In an exclusive interview with Yogonet, Annalisa Bloss, VP of Marketing and Communications at Quixant, delves into the company’s preparations for ICE London 2024. As one of the major global events in the gaming and sports betting industry, she elaborates on Quixant’s focus areas, expectations, and the company’s strategic goals for the expo.
Bloss highlights the company’s excitement for the upcoming event, where Quixant’s team will be stationed at stand N2-120 to showcase a range of next-generation hardware platforms, cabinets, kiosks, and Software Suite solutions. The focal point at the Quixant stand will be the launch of the IQ 2 hardware platform, their latest all-in-one Intel based platform.
What will be the main novelties that your company will present and focus on at ICE London this year?
We are really looking forward to ICE this February and our team of global gaming and sports betting experts will be at stand N2-120 showcasing our range of next-generation hardware platforms, cabinets, kiosks, and Software Suite solutions.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our IQ 2 hardware platform at the show, which is designed to meet a wide range of gaming and sports betting performance requirements. The new all-in-one platform delivers increased power and functionality at an accessible price point, making it ideally suited to cost-sensitive markets.
Supplementing our existing IQ, IQON and QMAX platform ranges, the IQ 2 has Intel® 12th Generation – Alder Lake N processors, is passively cooled and has two times more powerful CPU performance when compared to the previous generation of IQ products, allowing customers to further improve frames per second in gaming applications, or make their sports betting kiosk experience even more immersive.
As with our entire range of hardware platforms, the IQ 2 comes with our embedded Software Suite solutions as standard, which enable customers to benefit from onboard specialist software, so they can spend their time optimising their content and the customer experience, and increase customer loyalty to their products.
Our goal has always been to give our customers a range of power and performance options and the tools and support required to elevate their customer experience. The significant thing is that the IQ 2 completes our portfolio of Intel solutions. For the first time ever, visitors to our ICE stand can view the complete range and select the Intel-based Quixant offering that best meets their market and product needs.
They will also be able to see our range of gaming cabinets and kiosks – Quantum and Qinetic – which integrate all aspects of the Quixant offering. Powered by our market-leading hardware platforms and embedded software, they come with a comprehensive suite of peripherals, are driven by our peripheral API solutions, and are highly configurable to customers’ needs with the support of our in-house specialist product development team.
The final and key piece of the puzzle is the ongoing support and specialist technical expertise we provide throughout customers’ product development journeys – enabling them to seamlessly integrate all elements of their products, enhance the performance of their Quixant solutions, and make their products stand out from the crowd, which keeps their customers coming back.
Quixant IQ2
Given ICE London’s status as one of the major global events in the industry, what are your expectations for the expo, and what are the company’s key goals for the event?
I’m pleased to say that our meeting diary is fully booked. We are hearing from the organizers that attendance is looking to be record-breaking, which is always a good indicator of the health of our industry. We look forward to meeting with both our current and future customers in London, and we are hearing from customers that they will be showcasing a host of exciting and innovative products at the expo.
We will be focused on promoting our core product range – our renowned orange boxes – which now includes a full range of PCs with AMD and Intel processors, from the IQ at the entry-level, IQON at the mid-range, right up to the highest performing QMAX platform.
Our goal at the show will be to give customers the ultimate choice of platforms so they can pick from options suited to their budget and market requirements and enable them to take their products to the next level. Key to this will be ensuring the successful launch of our all-new IQ 2 platform to the market.
As we continue to develop our cabinet proposition, another goal will be to highlight the benefits of our Quantum and Qinetic offerings to the market. These allow customers to outsource additional aspects of their hardware and leverage our fully integrated solutions, thus enabling them to focus on developing content and the customer experience.
We are looking forward to talking to a range of companies, whether they are online and are looking to go land-based, are looking to enter new markets, or are looking to change the way they do business in their current markets and to outsource their hardware development to Quixant so they can focus on their content. Our priority is to understand how we can best support them in these efforts and ensure their success.
