Technology and innovation under the spotlight at inaugural Geek Night

LEEDS-BASED Sky Betting and Gaming hosted the region’s first-ever Geek Night, in partnership with consultancy ThoughtWorks, as part of its efforts to reach out to the digital community.

The gaming company, which spun out of Sky’s ownership earlier this year in a deal which valued the firm at £800m, is heavily dependent on technology and relies on innovation to to deliver new products and scale up for its growing customer base.

Andy Burton, chief technology officer for Sky Betting and Gaming, said: “By providing a forum for some of the most talented industry professionals to come together to discuss technology and innovation, we’re demonstrating our commitment to growing the level of digital talent in the region.

“The event is also a great opportunity for people within the industry to share ideas and learnings, as well as networking with like-minded individuals.”

The company is an active recruiter and although it is one of the biggest names in the city’s digital cluster it can still find it difficult to fill its vacancies.

“Over the last five years we have recruited more than 200 people since we moved into Leeds,” he said.

“Leeds is getting tougher. A lot of the firms are expanding their tech teams and there’s more competition in Leeds, but in the short term it makes it more of a challenge.

“We need to be cleverer about our value proposition. It’s about a place where you can use the latest ways of working and work with some great technologies and learn from your colleagues, and a place where you can make a difference.”

One of Mr Burton’s other challenges – besides the constant requirement for the system to respond to ever-increasing numbers of users – is to create the right culture that encourages and stimulates innovation.

“The starting point is making sure it is working all the time,” he said. “But we will quickly get left behind. it’s about having a clear product vision over the next six, nine and 12 months.

“The way we like to work is using the LEAN product model and getting something – an MVP, a minimum viable product – in front of a customer as quickly as possible then start getting feedback and plan where to go next.

“We talk about trying lots of ideas and talk about failing fast. Failure is a good thing, we believe that. We probably don’t do it as much as I would like to do at the moment.

“We probably develop a small number of ideas, that’s an area we can get better at.”