KOCHI:
Singapore-headquartered MariApps Marine Solutions, a Bernard Schulte company, initiated today a milestone plan to build its corporate office in this city and began piling work at SmartCity Kochi.
When completed in 2020 on the 1.45-acre plot, the eight-storey building with a working space of 1.8 lakh square feet will enable 1,500 employees of the modern technology solutions company to function under a single roof, MariApps CEO Sankar Raghavan said after the groundbreaking ceremony at Kakkanad.
The 2010-registered company, which provides IT solutions for shipowners and managers, was the first tenant at the initial building of SmartCity Kochi. “From there,” pointed out SmartCity Kochi CEO Manoj Nair at the function, “MariApps has now become a co-developer.”
Pointing out that it shows the confidence the company has reposed in SmartCity, he said Kochi, with new commercial and IT infrastructure being developed, is emerging as a tier-2 IT city. “Supported by modern transportation and connectivity solutions, Kochi will attract more IT solutions in the future,” Nair added.
MariApps began its India tryst with 40 employees eight years ago and has now a staff strength of 250 across its four offices in Kochi, Raghavan said. With its proven potential to grow annually at a rate of over 25 per cent, the company’s India chapter sensed the need for operations that integrate its four Kochi offices in the same building, he added.
“We have always enjoyed great support from SmartCity Kochi,” the MariApps CEO said. “The proposed extension of Kochi Metro Rail to Kakkanad and upcoming Water Metro will further boost our operations.”
MariApps, with offices in Germany, Dubai, Greece and Cyprus besides India, is a Microsoft Gold Certified Development Partner and follows SDLC and Agile methodologies to deliver projects. PAL 3, which is the company’s flagship product, is a complete marine ERP suite that is fully web-based, cloud-supported and mobile-compliant.
SmartCity Kochi aims to offer 61 lakh sq-ft built-up commercial-purpose space in phases from 2020, envisioning world-class infrastructure for knowledge-based businesses. Soon to be home to Asia’s tallest IT tower, SmartCity Kochi recently announced its impetus in promoting residential projects as envisaged in its masterplan for an IT-integrated township.
