Artificial intelligence is moving to the forefront of business investment priorities in Türkiye, according to new research commissioned by interconnection provider DE-CIX and carried out by Twentify. The study, conducted among 200 technology leaders from companies of varying sizes, shows that AI is no longer viewed as a distant concept but rather as a near-term strategic necessity.
The findings reveal that 44% of respondents see AI as the technology most likely to shape business in the coming years, outpacing hybrid cloud solutions (27%) and Industry 4.0 applications (23%). In terms of planned investments, AI also dominates the agenda, with 43% of companies intending to commit resources in the near future, followed closely by machine learning (26%) and cloud computing (25%).
Despite this enthusiasm, actual adoption remains uneven. Nearly half of organizations already use AI in some capacity, but the depth of deployment varies widely. Thirty percent report that AI is integrated within certain departments, while only 2% say it is strategically embedded across their entire organization. This suggests that most Turkish enterprises remain in the early or experimental stages of adoption, even as expectations of the technology’s potential grow rapidly.
For many executives, AI promises tangible gains. Respondents cited time savings (25%), improved personalization for customers (25%), advanced data analysis (23%), operational efficiency (22%), and error reduction (21%) as the key benefits they expect. Yet alongside optimism lies hesitation. More than half of decision-makers admit they remain undecided on whether to fully trust AI. Around 30% voiced concern about technologies that cannot understand emotions influencing future decisions, while 25% worry about AI potentially displacing human managers or impacting job security.
The hesitation appears less about the technology itself and more about the human element. Challenges such as employee resistance to adoption (29%) and ethical or cultural skepticism (20%) underscore the importance of building trust and creating an inclusive transformation roadmap. For businesses, this means developing transparency around how AI is applied, while ensuring staff feel part of the process rather than threatened by it.
The research also sheds light on the expectations companies have of their digital infrastructure partners. Beyond providing connectivity, respondents want providers who can act as strategic allies. Reliable connectivity (33%), strong data security (29%), and technical consultancy (23%) rank among the top requirements for enterprises that increasingly rely on data-heavy applications such as AI.
Internet Exchanges Worldwide
DE-CIX, which operates Internet Exchanges worldwide, positions its infrastructure as meeting these demands by enabling secure, low-latency, and high-performance interconnection. Its private interconnection model bypasses the public internet, giving businesses direct access to cloud and AI providers while reducing latency and improving data integrity. For enterprises experimenting with AI, this kind of infrastructure is critical to ensuring consistency and reliability at scale.
Bülent Şen, Regional Director for DE-CIX Türkiye, underscored the role of infrastructure in enabling next-generation applications. “Many companies have already made significant progress in their digital transformation journey. However, for cutting-edge technologies like AI to be truly integrated into business processes, robust, low-latency, and direct connectivity infrastructure is essential,” he said. He emphasized that DE-CIX aims to act not merely as a service provider but as a “transformation partner” for enterprises.
The study’s findings illustrate a market at a tipping point. Turkish companies are showing strong intent to embrace AI, but building trust and scaling adoption remain works in progress. The research suggests that the next wave of digitalization in Türkiye will hinge not only on investment decisions but also on the ability of infrastructure providers and enterprises to collaborate in building secure, high-performance, and inclusive ecosystems for AI.
