Behind every Successful Operator Partnership

Steven, business analysts are rarely the public face of a technology supplier, yet they often sit at the centre of major operator projects. Why do you believe the role is so frequently overlooked?

I think it’s because when a project is successful, the work of a business analyst is largely invisible. Operators see the end product, the platform launch, the migration or the new functionality, but they don’t always see the months of analysis, discovery and alignment that happened beforehand.

In many ways, business analysts are the translators between vision and execution. They take commercial objectives, operational requirements and regulatory obligations and turn them into something that product and development teams can actually deliver. If that process is done well, everything appears seamless. If it’s done poorly, problems emerge later in the project.

At Comtrade Gaming, we’ve always believed that technology partnerships are built on understanding a customer’s business, not just delivering software. Business analysts play a critical role in making that happen because they’re often the first people to truly understand both the operator’s objectives and the realities of delivering them.

The title “business analyst” can mean different things in different industries. Within Comtrade Gaming, what does a business analyst actually do on a day-to-day basis?

Within Comtrade Gaming, a business analyst acts as the link between our customers and our internal delivery teams.

On a practical level, that means working closely with operators to understand their business goals, operational processes and market-specific requirements. They document and validate requirements, identify potential gaps or risks, and ensure everyone involved has a shared understanding of what success looks like.

A significant part of the role is communication. Analysts spend time with commercial teams, product managers, developers, compliance specialists and project managers, ensuring that information flows effectively between all stakeholders.

Because we operate in highly regulated markets, they also play an important role in ensuring that commercial ambitions align with regulatory realities. Ultimately, their job is to remove ambiguity and create clarity before development begins.

Operators often talk about choosing the right technology partner, but how much of a successful partnership comes down to understanding requirements correctly from the outset?

It’s absolutely fundamental. Technology itself is rarely the biggest challenge. The real challenge is ensuring that everybody has the same understanding of the problem they’re trying to solve. If requirements are misunderstood at the beginning, even the best technology can end up delivering the wrong outcome.

One of the things we’ve consistently spoken about at Comtrade Gaming is the importance of partnership. A partnership isn’t simply about providing a platform; it’s about understanding an operator’s business model, growth strategy and market ambitions.

When requirements are gathered properly, operators gain confidence that the technology partner understands their objectives. That creates trust, reduces project risk and significantly improves the likelihood of a successful delivery.

In our experience, investing more time in understanding requirements at the start almost always saves significantly more time later in the project.

Many technology projects run into difficulties because assumptions are made too early. How do business analysts help bridge the gap between what operators say they want and what they need?

A good business analyst doesn’t simply document requests; they challenge assumptions. Operators often describe solutions based on previous experiences or existing processes, but the underlying business objective may be something quite different. The analyst’s role is to understand the outcome the operator is trying to achieve, not just the functionality they’re requesting. That requires asking questions, exploring alternatives and sometimes identifying opportunities the customer may not have initially considered.

For example, an operator may request a specific feature because they believe it’s the best way to improve player engagement or operational efficiency. Through analysis, it may become clear that there are other approaches that achieve the same objective more effectively or with less complexity.

As operators expand across multiple regulated markets, requirements become increasingly complex. How important is the analyst’s role in translating commercial objectives into practical product delivery?

It’s become more important than ever. Today’s operators are rarely focused on a single market. They’re often balancing different regulatory frameworks, player expectations, compliance obligations and operational models simultaneously. What works in one jurisdiction may not work in another.

Business analysts help navigate that complexity by ensuring that commercial ambitions are translated into requirements that can actually be delivered within those regulatory constraints.

We work with operators across multiple markets, and one of the biggest challenges is ensuring consistency while maintaining the flexibility required for local compliance. Analysts play a key role in identifying where standardisation is possible and where market-specific adaptations are required.

Looking back at major operator migrations and platform projects, can you identify examples where strong business analysis prevented costly mistakes or delays further down the line?

Operator migrations are probably one of the best examples of where strong business analysis can have a direct impact on project success.

A platform migration is rarely just a technology exercise. Operators are moving player accounts, wallet balances, bonus structures, loyalty programmes, payment integrations, reporting processes and, in many cases, market-specific compliance requirements. Every operator also has unique operational workflows that have evolved over many years. If those details are not fully understood at the outset, the risks increase significantly.

Without discussing specific customers, we’ve seen numerous cases where detailed discovery and analysis identified potential issues long before they became project risks. For example, differences in how player data was structured, how bonus mechanics were configured, or how certain operational processes were handled could have created significant delays if they had only been discovered during testing or immediately before launch.

Business analysts play a critical role in mapping existing processes, understanding what must be preserved, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring there is complete alignment between the operator’s expectations and the delivery team’s understanding. They help answer some of the most important questions in any migration project: what needs to move, what needs to change, what can be improved, and what risks need to be managed.

At Comtrade Gaming, we’ve always viewed migrations as more than simply moving an operator from one platform to another. They are an opportunity to position the business for future growth. Strong business analysis ensures that operators don’t simply replicate existing challenges on a new platform, but instead take advantage of the migration to improve operational efficiency, scalability and the overall player experience.

The industry is becoming increasingly data-driven and AI-focused. How is the role of the business analyst evolving as operators seek more personalised and automated player experiences?

Historically, analysts focused heavily on documenting requirements and translating business needs into technical specifications. Those responsibilities remain important, but today they’re increasingly involved in helping operators understand how data can be used to improve decision-making and player experiences.

As AI and automation become more prevalent, operators are asking different questions. They’re not simply asking for new functionality; they’re looking to understand how technology can drive retention, improve operational efficiency, strengthen responsible gaming initiatives and create more personalised customer journeys.

When operators evaluate technology suppliers, they tend to focus on products and features. Should they be paying more attention to the quality of the people involved in requirements gathering and project discovery?

Absolutely, this is typically the biggest reason for a clients satisfaction or disatifcation with their vendor choice.

Products and features are important, but successful technology partnerships are ultimately delivered by people. Two suppliers may offer similar functionality, but the quality of the discovery process, the understanding of the operator’s business and the ability to execute effectively can produce very different outcomes. One of the themes I’ve consistently spoken about is the importance of partnership. The strongest partnerships are built on understanding, collaboration and trust. That doesn’t come from software alone; it comes from the people responsible for listening, asking the right questions and helping operators navigate complex decisions.

A strong business analyst can uncover opportunities, identify risks and help shape a solution that genuinely supports an operator’s strategic goals. Conversely, even a highly capable platform can struggle if requirements are not properly understood from the outset.

When evaluating suppliers, operators should certainly assess the technology, but they should also pay close attention to the expertise, experience and quality of the teams that will actually be involved in delivering the project.