With the rapid advancement of technology, concepts such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things have quickly entered our lives and changed our habits at the same speed. These smart applications, which influence many sectors including hospitality and healthcare, are creating intelligent transformations at every level. The pandemic conditions, with consumers wanting to receive services with minimal contact, have accelerated digitalization across industries.
Talya Bilişim, which has been developing technological solutions for the tourism and healthcare sectors for over 25 years, delivers pioneering and innovative software solutions that enable facilities to manage their operational, financial, and administrative processes through a single platform. We spoke with Nilüfer Durukal, Managing Partner of Talya Bilişim, about her inspiring success story that will shine a light for all women.
"Dreaming and daring is the beginning of everything… So let them dream, don’t listen to those who say you can’t do it, give strength to their dreams not their fears; they will definitely succeed," says Nilüfer Durukal, who actively works in many associations and mentors young people.
Can you introduce yourself? (Place of birth, education, companies you worked for, memberships in associations, etc.)
I was born in Ankara and graduated from Bilkent University’s Business Administration Department. After a short period of professional work following graduation, I started my own company. I am currently a member of KAGİDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey). I actively contribute to the Youth and Entrepreneurship Strategy Group. As part of the Good Works Project carried out with KAGİDER and Boyner Group, I provide mentorship to entrepreneurial women. I also serve as a facilitator in the #IamRemarkable workshops, an initiative by Google under KAGİDER.
Can you tell us about Talya Bilişim, where you are a managing partner?
Talya Bilişim is a technology company producing software for the tourism and healthcare sectors. We have offices in Antalya, Ankara, Istanbul, and London. With a team of 110 people, we serve Turkey’s largest hotels, public institutions, and private hospitals. Our goal is to enable our users to electronically record their financial, operational, and administrative processes without needing any other software, and to effectively manage their digital transformation processes. Approximately 4,500 businesses in Turkey and abroad prefer our software. Our most widely used and market-leading software, Elektraweb, continues to be taught as a course in Ministry of Education tourism schools, universities, and on EBA TV.
Which software does Talya Bilişim offer?
We serve two sectors: healthcare and tourism. Our software for the tourism sector, Elektraweb Hotel Management System, can also be used in restaurants, spas, clubs, and other membership-based places. Our software developed for the healthcare sector is known under the Medisoft brand and is especially preferred by private hospitals.
“Technology excites me”
When and how did you choose the technology world, which is often thought to be dominated by men? Did you have an interest in technology from childhood, or were there examples that led you this way?
I have always been curious about new and current things, so after graduation, I chose to be in the IT sector. My first job was in a company operating in hardware, and later in my own company, I continued to focus on hardware; I imported computer parts from abroad and sold them wholesale through dealers. However, due to risks such as exchange rate fluctuations, I decided to leave hardware and move to software, which led to founding Talya Bilişim. Technology always excites me, and I can say this has been a major influence on my choices.
What advice do you have for women who want to become entrepreneurs in the IT sector?
Technology is one of the fields where gender is least significant, in my opinion. As online work grows and project- and skill-based workflows become more important, gender will become even less meaningful. However, the cultural attitudes toward women in our region unfortunately slow women down. Therefore, it is essential to develop analytical thinking as a lifestyle from an early age, follow innovations, and always try new things. Dreaming and daring is the beginning of everything… So let them dream, don’t listen to those who say you can’t, give strength to their dreams and not their fears; they will definitely succeed.
What were the biggest challenges when you founded your IT venture, and how did you overcome them?
I’m talking about over 28 years ago at the beginning. Being the only woman in a male-dominated sector, I often heard things like “Amazon Woman” and “What are you doing at the wolves’ table?” But when you focus on your work and make a difference, those remarks remain just memories. Later, we struggled to find qualified staff, both mid-level and good engineers, which was very important. As in every sector, product development and differentiation are vital in ours as well. However, not every new technology immediately finds a market. We felt this in marketing our web-based products. Changing usage habits, security concerns, costs, and reinterpreting digitalization are sometimes met with resistance in some companies. The best way to overcome this is to focus on the benefits to the user and keep all communication channels open and effective. We overcame the challenges ahead this way.
What are your suggestions against online fraudsters?
The most important thing for individual users is to transact on secure sites and applications. Especially sites used for shopping should comply with PCI DSS standards (the PCI DSS label should be visible on the website), and payments should be made with virtual cards as a first step. In addition, phishing emails that send links or files should not be opened, and website addresses should be typed manually by users. The safest place to store data is cloud servers provided by trusted companies’ data centers, which I recommend not only for security but also for cost savings. Using effective logging of systems (saving operations and screen activity), up-to-date antivirus programs, data encryption systems, or designing business processes over secure cloud servers will eliminate many dangers.
What projects will you carry out in the near future as Talya Bilişim?
Our primary goal is to ensure the widespread use of our Elektraweb product worldwide, so we are focusing on expanding our distribution and service network. We are also intensifying efforts to enable cloud usage of our product in the healthcare sector. We will pay more attention to health tourism, which has become an important source of income for our country. We completed our infrastructure a long time ago. Now we will progress toward becoming a key player in the market.
What is your goal?
With Elektraweb, the market leader in hotel automation in Turkey, we aim to increase its use abroad. Elektraweb is used in nearly 60 hotels in Azerbaijan. We have new distributors in Macedonia, Romania, Dubai, Egypt, Pakistan, Belgium, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Morocco, and Ivory Coast. More than 100 facilities abroad have switched to Elektraweb. We aim to grow through a distributor in each country. Our primary targets are the African market and Balkan countries. Of course, we are also interested in the American and European markets, which have the largest hotel pools in the world.
