Marek Candrak, Engineering Manager & Head of R&D Center at Greentube, chats to CasinoBeats about the firm’s new NOVA gaming platform and its key capabilities. Candrak also delves into the product research and development phase and why Greentube’s facility in Slovakia is the perfect platform for such innovations.
CasinoBeats: Tell us a little bit about NOVA and why Greentube is moving into the B2C space with this platform.
Marek Candrak: NOVA is our vision for a comprehensive gaming platform. It integrates services such as online casino, sports betting and virtual lottery terminals and serves as a digital playground for both players and operators. Our mission at Greentube is about providing the highest quality flexible technology to regulated markets, and NOVA is a part of that plan.
One of the key things about NOVA is that it’s incredibly user-friendly. Designed to offer the user ease of operation, it easily keeps track of everything from player behaviour to game performance.
We’ve designed a platform that’s not only powerful but also agile and adaptable. We’re working closely with everyone involved to make sure it meets all needs, so whether it’s players looking for an engaging gaming experience or operators searching for a streamlined and intuitive way to run their business, NOVA is ready to meet those requirements.
CB: What are the key features of NOVA and what makes it stand out amongst the crowd?
MC: NOVA offers a range of features designed to make gaming more enjoyable for players and easier to manage for operators. It integrates various gaming services into a single platform, making it easy to manage both land-based and online gaming operations.
It provides real-time monitoring and accounting tools, detailed game statistics, and ensures compliance with regulations in different markets, so it really is designed to meet the needs of today’s operators in a busy, challenging environment.
Built using the very latest technology, NOVA is a reliable and flexible solution for gaming operators looking to improve their offerings and efficiency.
CB: The Nova platform is noted for being modular. How important is it to offer such flexibility?
MC: The modular nature of the NOVA platform is a key advantage. As businesses expand, they can easily add new features without interrupting their current operations. This flexibility allows operators to quickly adapt to market changes and introduce new services. Updates and upgrades are also simplified, ensuring that the platform remains up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends.
Maintenance and troubleshooting become more efficient with a modular system, as problems can be isolated to specific components. This results in less downtime and a better overall gaming experience for players.
NOVA’s modularity is a vital component in making it a valuable tool for gaming operators seeking to stay competitive and responsive.
CB: NOVA was developed by Greentube’s R&D centre in Slovakia. Tell us about the centre and why Slovakia in particular is an ideal place for such a centre.
MC: While NOVA was born in our R&D centre in Slovakia, we actually had teams from all over working on it, and it was quite the challenge since we needed to keep our existing system running smoothly while also building the new one – rather like replacing a car’s engine while still driving it! We gradually swapped out parts of the old system with new, smaller ones, making sure our customers didn’t notice a thing.
Our R&D HQ in Bratislava is the perfect place for this kind of innovation. It’s right in the heart of Europe, so we have great connections with other tech hubs. Slovakia is also blessed with a fantastic pool of IT talent, which is exactly what we need to create cutting-edge products like NOVA.
CB: Building out must take a lot of collaboration across different teams – how does Greentube work across different teams and locations to bring such projects to life?
MC: Building complex projects at Greentube is a team effort, involving the creative genius from each corner of the company. To keep things organised and efficient, we use a Scrum process, helping us break down big projects into smaller steps, making them easier to manage.
We have teams with diverse skill sets, and we meet regularly to talk about what we’ve done and what is up next. We also have a plan for the whole year, so everyone knows what’s expected of them.
We need to work together and communicate clearly, and we achieve that by leveraging the right tools to help us stay connected and on task, even though we might be in different places. It’s equally as important for us to make sure our systems are up-to-date and work as well together as our people do.
This way, we take what might be seen by the uninitiated as a challenge with so many colleagues spread far and wide geographically and use it as our strength. This allows us to enjoy incredible project development processes and delivery, even when we’re working remotely.