ELD Bilişim, a subsidiary of Forte Information and Communication Technologies Inc., enables the integrated management of Integrated Product Support processes through its FORIPS Suite, which is built on S-Series specifications. Hasan Cengiz Bayrak, General Manager of Forte and Founder of ELD Bilişim, spoke to C4Defence about the S1000D & IPS User Forum, Türkiye’s standing in this field, and the company’s on-premise AI work.
C4Defence: How did ELD Bilişim’s journey begin? Where do you position yourselves in Integrated Product Support today?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak, General Manager of Forte and Founder of ELD Bilişim: Our name comes from Entegre Lojistik Destek (ELD), or Integrated Logistics Support, which is the older name for the discipline we now call Integrated Product Support. When we founded ELD Bilişim in 2018, we wanted to solve a very concrete problem we had seen in the field in the defence and aerospace sectors. At the time, a significant share of ILS work was being done in Excel spreadsheets, disconnected documents, or foreign-made software that was starting to show its age. Our team follows technological developments and understands the sector’s real needs, and we believed it was possible to build a strong software infrastructure for ILS. That belief is where ELD Bilişim’s story began.
Today, with our FORIPS Suite platform, we are far ahead of our competitors in technological infrastructure and compliance with international standards. Built on S-Series specifications, FORIPS Suite lets us manage the different stages of a product’s lifecycle in an integrated way, from logistics support analysis and technical publications to materiel management, maintenance and field support.
Being a domestic technology company is a source of pride for us. But our goal is not to be chosen as a local alternative. We want to be chosen because we offer the best solution in the world. We are growing our market share by focusing on advanced markets in Europe, the US and the Far East, where organizations value data, invest in digitalization and face intense competition.
We help organizations that use FORIPS Suite go beyond simply managing their data and turn it into strategic value, so that they become more efficient and more competitive in their own markets. That is also our own measure of success: our customers succeeding in competitive markets.
C4Defence: In the defence industry, is Integrated Product Support planned after a project ends, or at the start of the process?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: Imagine you have developed an armored vehicle. The design is complete, and the vehicle has been produced and delivered. But replacing one critical part in the field takes hours of disassembly and reassembly. That problem could have been prevented at the design stage, but across hundreds of vehicles and years of operation it can turn into millions of liras in additional cost. This is exactly why Integrated Product Support is much more than a technical detail. It is a strategic decision that directly affects profitability, operational readiness and commercial risk.
Consider this: in defence systems today, roughly 70% of total lifecycle cost arises during the operations and sustainment phase, while roughly 85% of operating and support costs are shaped by decisions made in the early stages. In other words, you largely determine what a system will cost in the future while it is still on the drawing board. Thinking about Integrated Product Support only after a project ends usually means trying to make up for the cost of past decisions rather than providing support.
It is an important achievement for all of us that the Integrated Product Support approach is backed by our defence industry, led by the Ministry of National Defence (MSB) and the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB). Internationally, many defence programs still use systems based on earlier generations of the specifications, whereas in our country the current versions of the S-Series, which support digital data management, are the basis. Our ultimate goal is not only to deliver defence systems successfully, but also to support them cost-effectively and at a high level of operational readiness throughout their entire lifecycle.
C4Defence: How do your FORIPS Suite and FORSERVICE solutions complement each other before and after a system goes into the field?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: Let’s stay with the armored vehicle. During development, we have to determine which parts will need maintenance and how often, how to respond to likely failures, and which spare parts should be kept on hand. Once the vehicle is in the field, we want to see how accurate those predictions are under real operating conditions. The core approach of FORIPS Suite is to connect the information produced at the design stage with the data coming back from the field.
In the first stage of this process, we carry out logistics support analysis with FORSLSAR. Maintenance tasks, spare parts, support equipment and personnel needs are all identified. FORSDOC then converts the results of these analyses into S1000D-compliant technical publications and maintenance instructions. In this way, the maintenance requirements defined in the analyses become instructions that technicians can use in the field.
Once the vehicle enters service, FORSERVICE comes into play. For example, if a particular part is found to fail more often than expected, the maintenance plans, logistics support analyses and related technical publications can be reviewed and updated based on the data from the field.
What sets FORIPS Suite apart is that it manages these processes within one integrated structure instead of separate software tools and datasets. As a result, the same information doesn’t have to be produced over and over, data stays consistent, and experience from the field helps improve maintenance effectiveness and readiness across the system’s entire lifecycle.
