Kochi: Getting smarter

Formerly
known
as Cochin, Kochi is a vibrant city situated on the south-west
coast of the Indian peninsula in the prosperous and breathtakingly
scenic state of Kerala. Informally, Kochi is also referred to as the
'Gateway to Kerala'. Kochi is perhaps the second most important
city on the West coast of India after Mumbai and boasts of world
class ports and an international airport, that links it to many major
cities worldwide.

Kochi
is home to many large and medium scale industries, making it the
commercial capital of Kerala. The Cochin Stock Exchange is the only
stock exchange present in Kerala. The IT and ITeS related industries
are rapidly growing in Kochi. Various technology and industrial
campuses
including the government promoted InfoPark, Cochin Special Economic
Zone and KINFRA Export Promotion Industrial Park operate in the
outskirts of the city. Several new industrial
campuses are under construction in the suburbs of the city.
'SmartCity' at Kakkanad is a prominent project under proposal;
and 'Cyber City' at Kalamassery, an integrated IT township, are
being built in the city.

Amidst
all the positivity, the dealers of the city claim that the last two
months have seen a downward trend in the business. Paulos K George,
CEO, Aces Business Machines said that the market has remained slow
and dull with no new trend coming up. Thomas Paul, CEO, Texas IT
Solutions said in concurrence, “The market was dull since the last
two months. We experienced a 30 percent decline in business.”
Talking about the vend or dealer relationship, both George and Paul
seemed to have the same opinion and said that they do not have any
issue with their respective vendors. Dell, Toshiba and Acer are the
top selling brands in the city while laptop is the most sought-after
product. Talking about the future trend, both Paul and George
optimistically said that the market is bound to improve and tread
uphill in the times to come.