Partner 7 - VIA MARIS, Palestine

VIA MARIS is a Palestinian organisation specialised in consulting in information systems development and market research. It is considered a new pioneer in providing professional consulting services in Palestine.

VIA MARIS, which stands for a Greek naming of the Palestinian land (Land by the sea), is a new offspring of Sidata Information and Communication Systems Ltd. Founded in early 1999, with corporate offices located in the new Palestinian Industrial Zone, VIA MARIS became the first consulting company to be housed at the industrial zone with the goal of providing services to local and International businesses. VIA MARIS targets services to the Palestinian, Israeli, American and European markets. Acting as an offshore consulting house and local support office for companies from different countries.

VIA MARIS provides consulting services in the following areas: market research; feasibility studies; procedural analysis; ISO certification; Systems Analysis and Software Requirement Specifications; System Design; System Testing as an Independent Test Office (ITO); System Documentation and write up of manual and training guides.

Role of partner

VIA MARIS will perform the task related to the Palestinian territory involving Ancient water systems (Kanat) and their influence on the social and economic life as well as on the climate and stability of the region (WP7)

Principal personnel involved in the project:

Mr Bassem El Wazir

Masters degree in Software Engineering, National University in San Diego California, USA in 1994, B.A. in Management of Information Systems, California State University at Sacramento since 1992.

Mr. El-Wazir, born in 1967, has excelled in his pursuit of an IT career and is considered a leading figure in the development of the IT sector in Palestine. Active in IT since 1989, he worked for the California department of Transportation and the Sacramento County, Cal.. In 1994, after the Oslo Peace Agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis, he returned to Palestine to take his role in building his own country, started with TEAM Ltd., in charge of rebuilding the Palestinian Government Computer Center among a small team of young engineers who took over from Israeli control to the Palestinian Authority. In the same year, he co-founded Sidata and started implementing IT projects in Palestine. Mr. El-Wazir is also known in the Arab IT world and has made many press appearances and interviews on the status of Palestinian IT sector. He is a member of the Palestinian European Businessmen Association and a founding member of the Palestinian IT association of companies. He is also a co-founder of the UN Arab ICT task force and the Arab ICT Businessmen Association and a caller for the development of a national and regional IT strategy.

Prof. Jamal Bargouth

University of Bir Zeit, Palestine