GR8_TECH executive: Having technology ownership is not essential for control

Kateryna Pozdnysheva, Chief Customer Officer at GR8_TECH, questions the widespread industry view that "infrastructure should be kept in-house as much as possible." In her view, having control and having technology are not the same thing. Developing a component in-house makes sense when there is expertise in the area and a concrete gain that comes with it.

Pozdnysheva stresses that building everything in-house involves more than the initial investment. It also covers ongoing costs, the need for skilled staff and the time devoted to development. She says that developing a ready-made solution available on the market over the course of a year can cause valuable opportunities to be missed. In her view, business goals should be defined first, and technology decisions should be made according to those goals.

Noting that operators now track costs far more closely, Pozdnysheva explains that for a platform, not only the purchase price but also maintenance, adaptation and scaling costs matter greatly. She adds that operators want to launch quickly but also need flexibility to change direction. She recalls that in Brazil, operators spent millions on licenses, technology and partnerships, and then the rules changed suddenly.

For an operator entering a new or uncertain market, she says the white label model offers a different advantage compared with building its own infrastructure from scratch. When building from scratch, teams, processes and payment flows are designed on assumptions before enough data exists. With a white label model, infrastructure and operational knowledge are already in place, so player acquisition can start quickly and decisions can be based on actual performance. In addition, the operator can direct its team and budget toward brand, marketing and player acquisition.