Exclusive interview with Spotware Systems’ Alexander Strelnikov about partners

Spotware Systems, the 100-staff-strong software company and developer of multi-award-winning FX & CFD web trading platform cTrader, has been on a roll lately.

In addition to constant updates to its flagship product, cTrader, the firm has recently enhanced connectivity, released the Broker OAuth solution to revolutionize the mobile experience, rolled out a Manager’s API for brokers, and introduced a new package for White Label providers and resellers. All of this launched amid much stronger demand from FX brokers.

Partners: An audience whose needs have so far gone unmet by most major players

We had the opportunity to speak with Alexander Strelnikov, Head of Product at Spotware Systems, for an in-depth view how the firm’s approach to product development and partnerships.

Alexander Strelnikov joined Spotware in 2012 after leading roles in global financial institutions and owning a brokerage business.

At Spotware, he is responsible for guiding and controlling all server-side products, adding and developing new functionalities, controlling performance and architecture, as well as making sure Spotware’s products both live up to and surpass the industry’s ever-rising standards.

 

1. Why have you chosen to focus specifically on partners?

We have always considered partners as an audience whose needs have so far gone unmet by most major players in the industry despite the immense value that partners can generate for brokers and traders. Partners are an amazing mix of super-users, educators, funds managers, and experts in manual and automated trading – exactly someone who you need on your side given just how competitive the Forex sector is now. From this perspective, targeting partners is the most sensible choice to deliver value regardless of how value is defined by individual stakeholders.

2. You state that Spotware’s solutions solve the key issues facing partners. Could you elaborate on how you identify these issues?

When we identify issues that face partners, we always conduct a ‘deep dive’ into how partners choose to engage with traders. This ‘deep dive’ is performed with the help of our valued community and the brokers working with us. Through conversations with these stakeholders, we discern very specific barriers that partners face in their everyday activities. Spotware wants to go above and beyond simply targeting partners as its core market segment – we want to transform how partners operate by offering several valuable additions to their usual toolbox which is the driving force behind our research. For instance, we are planning to deliver a solution that allows for sharing trading charts without leaving cTrader to address the typical limitations of video streaming.

3. What is your typical thought process that goes into designing a feature that delivers value to partners?

When we design and implement a new feature, we make sure that receiving its benefits is as easy as possible regardless of the purpose that you may be using cTrader for. The process starts with creating detailed mockups that our UX experts turn into smooth user flows. Skilled product managers and business analytics transform these flows into detailed requirements that our developers follow. Finally, our QA engineers intensely check for any inconsistencies between expected and actual behaviors. This results in creating features that offer superior UX across all major cTrader platforms including web, desktop, and mobile.

4. What mechanisms do you have for ensuring that your solutions are effective and reliable?

To us, effectiveness is measured primarily in the amount of value that the solutions we are offering generate to all major stakeholders. To achieve this, we are in constant conversation with all our major clients. The cTrader ecosystem is developed, hosted, and tested entirely by Spotware. Therefore, we know exactly how certain mechanisms are going to perform. We also heavily invest in manual and automated testing to eliminate any unexpected behaviors that partners may face when leveraging our solutions.

5. Could you lift the proverbial veil over what you are planning to deliver in 2023?

To be more specific, we are planning to offer revolutionary ways partners can distribute their automated trading advisors. Furthermore, cTrader will become the single point of entry for nearly all activities that partners engage in. This will be achieved by allowing users to share almost everything inside the platform including orders, positions, manual trading strategies, etc. All these features will complement each other.

As an illustration, partners will be able to host chart streams without leaving the trading platform while sharing trading signals at the click of one button. Partners will also be able to use personal pages hosted on ctrader.com to promote themselves, allowing them to effortlessly build their authority and effectively target their audiences.

6. In your opinion, how could relationships between partners and traders change in 2023?

I would say that partners are going to become the essential interface through which brokers and traders can benefit each other. Partners already fulfill several important roles including user education, broker marketing and promotion, and trader attribution. In 2023, we aim to create entirely new mechanisms for partners to interact with traders, covering the entire range of typical partner activities. As a result, the relationships between partners and traders will become much more meaningful and effective for both parties.

 

2023 is expected to be a strong year for the FX industry and Spotware Systems is putting its chips on partners, the “amazing mix of super-users, educators, funds managers, and experts in manual and automated trading”.