Finally, and essentially, it is another opportunity to keep close to the evolving needs of the market and to ensure our future products and services are always developed with the needs of the market in mind, looking forward to future trends and requirements.
The event comes as we enter a new year for gambling. What is your assessment of how the sector developed in 2023? How would you describe the industry’s and your client’s current demands at the time? And what markets will you focus on at the expo?
2023 was a positive year overall for the industry. Navigating uncertain waters as we planned for the year ahead, we were pleased that our expectations for 2023 were largely as anticipated. We saw supply chain challenges and pricing pressure easing, and following a year of increased demand in 2022 post-COVID, we experienced a normalization of demand levels and spend for new projects becoming increasingly competitive in core markets.
This however created opportunity in alternate markets for our customers and in turn for Quixant. We observed a lot of customers looking to enter new markets, for example, the route markets in the US, and growth also taking place in existing markets like LatAm and Europe. As mentioned above, we are also seeing a number of developers from the online space looking to take their games in a land-based direction, which is presenting new demand.
It is fair to say that industry demand across the board has built momentum as we approach the close of the first month of 2024. For Quixant it is all about having a global reach and local expertise. As a truly global gaming and sports betting technology provider, we have a presence in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. We are focussed on supporting these markets, along with emerging markets such as LatAm, the US route markets, and the new demand seen from those looking to take their content from online to land based.
Our primary focus at ICE, and as ever, is to present globally compliant, powerful, and reliable platforms that are adaptable to the needs of these various markets, and are enhanced by our embedded Software Suite solutions, game-changing support and expertise and global supply chain solutions.
What are your market expectations in 2024? What role will the company play in the upcoming 12-month period?
We are optimistic about what 2024 has in store for the industry and Quixant and expect the positivity around demand in 2023 to continue. We already have a strong pipeline of customers who we are actively supporting to expand in current markets, or to bring their products to new markets – all powered by Quixant hardware platforms.
As mentioned above, in 2023 we saw the supply chain challenges normalising and pricing pressures ease, with product from the Far East becoming much more reliable and predictable – a trend we are anticipating continuing throughout 2024.
There has been a lot of development from a regulatory perspective around sports betting and video lottery in Brazil, which is showing signs of activity already. To prepare to best support this market we have been developing supply chain solutions, operational processes and investing in managing stock requirements in readiness for when the market truly activates.
As soon as Brazil gets the green light we will be ready, and our customers will be able to take advantage of our stock in-country as soon as they require it, so they can be the first to get to market – something we believe will give them a true advantage.
Whatever the market, and whatever the budget, our role is to provide global products and supply chain solutions, along with local support and knowledge. Our sales team is on the ground in all major gaming and sports betting jurisdictions and we have a presence in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, which we believe is really important from a language, cultural and speed-to-market perspective. In terms of the Latin American market, for example, we have recruited a team of native speakers, which is pivotal for the region – and we are focused on post-sales service support functions.
It is our responsibility to make sure our customers get the most out of their Quixant products and collaboration, so they can seamlessly integrate all elements of their gaming cabinet or sports betting terminal or kiosk, and ensure enhanced product performance, expedited entry, or launch-to-market, cost efficiencies, and ultimate results.
What other industry events does the company plan to attend this year?
With 2024 set to be a positive year for the industry, we look forward to meeting with our customers and industry contacts at shows throughout the year. As we fast approach ICE, preparations to exhibit at IGA – the Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention – in April in Anaheim – are well underway.
Throughout the first half of the year, we will be at regional shows such as Enada, the Amusement Expo, and FIJMA, and have commenced preparations to exhibit at G2E in October.
Meetings can be arranged here. Explore Quixant’s range of next-generation technology and discuss how their expert guidance and support could enable you to get your products to market faster, delivering game-changing products. Meet the Quixant team at ICE stand N2-120, or arrange a consultation at www.Quixant.com.
