eGaming Review February 2013 | Page 60

SPONSORED EDITORIAL B E T WA R E OUTSOURCING FOCUS Options in multisourcing eGaming Review talks to Betware’s Ingvar Hjalmarsson to ?nd out more about the ‘multisourcing’ model With the gaming industry going through some notable changes, including M&A, mobile growth and regulation to name a few, operators are having to ensure their business models are both ?exible and sustainable. A model that is seeing greater popularity is ‘multisourcing’, whereby more than one outsourcing partnership is agreed. To ?nd out more, eGaming Review talked to Ingvar Hjalmarsson, chief commercial officer of Betware. eGaming Review (eGR): It is becoming more popular for operators to develop more than one outsourcing arrangement. How does this strengthen business? Ingvar Hjalmarsson (IH): The gaming market is a very dynamic business place and any operator wishing to keep its market share must constantly search for innovation. Success, in many ways, depends on an operator’s ability to keep up with the latest trends when it comes to products, sales channels or ways of communicating with players. Choosing best-of-breed products and services ?tted to player expectations is the key to future growth. As no single vendor is able to create such an offering, a multisourcing strategy is something operators are starting to strongly value and apply. They should build their potential based on the best team of vendors rather than locking their growth with just one. eGR: The egaming industry has become phenomenally competitive in recent times. How can an operator best stand out when launching a new site? IH: Standing out is a genuine challenge. The multitude of great gaming brands and the liberalisation of markets have created a race to grab player’s attention and wallets. Operators must carefully choose the positioning of their gaming brands and Ingvar Hjalmarsson has more than 10 years professional experience in the high tech industry and holds a BSc in Computer Science. Ingvar joined Betware in 2011 to lead the company’s sales team and holds the position of chief commercial officer and is a member of Betware Management. structure them in such a way that they become as appealing as possible to their target audience. The communication comes from the users to companies themselves, which means building and designing products based on consumer insight and market research. A gaming site offering its products at the players’ convenience, through attractive sales channels and representing values players are looking for, is the future winner on the gaming scene. eGR: What common challenges will gaming operators have to face when launching a site and how can these be tackled? IH: With changes coming in faster than the existing gaming platforms can cope with, it is crucial to start building the business from the very bottom. A ?exible and open gaming platform will allow operators to grow and expand their businesses in any way they will see as bene?cial for its ROI and its players. It is crucial not to lock future growth and player experience into limited sales channels, building on top of a closed platform. Limiting attractiveness and accessibility of a gaming site will, in the long term, mean losing players’ interest. The winners in this market will be the ones that stay in complete control of their future business – getting their games right, offering them in the sales channels best suited for their players and differentiating their brand(s) from the competition. eGR: What factors must an operator keep in mind when choosing business partners for a multisourcing strategy? IH: To successfully apply a multisourcing strategy and fully bene?t from its advantages, an operator should start building its future business ???HH?[X?\???^H?[?[Y[?[?\?YX[??????[??H;? ?^X?H[??[??[Z[??]??H?]H?[??H^Y\?X???[??[??H?\?[?\??????[?^[??]?][?H[Z]][??H]??H?X??X??Y\?H??[?][??Y\?[??\?[????]\???[????H??Y ]Y]YY];? ?^X?H[??Y????\?H]?\?X?[??[???YY??H?]H[??\?]?[?[????Z[ ?Q???]?[?[?H?YHH?^ L?[???[????][\??\??[??[?]?\?H?][?H?[Z[??[?\??O?R??H?YH ? L?\??Z[??HYX\?]?[??\?H[?]YH??\?[?\????[?]Y\?[??[?X[ \?X?X[H[???[??Y\?[??\?\?X?[??]X?YH?[???X?H?]??Y?[][?[?\?Y??H?[?Z\??[Z[??X\??]??H^X?^?][?????[???[?\?[?\?\?[?\Z[??][\??\??[???Z[??H[???\?Z[?X?H?\?[?\????]Y?H[??Y?[]YX\??]?[??]?[???\?]??H?[??H?X??[?????H?\? [?X??YY?[Z[????[?YX[??][\??\??[???[;? ??\?\? ???N?????Y?XY?^?[?K???B??