Application Modernization Transforms Online Betting Experience 

Background

Anticipating the Grand National, the UK’s premier betting event, Coral aimed to refine its digital betting platform to perfection. Recognizing the event’s potential to dramatically influence user engagement and platform performance, Coral sought a software development partner with deep iGaming expertise. Symphony Solutions emerged as the ideal collaborator, bringing their extensive knowledge to lead Coral’s application modernization efforts. Although the Grand National served as a critical catalyst for this initiative, the enhancements implemented were strategically planned for lasting impact, ensuring benefits that would extend far beyond the event itself. 

Client

Coral, a renowned household name in the UK and one of the country’s largest bookmakers boasts a history dating back to the mid-1800s. With a visible presence on every high street in the nation, Coral established itself as a leader in the UK’s gaming and betting industry.

As of March 2018, Coral became part of the Ladbrokes Coral Group after its GVC Holdings acquisition. This significant development transformed Coral into a key player within the world’s largest online betting and gaming company, operating under the umbrella of an FTSE 100 global organization. The acquisition magnified the importance of Coral’s digital platform, especially in the highly regulated UK betting market, where competition was fiercer than ever.

Challenge

Implementing Coral’s application modernization posed significant challenges for Symphony Solutions. The application modernization challenges included: 

• Coordination and Communication: With multiple Scrum teams spread across different locations and time zones, ensuring seamless communication and coordination was crucial to keep the project on track. 

• Dependency Management: The complex nature of the platform required meticulous application modernization approach. There was need for careful management of dependencies between teams. Also, prompt identification and resolution were essential to prevent delays and conflicts. 

• Resource Allocation: The project demanded a strategic balance in resource distribution. It was important to ensure that both the development of new features and the resolution of technical debt were addressed effectively. 

• Product Backlog Management: Managing a shared product backlog to reflect the project’s overall goals, while incorporating inputs from various teams and stakeholders, presented a challenge. This required continuous alignment and adaptability to evolving requirements. 

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Solution

To address the challenges encountered during the application modernization, Symphony Solutions implemented a multi-faceted approach: 

• Scaling Scrum Practices: Symphony’s application modernization strategy involved implementing Scrum methodologies to fit the large-scale nature of the project, involving multiple teams. This adaptation ensured that despite the project’s size, Agile principles were strictly followed, facilitating better coordination and efficiency across teams. 

• Integration and Testing: The team placed a strong emphasis on seamless integration and consistent testing practices using application modernization tools and specialized testing solutions. By coordinating integration efforts and establishing uniform testing protocols, Symphony minimized potential challenges, ensuring a high-quality product. 

• Team Dynamics: Recognizing the importance of a harmonious working environment, Symphony fostered a culture of collaboration. The company addressed any team conflicts or issues promptly, promoting a sense of shared ownership and accountability for the success of the project. 

• Product Backlog Management: Symphony ensured the availability of a sound application modernization roadmap. This involved making sure that the management of the product backlog was in strict alignment with the project’s overall goals and the priorities of stakeholders. Symphony achieved this through collaborative decision-making processes, incorporating inputs from multiple teams to ensure a unified and effective approach.  

Result

Symphony Solution’s application modernization services played a pivotal role in enhancing Coral’s digital platform, ensuring competitiveness, and meeting the demands of the modern betting landscape. Our solution successfully handled year-on-year all-time highest volumes of logins, concurrent users, new registrations, and transactions per minute. 

Symphony Solution’s strategic solutions to overcome Coral’s digital platform challenges yielded significant benefits: 

• Efficient Project Execution: By enhancing team coordination and integration, the project was streamlined, resulting in faster timelines and greater efficiency. 

• Faster Problem Solving: Proactive dependency management effectively reduced delays and conflicts, smoothing the development journey. 

• Superior Platform Quality: Maintaining a balance between developing new features and fixing technical issues significantly uplifted the platform’s overall quality. 

• Goal-Aligned Work: Through collaborative backlog management, efforts were precisely aligned with project goals and stakeholder expectations, ensuring work was both targeted and impactful. 

Symphony Solution’s enterprise application modernization services significantly enhanced Coral’s digital platform, improving its competitive edge and performance during peak times. The partnership ensured the platform could effortlessly manage record-breaking user activity, including logins, concurrent users, new registrations, and transactions per minute.