65,000 software developers meet for digital transformation at Amazon event

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s largest cloud service provider, introduced its new services and products at the re:Invent 2019 event this week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to Gartner data, AWS, which holds approximately 47% of the cloud market worldwide, owes its ability to become a platform company to the ever-growing interest of professionals working in sector-related institutions. The event was attended by software developers, entrepreneurs and IT professionals, with participation rising from 53,000 people in 2018 to 65,000 this year. Announcing many new-generation cloud-based services and products at each re:Invent event, AWS introduced its new services that take cloud technology to its customers in person, AI, and machine learning solutions and products.

Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS), said companies like Lyft that developed services enabling thousands of drivers to query GPS data and assign the closest driver to customers reduced the cost of large data storage. “If you use the right tools in the right place, you will be able to capture an efficient, lower-cost, accurate customer experience like a Swiss Army knife,” Jassy said.

AWS, which provides cloud services that cover the needs of customers of all sizes, from new generation enterprises to organizations with millions of customers, announced new programs for startups.

MACHINE LEARNING SERVICES

Machine learning technology makes it easier for organizations to solve time-consuming issues and meet the need for qualified staff. Jobs that normally require a data scientist, for example, could be solved by employees with less experience. Perhaps you need to measure the number of advertisements in the real estate industry. Once you become familiar with house ads, you show the system an example. The system then picks up all the ads and puts them in the database. Kendra, the search engine for corporate digital memory, also understands customer feedback and detects from emojis whether it is a good or bad notification.

Meanwhile, the CodeGuru service, which enables software developers to run error-free, also minimizes errors in the coding process, allowing software developers to see errors before they start live service.

VISITS TO CUSTOMERS IN PERSON

With its products and services, AWS also eliminates various excuses not to move to the cloud. Thanks to the newly announced AWS Outposts service, computing and storage equipment enables organizations to seamlessly access AWS’ broad range of cloud services. Basically, AWS services visit customers in person. It makes it possible for customers, who resist the idea of moving to the cloud by making excuses based on critical business processes and regulatory decisions on personal data, to perform calculations and store inhouse.

With AWS Outposts, AWS services, infrastructure and operating models are available to any data center, common area or on-premises facility. Starting in 2020, the AWS Outposts service plans to add the ability to run more AWS services locally. AWS will deliver shelves to customers and install them, and AWS services will automatically perform all maintenance, including updating and fixing.

LOW-LATENCY 5G APPLICATIONS

AWS also announced the AWS Wavelength service, a 5G application development platform dedicated to telecom companies. AWS cooperates with telecom companies like Verizon, Vodafone, KDDI and SK Telecom to provide single-digit millisecond latency and 5G applications for wireless network users in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Korea with the Wavelength service. It enables applications that require extremely low latency, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented and virtual reality to provide trouble-free service. It also requires near-source data processing to preserve resources such as industrial automation, smart cities, IoT, autonomous vehicles, device power and bandwidth. For the first time in the world, Verizon is developing special IT solutions for use in the 5G network with AWS Wavelength.

Developers can now create and build new applications by accessing AWS computing and storage services at the edge of the Verizon 5G network. Leading video game publisher Bethesda Softworks uses the AWS Wavelength and Verizon 5G Edge computing infrastructure to deliver ultra-low latency experiences for millions of players.

Verizon 5G and AWS Wavelength are testing low-latency special services in stadiums.

KRON GROWING WITH EXPORTS OF DATA-MASKING SOFTWARE

Exporting its access security solution to finance and telecom companies all over the world, Kron has made an investment in İzmir. The company sells its domestically developed security software that masks personal data to 26 countries, including the U.S. and Pakistan. Kron, which comes to the fore with its cybersecurity solution that masks personal data, also aims to grow with its security software exports. Providing operational security, efficiency and infrastructure solutions to telecom and financial institutions, in particular, Kron opened an R&D center in İzmir. Drawing attention to the good engineering and high quality of life in İzmir, Kron Chairman Lütfi Yenel shared his thoughts on the issue: “As Kron, our primary goal is to contribute to the development of Turkey in the field of software and the high-technology since our foundation,” he said. “In this context, İzmir has always been a center of attraction for us. Today, we are pleased to bring talented teammates to our growing team. As Kron, we will continue to offer the solutions we will create in İzmir to our domestic and international customers.”

Yenel said the 600-square-meter R&D center in İzmir is currently composed of a team of 16 people. Kron offers its products and services to those in need in all global markets. Apart from the newly opened İzmir office, Kron currently operates in Istanbul, New Jersey, Ankara, Dubai and Islamabad.

