Ras Al Khaimah Empowers Data-Driven Decision- Making through Data Mesh Built on AWS
Using our Data Mesh on AWS, we have improved our operational efficiency and grown our revenue by making data-driven decisions.
Umair Yelurkar
Lead Data Engineer, Data and Analytics Team, Investment and Development Office of Ras Al KhaimahOverview
The Investment and Development Office of Ras Al Khaimah (IDO) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) invests in and manages strategic assets on behalf of the government. At the heart of its mission to lead economic transformation is a commitment to innovation and data-driven decision-making. To support its portfolio companies across sectors, IDO’s data and analytics team built a federated, secure, and scalable Data Mesh using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform. This architecture empowers each entity to manage its own data independently while ensuring federated governance, robust security, and high reliability, laying the foundation for smarter decisions and sustainable growth.
About the Investment and Development Office of Ras Al Khaimah
The Investment and Development Office of Ras Al Khaimah (IDO) is the investment arm of the government of Ras Al Khaimah, established to drive the emirate’s economic transformation. With a mandate to create long-term value, IDO identifies high-impact opportunities and nurtures portfolio entities across multiple sectors.
Building a Scalable Solution for Consistent Access to High-Quality Data
IDO has, among its portfolio of companies, 28 companies in real estate, tourism, manufacturing, and other sectors, each operating with its own mix of technologies and data practices that created significant barriers to data integration. “Instead of replacing what existed, our objective was to architect a unified layer that could bring governance, consistency, and trust in how data is accessed and used across the portfolio,” says Umair Yelurkar, lead data engineer in the data and analytics team at IDO.
The group companies’ reliance on external vendors meant loss of control over their own data and minimal transparency into how it was handled. “By investing in a modern, federated data architecture, we’re giving our teams the tools and confidence to act on insights, innovate faster, and deliver measurable impact as part of a culture of data-driven decision-making across Ras Al Khaimah,” says Dr. Rashed Iqbal, chief data and technology officer at IDO.
Empowering Individual Organizations within Federated Governance
To validate its data strategy, IDO evaluated multiple technology vendors, selecting AWS not only for its cost-effectiveness but also for its deep expertise. “We needed a partner who could help us think through architecture, governance, and scale,” says Umair. “AWS brought in solution architects, security specialists, and infrastructure engineers who worked closely with our team to understand the challenges and co-design a solution that worked.”
Each group company operates within its own AWS account, using native services to ingest, process, store, and visualize data. At the same time, IDO’s central data and analytics team maintains governance and security oversight. Data is stored locally in the UAE using Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), which provides industry-leading scalability, availability, and compliance capabilities.
“AWS has been instrumental not just in supporting our Data Mesh architecture but in helping us meet our security and regulatory requirements with confidence,” says Dr. Rashed. “Its support has allowed us to move fast without compromising trust.”
Driving Data-Driven Decision-Making
In addition to increasing the productivity of teams and gaining control over its data, IDO works alongside AWS to upskill employees, providing AWS Instructor-Led Classroom Training. The scalable IDO Data Mesh on AWS has significantly improved data quality, providing a foundation for companies to develop rapidly, validate new ideas, and use technology to stay ahead.
In 2 years, IDO successfully deployed nearly 30 use cases in business intelligence, machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence across ten group companies, with plans to onboard all entities by 2027. “Using our Data Mesh on AWS, we have improved our operational efficiency and grown our revenue by making data-driven decisions,” says Umair.