Al Qana chooses MRI Evolution to streamline operations for their diverse range of facilities
Al Barakah International Investment is a leading investment and development company based in Abu Dhabi, managing a diverse range of high-profile projects including shopping malls, hospitals, and staff accommodations.
Al Barakah’s flagship project, Al Qana, is an iconic 4km long mixed retail and entertainment space set in a prime waterfront location on the Arabian Gulf. Developed in partnership with the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi, Al Qana plays host to a diverse range of leisure facilities including restaurants, adventure parks, an eSports gaming complex, wellness facilities, and Abu Dhabi’s National Aquarium.
The challenge
With multiple systems and manual processes in place, Al Qana’s facilities management team faced unique range of challenges in managing the facility since there is diverse range of businesses within the project and different to other activities handled thus far. They identified a need for a professional software solution to centralize facility management tasks, scheduling, and team management, maximising their team’s productivity while ensuring an industry-leading approach to the management of their portfolio.
“We have a very small team here, so we need to leverage them heavily”, Joseph McMinn, Head of IT Operations at Al Barakah. “We didn’t want to work off spreadsheets, we needed a professional solution to manage our team from a single portal rather than needing multiple systems and multiple people to manage them.”
The solution
To identify the ideal software solution, Al Qana approached key vendors in the Middle East region with a local presence. Recommendations and proposals were gathered based on the project’s requirements, including the possibility of developing a custom platform to meet their needs, which was discounted as an option later on.
The deciding factors included cost-effectiveness and user-friendly features. MRI Software emerged as the preferred choice, and Al Qana chose MRI Evolution and MRI GO to manage their diverse portfolio, improve facility management, and drive growth. Implementing MRI GO enabled Al Qana to have a continuous flow of information between back-office operations and engineers in the field with the great advantage of accessing real-time information and updates within the teams.
“There are plenty of packages that claim to do FM, but these only cover the basics and can’t handle the details like automation of admin tasks and reporting or real-time information flow. MRI does that really well, where other products you have to customise” explained Joseph.
Being a well-known facilities management software in the market was also another reasons why Al Qana chose MRI Evolution. As a commonly used solution, service providers would find it easy to integrate with MRI Evolution if the client chose to outsource their facilities management operations in future.
Streamlined processes and enhanced experience.
MRI Evolution’s user-friendly interface enabled the small team at Al Qana to leverage its capabilities effectively, resulting in improved productivity and operational efficiency. The team can efficiently manage their diverse portfolio of leisure facilities via a user-friendly interface.
The comprehensive features supported Al Qana to deliver accurate maintenance scheduling, task management, and reporting automation, eliminating the need for multiple systems and manual processes.
MRI’s solution proved scalable and adaptable to Al Qana’s growing portfolio. Avoiding customized solutions, which can lead to issues in the long run, ensured greater efficiency and reduced maintenance overhead.
Reliable support
As part of the implementation process, Al Qana’s team attended MRI’s comprehensive training to ensure they had a full understanding of the software and its features. Since then, the MRI team have been on hand to support with issues, as well as to discuss the best ways of configuring the Evolution platform to meet changing needs as the company grows.
We have a very good relationship with MRI and they’ve been very supportive. Since getting involved with MRI’s Facilities Management solution, I haven’t had to worry about it. It’s another weight off my shoulders that I don’t have to dedicate resource to. I would absolutely recommend MRI.
Joseph McMinn, Head of IT Operations, Al Barakah.