EXPORTS TO 28 COUNTRIES

Following its Istanbul and Ankara offices, Kron has commenced its third R&D center in İzmir and continues its R&D studies at its new office. In addition to its offices in Turkey, the company continues its sales marketing and support activities abroad with the U.S.-based Ironsphere and carries the global trends and experiences acquired in these markets to its offices in Turkey. Lütfi Yenel stated that they offer the authorized access security platform to telecom and financial institutions who have millions of customers, especially Türk Telekom, and stressed that software exports have to grow. “We could not settle for the limited number of customers in the telecom and finance sectors in Turkey,” Yeneş continued. “Export was the key to our growth. We export authorized access for secure platforms to 26 countries, especially the U.S. and Pakistan. Software exports account for 40% of our revenue. We aim to increase this rate.”

76% GROWTH

Founded in 2007 to provide high-tech software products and solutions to telecom companies and large corporations, Kron went public in 2011 and began trading on Borsa Istanbul. While the total turnover of Kron, which continues its R&D investments in İzmir, apart from Istanbul and Ankara, was TL 15.33 million between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, the company saw a 76.8% increase between Jan. 1 and Sept. 10, 2019, and reached TL 27.12 million in turnover.

HEALTH SECTOR AND CYBERSECURITY

Kron is now focusing on the health care sector as a market for its authorized access security, subscriber verification and authorization, service provider traffic logging, network and information technology infrastructure monitoring, network monitoring and service quality measurement, and cloud-based wireless networking services. Yenel underlined that although the health care sector has a very critical regulatory responsibility in terms of personal data, the number of institutions acting for solutions is very low. He said that hospitals can take precautions regarding cybersecurity by masking personal data. At this stage, while the cybersecurity risks continue to increase in the health sector, the personal data crisis in hospitals seems to cause problems for institutions.

İTÜ ARI TEKNOKENT DOUBLES INVESTMENTS IN STARTUPS

İTÜ ARI Teknokent made an investment agreement of TL 52 million in one day at the Big Bang event. The investment amount, which was double the amount of the previous year, almost reached twice the total investment made in the third quarter of this year as well.

The Big Bang Start-up Challenge event organized by İTÜ ARI Teknokent set a new investment record this year. İTÜ ARI Teknokent, which became a school for both angel investors and corporations in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, created TL 52 million this year with the Big Bang event. Along with 20 finalists and some semifinalist groups who qualified to take the stage at Big Bang, as well as the İTÜ Seed startups that got their second-round investments, the awarded amount reached a total of TL 52 million worth of cash and investments, doubling the previous year’s funding.

DOUBLE THE Q3 INVESTMENT

According to Startups.Watch figures, in the third quarter of 2019, 16 startups signed $5 million worth of investment agreements. Thus, at the Big Bang event, approximately twice the investment of the third quarter was reached in just one night. Approximately TL 48 million of the TL 52 million was given to entrepreneurs as investments. Among the 20 finalists, Parxlab, Sensemore and Earnado were the top three to receive the most support.

In the final event of İTÜ Seed, which accepted applications from 30 different countries for the first time this year, the startups received office, mentoring and technology package support alongside cash investments.

CASH AND OFFICE SUPPORT

Parxlab with TL 4.2 million, Sensemore with TL 567,000 and Earnado with TL 545,000 were in the top three among the top 20 startups. The host İTÜ ARI Teknokent presented the İTÜ Seed closed office award to five startups, the Innogate award to three startups, and the İTÜ MAGNET and open office awards to other startups. At the event, the Elginkan Foundation, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, the Uludağ Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB), EnerjiSA, Anadolu Efes, Agito, Allianz, Anadolu Sigorta, PETKİM, 3M and the Electricity Distribution Services Association (ELDER) also announced support for the startups of the future.

EYESENSE COLORS WORLD OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED

The EyeSense application, which can recognize objects with the voice warning system developed by Türk Telekom for the visually impaired, has been enriched with a color recognition feature. EyeSense enables the visually impaired to easily identify the colors of objects. Türk Telekom also supported the EyeSense application, which was updated before the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with new features. Visually impaired individuals curious about the color of their clothes or the objects around them can hear the colors by holding their phones near the objects thanks to the application’s new feature.

With the object recognition feature, developed by Türk Telekom last year and including thousands of defined items, the EyeSense application helps visually impaired people easily distinguish between all objects. They can now learn what color objects are by directing their smartphone toward the object and listening for their color. Türk Telekom’s EyeSense application was developed to help in the daily lives of visually impaired individuals by participating in social media and ensuring that they can comfortably meet their basic daily needs.