Project overview

The Government of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) had a vision to digitise its infrastructure and create a technology-driven Emirate for its citizens. Faced with a shortage of local software engineering talent and limited digital infrastructure, The Scalers partnered with RAK to build a world-class Offshore Development Centre (ODC) in Bangalore. The ODC was successfully scaled, managed for 12 months, and then transferred back to RAK.

100+ Engineers and Support staff hired, meeting an acute talent shortage.

19 government departments supported with new digital infrastructure and services.

10,000 sq. ft. dedicated office space established with government-grade security.

Challenge

The Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah envisioned a technology-driven Emirate with state-of-the-art digitisation across the entire government. With a goal of offering a comprehensive digital platform to every citizen within three years, they needed a sizable and skilled workforce to deliver this vision. However, the limited existing digital infrastructure and an acute shortage of local software engineering talent in the UAE severely stalled progress, making it clear that an alternative solution was required to meet deadlines.

Solution

The Scalers’ leadership first consulted with over 20 government stakeholders to fully align on the project’s vision. To address the acute local talent shortage, The Scalers created a custom employer brand, eGov Tech Labs, in Bangalore. They successfully hired and onboarded the initial delivery team of 15 talented developers, which quickly grew to include 50 software engineers, support staff, and 8 surveyors.

Our top priority was to boost the development of our Emirate’s online infrastructure in time for the Dubai 2020 World Expo. The Scalers were instrumental in allowing us to focus on engineering while they took care of all the red tape and heavy lifting from recruitment to operations.

Praveen Patil

Manager, PMO, Government of Ras Al Khaimah

Following the successful initial deployment, The Scalers then managed all operational aspects to ensure the ODC’s continued success and growth. This included sourcing a 10,000 sqft dedicated office space, implementing rigorous government-grade security protocols, and running the ODC for 12 months. This period of seamless management allowed RAK’s leadership to focus entirely on product delivery and strategy before The Scalers successfully transferred the entire 100+ person centre back to the Government of RAK.

Results

The ODC successfully delivered on RAK’s goal of putting technology in the hands of the people. The team developed and delivered innovative products, including RAKpay (a cashless payment system) and an automatic building permit assessment and approval system. By scaling to over 100 people and meeting every budget goal, deadline, and milestone, Ras Al Khaimah was able to turn its development centre into an enterprise-grade profit centre, selling its unique solutions to other countries.