Abhinay, how did the ICE 2023 show play out on the Quixant booth in London?
ICE 2023 was an incredibly successful show for Quixant and it was impressive to see the whole industry back with a vengeance. This was an exhibition in which we saw a lot of interest both from our land-based customers and from the online sector, which is expanding as the land-based and online markets continue to converge. Plus, as regulations open more markets, sports betting is also a key element in that expansion, with developments in the US market carrying through into Europe. This was highlighted at ICE where we saw a large presence from the sports betting side of the industry.

How did London compare to Vegas?
There had been a lot of conversation at G2E about the potential for a slowdown of the markets due to the recession on the horizon. However, conversations at ICE were wholly positive and demonstrate just how strong gaming markets are holding up, and how many are looking forward to further expansion. This was the overall sentiment of customers at ICE, as they looked to new markets opening up across Europe in the near future. The EMEA market does not appear to be slowing down any time soon.

You launched your latest QMAX product at ICE – a premium Gaming platform powered by Intel. How was this launch received – especially as you’re a business that’s historically been more aligned with AMD?
As a technology company we want to put our customers at the forefront of innovation and Intel’s strategy will help us to achieve those goals. Our QMAX platform is powered by Intel’s latest technology, and is available with a discrete dGPU option, which helps us to provide a range of high performing platforms that complement our existing AMD products. The launch of the new QMAX provides the industry with the ultimate high-performance gaming platform, and with scalable graphics it provides a lot of different options and flexibility for our customers.

We’ve discussed the launch of Qinetic and Quantum at G2E, your new cabinet range, but what was the reception like at ICE?
Our strategy of launching the Quantum and Qinetic range of cabinets is to provide solutions for customers looking for a turnkey option for hardware and software integration, as well as expediating the time it takes them to get their cabinets to market. As the US market is a much more established on the land-based side, our focus has been upon route markets in which there is a need for support and integration. Here we provide the best value and service to our customers.

At ICE it was impressive to see the convergence of online and land-based and I think that’s where we’ve hit the sweet spot. A lot of our customers are looking for solutions to enable their online content to transfer to cabinet solutions. We are partnering with online game developers to help them with that hardware integration so that they can focus on game and online content creation.

We have seen lot of positive opportunities and there is huge market growth as this convergence gathers pace. Throughout the pandemic we saw a lot of expansion in the online content sector and, as markets have opened up, there is strong demand for that content within the land-based market. Quixant’s cabinet strategy is helping with both the hardware and software integration tools to ensure that land based remains strong and successful.

While the cabinets and the new QMAX stole the limelight at the show, with their slick shiny orange designs, you also launched a suite of new software and integration support solutions – how did these go down with visitors?
Over the years the added value that Quixant has provided to its customers is its software support. For our customers, being to optimise their games and hardware is incredibly important, but it’s also essential that they optimise their UI too. We can help our customers with game optimisation and turnkey integration, utilising Quixant software libraries to integrate with hardware to ensure that they can deliver the best possible content to the end user. Taking that a little further, we have looked into how we can speed up the integration process with our software tools, as speed of execution and speed to market is a competitive advantage.

Are we seeing the initial supply chain improvements we expected in 2023, and is this going to be an improving picture as we progress throughout the year?
We are definitely seeing improvements, but I would be cautious in saying that we are out of the woods. Some elements have certainly improved, but we are not back to normal. I think one of the key things we have learned over the last few years is how to adapt to these situations, because the industry had not previously experienced the levels of disruption we encountered during the pandemic. At Quixant, we have learned to adjust, which has put us on a better path when it comes to predicting, forecasting, and helping our clients. It is still a challenge to source some of the more complex components, which is going to continue through Q2 and Q3 before it gets better towards the end of this year. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and we are looking forward to that return to normal.

How much optimism and positivity should we take from the surging crowds at ICE? Is this a positive indicator for the year ahead?
Absolutely. As I said, demand has not fallen, which is the same sentiment we heard at G2E. When we speak to our customers and operators, they have felt the impact of the last two years, but the bounce back has been strong and positive.

Finally, are we still going to be experiencing disruption in 2023, and by that I don’t necessarily mean supply chain-related – if so, from what directions – and where does Quixant fit into the shifting landscape as a solutions provider?
There has definitely been a lot of disruption over the last two years, but at Quixant we have focused on how to adapt and grow. There has not been a significant amount of new product released to the market, which I believe is due to downwards market speculation. However, I think that since G2E there has been a lot of positive sentiment and activity in the market, which is still growing and becoming more consistent.

ICE saw new product innovations from our clients, and the launch by Quixant of the latest QMAX highlights our own focus on product development. We see the same with our turnkey solutions, with many of our customers wanting to focus on game creation, relying on Quixant to serve the market by providing a full turnkey cabinet solution for their content. Online convergence requires a new business model and will be reliant on how technology can serve this sector to deliver their product to market. A lot of our customers are on that journey, searching for new technologies and trying to bring their own innovation to the market. Our focus is on how best we can support them, with next-generation technology.