Interview TCSJOHNHUXLEY
mitted product roadmap which protects our customers investment in us and each product is now a resource for gathering data. Every product is part of an open inter- face that connects to casino management systems . We are utilizing as many off-the-shelf hardware and soft- ware products that can integrate into existing systems and interface with every product currently connected on the table floor. We had to show that we were flexible to adopt this open approach and able to use industry standard applications as opposed to making bespoke solutions for individual clients. Only then can you make the shift from standard pricing models to monthly main- tenance fees."
It may seem extraordinary to anyone that's been an observer of the gaming industry, but TCSJohnHuxley is, as Ms. Burns puts it, 'starting to behave like a software company,' integrating data and removing costs from its hardware to create a software driven solution. What's critical is that the data pulled from the table is in real- time, allowing accurate up-to-date transparency of table operations. It's important if you're operating an average-sized European casino with 15-20 tables, but in Asia's dramatically scaled table environments, incre- mental data is vital to making strategic minute-by- minute decisions that effect the bottom line. And as Ms. Burns points out, as TCSJohnHuxley leverages the development of these solutions with operators in Asia, the benefits of this open architecture and software development 'pay it back' into markets around the globe.
"We can't continue doing the same things that we did 25 years ago," states Ms. Burns. "We must remain relevant in this space and to do that, and realise the unique opportunities ahead of TCSJohnHuxley, we had to inter- face our products with every facet of table gaming. It's still a work in progress, but it's a change in direction that is well and truly underway."
The proof that TCSJohnHuxley's open architecture approach is working comes with customer purchases, the first of which have been confirmed and installed in international markets. Ms. Burns makes no apologies for the Asia-centric focus of these installations..' Today, that's no longer the case with Macau's economic gaming engine also stoking the regeneration of TCSJohnHuxley. Over 700 tables in Macau are presently live with TCSJohnHuxley software - yes, software. And the com- pany expects that number to increase to well over 1,000 by the end of the year/start of 2015.
"We have been a Europe-centric company and Europe continues to be a very important region," describes Ms. Burns of the business she inherited. "But what does Europe really want from TCSJohnHuxley? More great table products that drive both revenues and efficencies,
The proof that TCSJohnHuxley's open architecture approach is working comes with customer
purchases, the first of which has been confirmed and installed.
all of the products that we have developed and are developing are and will be available to our European customers as they will be to all of our customers global- ly. Our Asia focus has allowed us to commercialise our products quickly and test them in the world’s most competitive table market. We expect Asia and the US to be significant growth markets for us. That said, we also saw growth in Africa last year and are trending towards growth this year. That growth in Africa has come from our table bonusing product Supernova, Gaming Floor Live, Chippers, Wheels and our new Elite II display range. These are the markets that are driving the busi- ness forward and we've got to be part of that change.
"We are still selling traditional products," underlines Ms. Burns. "The difference is that each product has a com-
"If you look at one of the displays here in the show- room," gestures Ms. Burns, "they're no different from a traditional high-end HD TV unit. Operators benefit not only from the standardisation of the components in terms of costs, but the open nature of the equipment means that they can integrate the entire solution across the customer floor. If you take the Venetian in Macau as an example, the casino operates 10,000+ displays, including slot toppers, table displays, F&B displays, bill- boards etc. If the casino wants to integrate every one of them, sending its messages across every display in the casino, which is something that you simply can't man- age in isolation. If a casino wants to display the table progressive jackpot on a slot topper, why are we pre- venting that? We have to give the operator what they need."
The product that underpins everything that Cath Burns and her team have been working to deliver is Gaming Floor Live. It's revelatory to hear that it is one of the rea- sons that Ms. Burns took the top role at TCSJohnHuxley. It's a system that was created for one customer with a maximum of 30 tables to enable that operator to inter- face different components on a limited set-up, but for Ms. Burns, it was the key to enabling tables to intercon- nect in exactly the same way as slots and give the oper- ator real-time data from their table devices. The only issues being that since Gaming Floor Live was a bespoke system, not written on Enterprise Software, it couldn't be scaled and was therefore unfit for the purposes she had in mind. One of the companies first actions was to have the software completely rewritten from the ground-up.
The development team in York were a critical element in Gaming Floor Live's development, and as such the
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