Editor’s note: The following interview with Aditya Shah, Yardi’s Director for Middle East Operations, recently appeared in Gulf Property magazine and is reprinted here with permission. Yardi Systems, a US-based large asset management and property management software solutions provider, now has more than 1,000 commercial properties, 50 shopping malls and 50,000 residential units using its software in the Middle East. “We have grown 30 percent in the last ten months alone,” says Aditya Shah, Director for Middle East Operations at Yardi Systems, told Gulf Property in an exclusive interview. The company has signed up with Mall of Qatar last month to automate the mall’s property management and accounting system with Yardi Voyager 7S, the company’s new mobile-enabled, label-compatible software as a service property management and accounting platform. Mall of Qatar will have over 5.4 million square feet of built up area, more than 500 retail units, over 100 dining operations, a 5-star hotel and more than 7,000 car parking spots when its construction is complete in the third quarter of 2016. It will host an estimated 20 million visitors in its first year. Since its founding, Yardi has set the standard for real estate software solutions with a combination of responsiveness and technical innovation. In an interview with Gulf Property, Shah detailed Yardi’s activities in the region. Gulf Property: Could you share with us the number of Middle East properties that are currently under management using Yardi’s solutions? AS: Yardi has a broad range of clients that manage a cross section of asset classes that include, but are not limited to, residential office, and retail. There are approximately 50 retail malls, 1,000 commercial properties and over 50,000 residential units that are currently managed on Yardi solutions across the Middle East. These include some of...

When it opens to the public in summer 2016, the Mall of Qatar in Al-Rayyan will be a modern paradise smack dab in the in the middle of the Qatar desert. With over 2,755,561 square feet of Gross Leasable Area, upon completion the Mall of Qatar will cater to shoppers’ every whim. Massive in scale, the planned three-story structure will span the length of 50 soccer fields. Upon completion, visitors to the Mall of Qatar will be able to sample food from over 100 restaurants, buy products from over 500 stores and participate in a variety of unique entertainment experiences, including the largest IMAX Laser 3D projection system in the world. Envisioned as a “sophisticated, urban-lifestyle market, the mall will be outfitted with vaulted glass ceilings, sidewalk cafes, and unique water features. A main feature of the project is the multi-level Family Entertainment Complex, which will include a 10-lane bowling alley and a 19-screen Cineplex. For fans of live performance, the mall’s Festival Stage will host professional acts from around the world on a 360-degree, multi-lift, rotating stage outfitted with the latest sound and lighting technology. As the mall’s floor space spreads out across the desert, so do its recreational opportunities. A not-even-close-to-exhaustive list of additional amusements includes an Angry Birds theme park, a mini-roller coaster and a flight simulator. An indoor “edutainment” park called “Juniverse” will allow children to play at space exploration and firefighting. Older patrons can participate in “Escape the Room” challenges, where teams work together to unlock puzzles in a set amount of time. Up to 7000 automobiles can be accommodated in the mall’s parking lot, most under canopies designed to deflect and control the midday sun and bathe vehicles in merciful shade. For commuters without cars, sleek, modern metro...