C4Defence: You attended the S1000D & IPS User Forum held in the US in September. What were the most striking topics for you?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: The S1000D & IPS User Forum is one of the most important events where our industry comes together internationally. This year, 133 organizations were represented, and we took part as ELD Bilişim with our booth and our technical team. For us, the most valuable part of the event was not only keeping up with global developments in the sector, but also seeing the level of expertise Türkiye has reached on an international stage.
The presentations by our young experts from ASELSAN and BMC were a special source of pride for us. These colleagues, who are FORIPS Suite users, shared current and successful Integrated Product Support practices with international participants, using concrete examples from their own projects. We were delighted to see the technology we developed used so capably by young professionals in our sector, and to see it contribute to work that can be held up as an example worldwide. Another prominent theme at the forum was the sector’s move away from separate software tools and toward integrated digital platforms where data is managed in a common structure. There was also a lot of discussion about how AI can add value to these processes. All of this confirmed once again that the approach we have long followed with FORIPS Suite is in line with international trends.
I would also like to share some good news about next year with our sector. In 2027, the S1000D & IPS User Forum will be hosted in Istanbul by the Defence and Aerospace Industry Manufacturers Association (SASAD). Hosting such an important international event is a great opportunity for our country to showcase our sector’s knowledge and technological capabilities to the world. We hope to see more organizations and young professionals from Türkiye take part and share their solutions and successful practices with international participants.
C4Defence: How do you assess Türkiye’s level in S1000D and Integrated Product Support?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: I believe Türkiye has gained significant capability in this field and is now developing projects that can be held up as examples internationally. The ASELSAN and BMC presentations were concrete evidence of that. In particular, the fact that S1000D is being used not just for producing technical publications but also for the integrated management of maintenance, service and field data shows how mature our sector has become. It is especially gratifying for us that these applications were implemented with FORIPS Suite.
That said, I believe these good examples need to become widespread across the sector. Integrated Product Support should not be seen as a dataset delivered at the end of a project. It should be kept dynamic throughout the product’s entire lifecycle. That way, it stops being merely an obligation to meet the requirements of a technical specification and becomes a strategic management tool that reduces maintenance and operating costs, improves operational efficiency and supports better decisions. The real value lies not in producing data but in using it continuously and turning it into benefit.
Achieving this transformation depends on skilled people as much as on technology. Türkiye’s young and dynamic population is a major advantage for our defecse industry. But to make the most of that potential, we need more technical writers, engineers, and maintenance and logistics support specialists who have mastered the S-Series specifications.
C4Defence: Will AI really change the work of teams that prepare technical documentation, or will only the tools change?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: I believe AI will significantly change not only the tools we use but also the way we work. But the aim should not be to replace people. It should be to help them use their expertise more effectively. Technical writers, for example, will be able to spend less time on repetitive tasks or cosmetic corrections and more on the technical accuracy and quality of the content and how usable it is in the field.
At the same time, data security, traceability and human oversight are indispensable for the defence industry. In classified projects especially, it matters a great deal that data can be processed without ever leaving the organization. That is why we are developing on-premise AI solutions for FORIPS Suite, meaning solutions that organizations can run on their own infrastructure. Our goal is to increase our users’ productivity and support their decision-making without compromising data security. We believe that what will make the difference in the coming period is not just using AI, but integrating this technology into business processes in a reliable and controlled way.
C4Defence: Finally, is there a message you would like to share with our readers?
Hasan Cengiz Bayrak: First of all, I would like to thank C4Defence for its interest in our field. I would also like to take this opportunity to draw the attention of senior executives to one point in particular. Integrated Product Support is often seen as a technical discipline. In fact, it is a strategic area that directly affects how reliable a system will be in the field, how ready it will be operationally, and what it will cost to operate.
Over decades of use, a defence system’s maintenance, operating and sustainment costs can reach several times its initial procurement cost. So the real issue is not just building the system, but supporting it effectively and economically throughout its entire lifecycle. To enter advanced markets such as Europe and the US and compete in them, data quality, traceability, information security and compliance with international standards are critical.
The Turkish defence industry has created a remarkable success story with the platforms and systems it has developed. Now we need to complement that success with strong digital infrastructure that supports our systems throughout their entire lifecycle. We should see Integrated Product Support activities not as a contractual obligation or a dataset delivered at the end of a project, but as a strategic capability that delivers cost advantages and operational efficiency. At ELD Bilişim, we will continue to strengthen our cooperation with all stakeholders in our defence and aerospace sector and to share our knowledge.
This interview was originally published in Turkish in [Issue 162] of C4Defence Magazine.
Source: C4Defence
