrial areas of the larger cities underlining a thriving business sector.

This sector has provided opportunities within security and meeting room solutions – including projection, professional displays and control equipment. "In the hotel industry the solution we provide depends largely on the vision of the investor," says Ozcan. "Some just want entry level meeting rooms, they want to keep costs down. Some want to do something a bit different. They look for high end systems, they want to stand out from the other hotels in the market and create new opportunities."

Although faring better than many regions Turkey hasn’t been immune to the financial worries that have engulfed Europe and are affecting many areas of the world. "You can see the uncertainty in the corporate sector," Ozcan notes. "We’re managing better than most but of course people fear recession. The corporate sector is spending less than the Government. They’re cautious and wait for the right time and good opportunities to invest. So there’s investment there but it’s handled carefully and we’ve had some projects delayed as a result."

Turkey also has a very healthy construction industry that Ozcan credits with providing a lot of business for the AV industry. "Our construction companies are very active outside of Turkey, particularly in North Africa and parts of the Middle East. The building companies’ customers are the governments and they contract us to provide solutions within the buildings.

"Turkish construction companies are very successful because they’re very competitive. They also have strong historical links with countries such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as good relations with North African countries.

"We handle complete projects for the building sector in Turkey. So we design systems, sell the equipment, handle the installation and system integration, provide training and offer support." Ateksis aims to become what Ozcan describes as a "one stop shop" for construction, providing electronics, security, AV integration and broadcast services.

Congress centres provide another important revenue stream as the country tries to become more attractive as a venue to hold large international events. And it’s not just conferencing events. Neighbouring country, Azerbaijan will hold the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, an event that has already thrown up a contract for Ateksis.

Ozcan estimates that around 30% of the projects handled by the company are from consultants. For the remaining 70% Ateksis deals directly with the end user. "We talk to the end user, we try and understand their vision or their mission and we construct a solution that they can use efficiently and ultimately was chosen by them. When we are all happy with the solution we decide on the equipment needed to implement it," he explains.

"During this process we speak to IT managers, procurement managers, executives, consultants and AV managers. Unfortunately it’s usually not just down to one department. It’s not easy but it’s beneficial. As we propose our solutions the IT department are looking at them from their side and they’ll have their own input.

"We integrate this into our offering. They know their infrastructure and provide valuable feedback that allows us to calibrate our designs. We use them as information sources and try and prepare solutions that fit with their demands."

Despite corporate caution the Turkish market is well supported by a government that is investing in the country’s future and a healthy building industry. Its rapid maturation has placed demands on the region’s integrators creating interesting integration challenges. And, like much of the world, Turkey is experiencing a boom in demand for collaboration and communication technologies. In such a vast country the benefits of decreased productivity and reduced travel should further support the AV industry in selling these solutions.

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