Mavi Hizmet.

Or, “Blue Service” is what you get when you pick 15 IBMers from 9 different countries and deploy them in Izmir, Turkey for 30days.

A culturally diverse team for sure, and none of whom have been to Turkey prior to this assignment.

In partnership with IBM, the assignment itself was put together by Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) who is responsible for the implementation of the CSC Program for IBM in Turkey. The DOT team identifies priority program areas, cities and local host partner organizations, coordinates the projects that the team has been assigned to and also supports the Service Experience of each IBMer on this team.

Seda and Sirri form DOT from the much needed Turkish (cultural) link with this diverse IBM Team.

The group of 15 was divided into 4 Sub Teams and each Sub Team was given a challenging assignment with 3 different local partners in Izmir.

Sub Team 1 and 2, were aligned with the Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH). 

I was chosen to be a part of the 4 member Sub Team 1, where the project plan was to develop a “Strategic Growth Plan for the IZTECH Techno-park. Basically, we would have to develop and recommend a strategy for growth of this technology park in line with their vision

Sub Team 2, are to “Develope the Work Process of the IZTECH Technopark Innovation Center”. They would use IBM’s Business Process Management Methodology to develop the work processes that will ensure operational excellence of the Innovation Center when it opens.

Sub Team 3 is aligned with the Izmir Development Agency (IZKA). Their Project is to develop a “Strategic Plan for the Information Society”. They would be developing a strategy to transform Izmir into an e-society and knowledge city by empowering to help Izmir with sustainable growth problems.

Sub Team 4 which was also the smallest team as it had 3 members instead of 4 unlike the other three teams is aligned with the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry (EBSO). Their project is to develop business processes for this organization.

And as each group develops their initial Work Plans, there is a lot of focus on understanding the Turkish culture, language and business environment as those are key ingredients that go into making this project a success.