Bilişim 500: Turkey’s Top ICT Companies Surpass 1 Trillion TL Revenue Mark in 2024
According to the 26th annual Bilişim 500 results, the total 2024 revenue of Turkey's largest ICT companies surged by 56% to 1.1 Trillion TL. In dollar terms, the combined revenue grew by 13% to reach 34 billion USD.
The 2024 results of the Bilişim 500 research, which has ranked Turkey’s top 500 ICT companies for 26 years, have been announced. According to the research, the total revenue of the top 500 companies exceeded 1.1 trillion Turkish Lira in 2024, marking a 56% increase compared to the previous year. In US Dollar terms, the total revenue of these 500 companies approached 34 billion USD, reflecting a 13% growth.
In his opening speech, BThaber President Murat Göçe expressed his pride in conducting the research and award ceremony for 26 consecutive years. “We set our motto for this year as ‘Change Your Perspective,'” Göçe stated. “There are negative, distressing events happening in our country and the world. But what will we do in response? We will, of course, focus on developing our business.”
The top 10 of the list was dominated by three telecom operators and product distributors, with the notable exception of technology retailer Teknosa. While all companies in the top 10 posted revenue growth in TL terms, the distributors—that is, all companies except the operators (Turkcell, Türk Telekom, Vodafone) and Teknosa—experienced a contraction in their USD-based revenues.
Turkey’s Largest ICT Companies (by Revenue)
KoçSistem out of the Top 10
KoçSistem, which in previous years was often the sole IT services company representing the sector in the top 10, was pushed out of this bracket in the 2024 list. Genpa, appearing in the Bilişim 500 for the first time, took the 10th spot ahead of KoçSistem. Another significant change in the ranking was Bilkom surpassing Arena to secure the 6th position, leaving Arena at 7th place.
Software Sector Shows Fastest Growth
BThaber Vice President Özlem Unan shared further details from the research, drawing attention to the remarkable growth in the software sector. Revenue from software developed in Turkey surged by 93% to 69 billion TL. Software export revenues saw a 99% increase, exceeding 14 billion TL, while service exports grew by 78%.
Revenues from Artificial Intelligence (AI) recorded nearly 100% growth compared to the previous year. The research also revealed a 76% increase in cloud service revenues. Notably, 90 of the companies on the list achieved revenue growth of over 100%.
Editor’s Note
What Has Changed in 26 Years?
I believe the first year this research was conducted was 1998. Looking back at my archives, I wanted to see what has changed in 26 years.
In 1998, the top company on the list, Türk Telekom, had a revenue of 4.2 billion USD. In 2024, the top two companies, Turkcell and Türk Telekom, each have revenues around 5 billion USD.
The top 10 back then included telecom infrastructure providers like Ericsson, Alcatel-Teletaş (now Nokia), and Netaş. Similarly, global ICT giants IBM and HP were also in the top 10.
In the 2024 list, the company in last place, Finever Bilişim, made it onto the list with a revenue of 797,000 USD. Just last year, the threshold to enter the list was over a million dollars. Twenty-six years ago, the revenue of the company in last place was only 131,000 USD.
The real surprise is KoçSistem. In 1998, it ranked 12th with a revenue of 131 million USD. In the 2024 list, it has maintained almost the same position, ranking 11th with a revenue of 513 million USD.
Kemalettin BULAMACI
