Investments in technology alone are no longer sufficient for digitalization. Maintaining competitive strength is not only possible by establishing new systems, but also by creating a culture that embraces these systems. Digital transformation, which gained momentum during the pandemic, remains a priority on the agenda of businesses as of 2025. Emphasizing that digital transformation has evolved beyond being merely a technology investment to become a strategic area directly impacting business processes, Task360 Founder Berkhan Esmer stated, “The more data we can convert into a format that computers can understand digitally, the more speed and quality we can achieve, and the more cost-effectively we can deliver services.”

Digitalization today is not limited to investing in new technologies; it is also transforming the way organizations operate and their cultural structures. This transformation process, which has accelerated with the pandemic, has now become one of the key dynamics of sustainable growth for businesses. Berkhan Esmer, Founder of Task360, discussed the tangible benefits of digitalization for businesses and the prominent applications of this process.

  • Digital transformation is not just about investing in technology; it represents a fundamental change in many areas, from business processes to corporate culture. In this context, how would you define digital transformation?

By definition, digital transformation means being able to carry out our business processes digitally, converting the necessary information for these processes into digital form so that it can be processed by computers and mobile devices. This allows us to advance our business processes anywhere we have a mobile device, gain speed, minimize human error, and achieve higher quality work. The more data we can convert into a format that computers can understand, the more speed and quality we achieve, enabling us to provide services at lower costs. In my opinion, digital transformation means significantly accelerating and improving the quality of the processes we carry out to meet the needs of our customers and employees.

  • In the digital transformation process, which plays a more decisive role: technology or the human factor?

Technology is the key player. Without technology, digitalization would not be possible. However, it is now up to us, as workers and consumers, to use the opportunities provided by technology in the right way. They used to tell a wonderful story: when railways were first built, there was not enough production to transport by train. Since industry was designed for production levels that could be transported by horse-drawn carts, there were no factories producing enough to fill a train. Therefore, in their early years, railways did not achieve the efficiency they had hoped for. Later, manufacturers saw that the cost of transporting large quantities decreased, so they increased their production capacity, anticipating that they could reduce unit costs by producing more. The railways, which remained idle in the early years due to low demand, began to be used as factories producing high volumes started production, leading to a decrease in production costs. We see the same thing in digitalization. Digitalization offers many advantages, but cultural change begins once its potential is understood and potential issues during use are resolved. Young people want to do everything on their mobile devices. They expect a response to their emails. They don’t want to place orders by phone. They want to submit their complaints via the mobile app instead of calling the call center. They don’t want to be put on hold at call centers. They want to apply on the spot, go to the relevant location, and see everything on their cell phones from where they sit, without having to endure the hassle of buses, subways, and minibuses. As this demand has grown, service and product providers have adapted to this request. Human resources departments have also allocated significant resources to digitalization in response to their employees’ desire to conduct most processes digitally. Nearly all human resources processes are now being conducted via mobile devices.

  • What is the most changed way of doing business today with digitalization?

Retail was the most affected sector. E-commerce and, subsequently, mobile applications brought highly innovative processes into our lives with increased opportunities in loyalty programs. Retail companies suddenly found themselves competing with the whole world. Our dealings with the government have also improved greatly. No one is chasing after documents anymore. Our tax payment processes have also become much faster. The ticketing and tourism sector also entered into intense competition due to the sudden disappearance of intermediaries. Interesting pricing strategies have emerged. Various applications that increase both competition and profitability have emerged. Airlines have succeeded in increasing their profitability and occupancy rates using techniques employed in airline ticketing, and have begun offering lower-priced tickets. Consumers who had never had the opportunity to fly and were not part of the target audience have become a different consumer group due to early low prices.

“Digital transformation has become a culture”
  • Do you think that digital transformation, which gained momentum during the pandemic, has become a permanent culture?

Many applications were introduced during the pandemic, and most of them made our lives much easier. After getting used to this convenience, neither our consumers nor our employees want to give it up. That is why this process has become a culture.

“The most important gains are faster processes, lower costs, and higher quality”
  •  What do you think is the most tangible gain that digital transformation provides to businesses?

I think the most important gains are ease of use, faster processes, reduced indirect labor, lower costs, higher quality, and the prevention of disruptions that could put consumers or employees in a difficult situation. Of course, alongside these benefits, mistakes made by digital application users are also processed quickly, so there are times when we as consumers may suffer losses. Issues such as incorrect products, incorrect tickets, or incorrect payments may arise. Or malicious individuals may use our digital footprints to impersonate us. Educational and security products that eliminate such negative outcomes must also develop in parallel.

“Artificial intelligence needs to be trained with big data in order to work properly”
  • Which of the technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and IoT will have the greatest impact on the business world in the coming period?

They are all interrelated. Artificial intelligence needs to be trained with big data in order to function properly. To obtain big data, it is necessary to utilize IoT technologies. To give an example from our own software, we perform scheduled maintenance to ensure that machines are maintained on time and to minimize unplanned downtime (breakdowns). However, even with scheduled maintenance, unplanned downtime can occur for various reasons. By collecting and analyzing IoT data from machines, if data similar to previous malfunctions is detected, we can generate an alert and create a control work order. There are various applications across different industries, and they are increasing.

“Digitalization has removed geographical boundaries for target audiences”
  • In 2024, many companies took serious steps toward digitalization. As we approach 2025, how do you assess the sustainability and tangible results of these investments?

Digitalization provides four main benefits:

  • Reduced costs,
  • Improved quality,
  • Increased customer satisfaction,
  • Removal of geographical boundaries for the target audience.

If a good feasibility study has been carried out and the cost of digitization has not exceeded expectations, every digital process will continue. Every digital application that is well designed, easy to use, and produces the expected results will increase profitability. As digital projects are carried out, the number of experienced personnel increases and the user adaptation problems encountered in the early days decrease. Our designers and developers understand how digital applications should be and what users prefer. I am very positive about digitalization. With the development of devices and infrastructure, I believe we will see more comprehensive and beneficial digitalization projects.