Infotech parks in North Kerala buck slowdown; double software exports growth
The government-run Cyberpark and the UL Cyberpark, under the Uralungal Labour Contract Society, have created an IT revolution in Kerala’s Malabar region by posting commendable software exports growth.
Two information technology facilities in northern Kerala have bucked slowdown to emerge successful in garnering major export growth during the Covid-19 pandemic year. Though there have been shutdowns and restrictions on normal operations, IT exports from Kozhikode, in the northern part of the state, has nearly doubled compared to the previous years.
The government-run Cyberpark and the UL Cyberpark, operated by the Uralungal Labour Contract Society, have in fact created an IT revolution in the Malabar region by achieving commendable growth in the software exports scenario.
Software exports from the companies housed at the government-run Cyberpark increased from Rs 14.76 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 26.16 crore in 2020-21. The park, which started operations with just four companies in 2014-15, currently plays host to 64 IT & ITeS companies and around 1,000 employees.
Covid-19 restrictions seldom hit companies’ operations
The entire IT workforce at the Cyberpark has been working from home for more than a year. However, operations and output of the companies were not significantly affected by the Covid-induced restrictions. The rent waiver and other perks implemented by the government also helped IT firms to cope with the situation, said a Kerala IT department source.
According to Vivek Nair, General Manager of the Cyberpark functioning under the Kerala IT Department pointed out that besides the growth in exports, around 30 new companies started operations at the Cyberpark during the Covid-19 period.
Further, a 42,744 sq ft fully furnished office space with all facilities was thrown open for new companies during the pandemic period. Stating that the strong revival of the market and the growth in the IT sector will benefit Kozhikode-based companies, he said that a good number of IT firms from Kerala who participated in this year’s Gitex Global 2021, in Dubai are from Kozhikode. This has opened up great opportunities for Malabar based companies,” he added.
Software exports to Gulf region, Europe and the US
It is also significant that the software exports from Kozhikode were mainly to countries in the Gulf region, Europe and the US. A good percentage of IT companies based in Kozhikode have also opened offices in other countries.
Meanwhile, the other major IT facility, UL Cyberpark which functions under the Uralungal Labour Contract Society, also was able to post impressive growth in software exports. The UL Cyberpark witnessed a gain of Rs 37.66 crore this year, compared to Rs 37 crore last year. During the first half of the current fiscal, exports from the park touched Rs 21.33 crore.
The Kerala IT parks source added that the figure is likely to breach the Rs 40-crore mark by the end of the second half. As many as 84 companies that employ 2,000 employees are housed at the UL Cyberpark.
