Interview TCSJOHNHUXLEY
resources needed to be on hand to deliver a product quickly and fit for purpose. The company invested in people, swelling its software development team from a staff of six to a team of 48 in just 12 months. At the same time TCSJohnHuxley needed a partner, an operator that was willing to work jointly on the development of a solution. This new model would be built around hard- ware, software, services, maintenance and continuous support.
The Venetian Macau proved the ideal launch partner, both in terms of scale and ambition. However, any go- live at such an enormous venue would be a fraught affair and for a company with a reputation to build in the software sector, TCSJohnHuxley couldn't afford to be making missteps from the outset. "We measured the launch success at the Venetian by the number of soft- ware faults that we encountered," says Ms. Burns. "We had hardware and software faults but no more than what you would expect with a new product, which tells us that we have hired the right team of software and hardware developers. It's an incredible achievement when you consider that we started to pull the team together in August 2012 and had to completely rewrite the product, and by the end of 2013 we started to deliver to the customer."
One of the things externally that has been levelled at TCSJohnHuxley, and at Cath Burns, is that the company is looking to become a systems business; it's a subject that raises a wry smile. "We’re not interested in building
“You can have as many as 10+ vendors on a single table that
are all standalone not connected or interfaced in any way, making operating the table and
collecting real-time data close to impossible "
casino management systems. There are several great casino management system companies around the world. I've been part of that business and when there are several companies already delivering great casino management systems why would we develop what is already being done really well?, When I was in Macau, what was missing was the real time collection of data from every device on a table element. You can have as many as 10+ vendors on a single table that are all stand- alone not connected or interfaced in any way, making operating the table and collecting real-time data close to impossible "
What's important about GamingFloorLive is its simplic- ity. The message is simple - to integrate the table just as you would a slot. And it's functionality is simple too. Gaming Floor Live doesn't ask anything complicated of the interconnected products. It's simple software that, for example, collects a message from the shoe that describes the card that was dealt and the speed of the deal. The simplicity is all important as there's no loading of data onto a system. Data flows from each device through Gaming Floor Live, which acts as a conduit for everything connected to the table. Gaming Floor Live can then be interfaced back to any casino management
7 4
01 "Change is difficult for everyone but we have to embrace it. We have to explain and communicate with every member of the team exactly why we are taking this journey. When you articulate the reasons, and there's no sugar-coating of the process, you can bring together the company, which is exactly what's happened at TCSJohnHuxley. We are a stronger unit, a more closely knit unit than ever before. There's a renewed energy in the business brought about by the changes that we've made because everyone understands why we've made those changes and appreciate the path that we've taken.
Cath Burns, Global Chief Executive Officer, TCSJohnHuxley
system that the operator uses. So rather than making it more difficult for the operator we simply collect the data and allow the operator to interpret it how they need to. By being open the operator’s investment in their table technology and their back end systems is protected.
To hear that the policy going forward is one of inclu- sion, of open architecture and a willingness to engage with other, potentially rival, vendors, is a remarkable step in itself. To hear that one of the company's latest
projects has involved the integration of Cammegh wheels with the Gaming Floor Live platform, is one of epic sig- nificance. What's most significant, however, is that this interconnectivity is customer orientated in focus. This is what the operator wants to see, and whatever the rivalry of their suppliers, it's in their best interest to have every component on their table talking to each other and ulti- mately to their central system. If the table and its compo- nents can be agnostic, then so too should the suppliers.
Managing the change internally can be just as tricky as explaining the process externally. "Change is difficult for everyone but we have to embrace it," admits Ms. Burns. "We have to explain and communicate with every mem- ber of the team exactly why we are taking this journey. When you articulate the reasons, and there's no sugar- coating of the process, you can bring together the compa- ny, which is exactly what's happened at TCSJohnHuxley. We are a stronger unit, a more closely knit unit than ever before. There's a renewed energy in the business brought about by the changes that we've made because everyone understands why we've made those changes and appre- ciate the path that we've taken. We need to constantly keep communicating the message, we want our team to understand why we are making the journey and how
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132