Miral partners with Microsoft to redefine theme park experience

Miral, Yas Island’s creator of destinations, joined efforts with Microsoft on an ambitious digital-transformation journey that promises to reshape the global leisure and entertainment industry. By adopting key Microsoft technologies, Miral will deliver unparalleled guest experiences to tens of millions of annual visitors, setting new benchmarks for innovation in the sector.

Miral is the developer and promoter of Yas Island, a family entertainment and leisure destination including a range of world-class attractions, theme parks such as Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld and the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi that was recently opened to the public on 25 July.

“Our vision is to transform Yas Island into a globally recognised wall-less destination, increasing annual footfall to 48 million visitors by 2022, and this digital transformation project is part of delivering on our promise and achieving our vision,” says Eng. Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, CEO of Miral.

“Creating personalised seamless experiences by harmoniously bridging the gap between physical and digital was our main priority. The goal was to allow visitors to plan their journey before they arrive, tailor their experiences to their desires and continue to revisit their memories as they leave Yas Island. We selected Microsoft as our trusted technology partner because we have strong confidence in their solutions as well as their in-depth global experience in similar industries, which will help us achieve the sought results,” adds Al Zaabi

Phase One of Miral’s digital-transformation journey ran from July 2017 to May 2018, during which the company developed a platform of web portals and mobile apps that connect its world-class attractions and offers customers unrivalled, “wall-less” experiences.

Miral’s multichannel customer experience platform will be built using Microsoft Azure’s PaaS capabilities, providing the flexibility, scalability and agility required to ensure timely completion against tight deadlines. Azure Identity will form the core of Yas ID – a unique single login solution that will allow Miral to keep connected to guests across digital touch points. Azure’s Data and Analytics Platform and predictive intelligence tools will combine customer data through real-time dashboards, enabling employees to deliver higher-value customer interactions. The solution will incorporate the already-running platform developed in Phase One.

Miral’s digital transformation journey will also evolve its sales and marketing functions by modernising its B2C, B2B, e-commerce, websites and mobile platforms to run on Microsoft Dynamics 365. Social-listening capabilities will be used to monitor visitor sentiment, brand presence and campaigns.

“Digital transformation is all about engaging customers, empowering employees, optimising operations and reinventing business models,” states Sayed Hashish, regional general manager, Microsoft Gulf. “Through the power and security of the Microsoft Cloud, Miral will be able to use Yas ID and predictive intelligence to tailor physical and digital visitor experiences. Employees, through real-time 360 customer views, will be able to personalise content, communication and marketing. The actionable insights generated by the intelligent cloud will accelerate Miral’s business responsiveness to changing expectations in the marketplace. And, by keeping customers connected to brands before, during and after their visits, Miral will differentiate itself and set new best-practice standards for the entire industry.”