Over the past two decades, Turkey’s software sector has gained momentum in terms of capacity, production and usage. The Turkish software market has experienced double-digit growth over the last years. In 2008, Turkey’s software market reached approximately $1.6 billion, up 29% from the previous year. It is expected to grow 20% in 2010. Turkey’s software sector is competitive on a global scale with successful e-applications in government, health, education, defense, commerce, telecommunication, and human resources. With the rise of corporate social responsibility, increasing importance in quality standards, increasing mandatory governmental implementations for e-applications, and adoption of electronic services in both public and small and medium-sized enterprises in all sectors, the Turkish software sector has accelerated its efforts in most service areas.
Turkey exports software to over 90 countries although most exports go the EU. There are approximately 35 large companies operating in the software market in Turkey with product lines ranging from packaged programs to customized software development. The public sector of Turkey almost always requires custom-built software for their specific purposes while the private sector effectively employs a mix of customized products and packaged software.