Viewpoint: time to wake up or play catch up
Operators' lack of responsiveness to new trends and products creates secondary models " adapt to them or suffer, warns Baddamedia president Meir Moses...
OUR INCREDIBLE industry has seen small egaming pioneers explode into global corporations.
Recent statements from some industry captains appear to relish future market consolidation.
But such comments appear self-fulfilling, yet somehow counter-productive.
If consolidation is so certain, it leads one to wonder whether the market is heading for a lock-up as a few major players dominate the space.
Likewise, smaller providers are in an interesting place. Where to start? Who to approach?
They know to expect a level of professional distance, but often find themselves confronted with extended sales cycles made even more difficult by decision-making chains that meander between departments and international borders.
Even when armed with superb revenue-generating products, the impression that many smaller providers have is that prospects have grown accustomed to high opportunity costs and often assume that the risk in adopting and testing new products is prohibitive when they can turn to established providers “ even at the cost of product cannibalisation and me-too offerings.
Let me be clear. We all know that ultimately only hard graft and great ideas are rewarded by current and future partners.
This is an appeal to companies to help bridge gaps in communication and review processes that benefit both parties.
Are development and delivery cycles too long?
Why not start two-tier development tracks in conjunction with suppliers and let market forces support your delivery of products?
Delivering margin-busting products quickly and in a cost-efficient manner is soon reflected in the bottom line.
One of the effects of the majority of operators’ lack of responsiveness to new trends and products has been the development of new, secondary markets.
The convergence of social media, casual gaming and gambling are now very real revenue channels for innovative operators.
Those unaccustomed or unable to exploit these niche opportunities will always be playing catch up.
This article first appeared in the September issue of eGaming Review.
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