In our latest installment featuring industry-leading executives, “Meet The Experts” reached out to Tom Higgins, CEO of Gold-i, for his exclusive perspective on innovation and strategies amidst an increasingly cutthroat Forex market.
Mr. Higgins was most recently featured on the Technology Panel at the iFX EXPO in Cyprus last month, in which he discussed technological challenges and options in an evolving marketplace.
How does Gold-i distinguish itself from its competitors, specifically in a climate that gravitates towards similar tools such as MT4?
We work very closely with clients to develop products for which there is a genuine need in the market. Our products are highly flexible and can be customized to specific client requirements.
In addition, we offer a very high level of customer service, 24 hours a day. The combination of market-leading products backed up by exemplary service has really helped us to differentiate from competitors.
The company is structured around software development and Quality Assurance. The Gold-i team consists of 90% engineers and 10% sales, whereas our competitors are frequently structured the other way round.
Using innovative strategies such as multi-level services (bronze, silver, gold and platinum), has Gold-i achieved a level of client exposure it had hoped for since the offering’s inception?
We continually evolve to ensure we are leading the market and offering clients products and services to suit their current and future needs. For example, in response to clients wanting a range of options to help with the set up and management of their MT4 environment, we introduced multi-level services (from bronze for customers who require second level support and out-of-hours cover to supplement their in-house IT function, through to platinum for those who wish to fully outsource the set up and management of their MetaTrader environment).
Since the outset, we have exceeded all growth targets year- on-year. Much of our business has come from client recommendations. We take the time to understand our clients’ needs so that we can help them to become more competitive and more profitable. By valuing our clients across the globe, we have developed strong client relationships and this has really fuelled our success. This is backed up by a recent client survey which revealed that 98% of clients would recommend us to others.
In terms of exposure, we have really benefited from high visibility speaker opportunities at events such as iFX EXPO in Cyprus. By having stands at Forex Magnates events in Turkey and London we have significantly raised our visibility and benefited from connecting with key players in local markets.
It has been stated that companies offering fully integrated solutions are the only way to go and those that do not adhere to this will be out of business in a couple of years – do you feel this is accurate?
Absolutely not. I think the opposite is true. In my view, a platform that can integrate with complementary technology partners is by far the best way to go and will give clients ultimate flexibility and choice, which is exactly what they need and want.
Innovation has consistently been at the forefront of this industry – broadly speaking where do you feel technology and solutions providers are headed?
Innovation has been our DNA since we were founded and we have launched a series of industry first products, opening up new opportunities for brokers across the globe. As Gold-i evolves, we will continue to focus on pushing boundaries.
Gold-i spends more than 60% of our resources on R&D, ensuring an exciting flow going forward. We currently have a product pipeline, which extends beyond 2016.
Retail broking innovation has been strong over the last few years but there has been less innovation in institutional broking. Looking ahead, I believe the institutional market will reap the benefits of much of the advances in retail technology innovation. Watch this space….
