Turkish tech company acquires IBM’s local service provider
IBM, one of the world’s largest technology companies, has sold its significant Turkish asset, Seri Bilgi Teknolojileri, to Destek Bilgisayar. With the completion of the official process, Destek Bilgisayar has acquired 100% of Seri Bilgi Teknolojileri, a service technology company established by IBM in 2002.
The acquisition process, which began in October last year, has now been finalized.
IBM, which had been the sole shareholder of Seri Bilgi in Türkiye, has a history dating back to 1880. The company that would become International Business Machines began with several significant patents.
Julius E. Pitrap patented the calculating scale in 1885, while Alexander Dey invented the dial recorder in 1888. Later, Herman Hollerith took on the patent for the Electric Tabulating Machine, and Willard Bundy invented a time clock in 1889 to record workers’ arrival and departure times on a paper cassette.
On June 16, 1911, four companies were merged by Charles Ranlett Flint in New York State into a fifth company, the Computing-Tabulating Recording Company, headquartered in Endicott, New York. This transaction eventually led to the creation of IBM as we know it today.
Global technology giant
According to reporting by Kerim Ulker from Dunya, IBM, headquartered in New York City, operates in more than 175 countries. The company employs over 282,000 people globally and generated revenue of $62 billion in 2023. As one of the world’s most valuable brands, IBM’s assets exceed $135 billion.
Expanding local presence
Destek Bilgisayar, founded in 1996 as Bordata Bilgisayar, became an Authorized Service Provider for IBM in 1997. The company changed to its current name in 1998 and in 2001 received awards for being the most successful solution partner for both IBM and Cisco that year.
In 2003, the company became an Authorized Service Provider for OKI and received awards for Microsoft’s Most Advanced Solution Partner and IBM and Allied Telesyn’s Successful Solution Partner of the Year. The company later expanded its partnerships, becoming an Authorized Service Provider for Lenovo in 2008, Lexmark in 2011, and Hewlett-Packard in 2013.
Destek Bilgisayar, chaired by Kubilay Guvenc, operates 29 offices across seven regions, including a branch in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The company employs approximately 600 people.
Seri Bilgi Teknolojileri, the IBM subsidiary now acquired by Destek, was established in 2002 and provides EFT payment terminal field and logistics services with nearly 200 employees.
