Open letter to Spotware

BeardPower
09 Jul 2017, 01:00

A change must happen

Hi,

I agree with everything in the previous post.

Here are my 2cents.

First of all, a big thanks to Spotware for providing a high quality product.
The fact, that it's free for the end user, is one of it's biggest value.
cTrader is without question one of the best ECN/STP trading platform offered.
Good features, fast execution times, very nice and intuitive UI and an easy to
use IDE.
Now comes the big BUT: it could be GREAT in every aspect! So much potential is
just left behind. Many features, basic but also very important ones, which could
make a dent and blow other platforms out of the water, are on the ToDo-List or
under consideration since three to four years. Even the top voted suggestions
are just not going to happen. It's very saddening and frustrating, as most users
can imagine, which great product cTrader could be!
Of course it's understandable, that every business has some priorities set and
business models implemented, which need to be followed, but what Spotware is
lacking at most is communication! There is little to none and many users got the
impression, that cTrader is kind of abandoned.

So what could be a solution? Let's just play through some theoretical scenarios.

Scenario 1:

cTrader/cAlgo already has a nice and feature rich API. So it's possible to open
the platform for third party developers, giving them the opportunity to
implement what they see fit for them. If the API can be opened up to some major
extend, users could implement features and tools they need and wait for.
Which components would the API need for that:
- Drawing tools: whatever tool a users comes up with, can be implemented and
  integrated into the UI directly.
- Bar types: customized bars; from colored to invisible to icon-based.
- Chart types: every chart type ever requested and voted for, could be provided
  by third parties. From Universal Renkos, to Cluster Charts to Point & Figure.
- Chart panel: any drawing tool could be created through code and alarms can be
  set based on the drawing tools.
- Connections: cTrader could transform into more than a FX platform. Trading
  Stocks and Futures would be possible, by using the API many clearing houses,
  brokers and exchanges offer.
- I'm sure there is even more, what could be made accessible, without
  compromising the core functionalities, which need to be stable and safe.

Scenario 2:

Make cTrader OpenSource software, as a kind of a "Community Edition". Of course
this would be a little problematic, because of licenses involved and some core
components, which should not be dealt with. These could be just kept as closed
source.

Scenario 3:

Spotware steps up it's communication drastically, implements and releases the
requested features in a short to medium timeframe. If people know the status
quo, they can decide for themselves, if it's worth the while or just move on.

Whatever happens next, it's an improvement to the current situation.

Thank you!

Pavloff
11 Jul 2017, 11:58

Spotware CEO replies

Uche, BeardPower,

I would like to address your open letter.

Firstly let me share with you where Spotware is now. We're a company in Cyprus of around 100 people, just over 7 years old. We have 4 major technology teams for Server, Windows, Web and Mobile development. Then we have product teams consisting of Product Managers, Business Analysts and Quality Assurance, they are supported by Deployment Engineers, DBA/DBP, System Admins, Designers and the Service Assurance team. This is the muscle part of the company - some serious muscle I have to say - my guys kick ass like no other in the industry. And a bit of fat: me, sales, finance, marketing, HR. The plan is to grow to around 150 people in the short to medium term. 

As for products, apart from all the infrastructure (cServer, cHub, Proxy Cloud, cBroker), which is mostly of interest to brokers we have cTrader, cAlgo, cMirror. Some of it is in the downloadable, some on the web and on the mobile. cTrader has been a major focus for us and as you see we are delivering there constantly, we will also soon release Renko, Range, super-fast ticks as well as some new interesting order types like MOO and OCO. cMirror has been gradually progressing; it now can hold over 1000 followers per strategy, it's ROI is just about to change to daily TWRR. cAlgo was in maintenance mode for a long time, I will not make a secret out of this, that's changed - it is now under new management of a promising professional who I hope will engage with you here and his plans are vast, including: API growth vertically and horizontally, IDE and backtesting improvements, monetization for you guys through a cBot store, maybe even cloud execution. We will soon release brand new mobile native applications with smooth charts, fast loading time. You may be pleased to know that we are currently merging all applications into one - i.e. cAlgo will go inside cTrader. An amazing PAMM solution will be released soon. There is a lot we have to do due to regulatory changes, many other broker requests, but we always stay true to Traders First (TM) and brokers still cannot inject prices or use things like "virtual dealer" as in other platforms or interfere in any other way. I won't even go into all the stuff we have done on the infrastructure, connectivity side of things - we all know that cTrader execution speed is unsurpassed. 

In regards to our broker clients. We are currently the second largest platform provider in the industry. Part of the reason we are not the first is that we do not onboard all the brokers that come to us. Not only that, we let some brokers go when they are not treating their clients properly. We will not tolerate bucket shop operations under the cTrader name. Another part is that the competitor does have some strengths like the algo community. But word on the street is that only 1/3 of competing platform brokers are legit operations, many of which are also our clients. The other 2/3 we just wouldn't onboard. The beauty of it for traders is that with cTrader you can be sure that you are dealing with a legit broker - as legit as it gets. Our plan is to grow further, while maintaining the Traders First (TM) approach. We do not look for short term gains. 

You also mentioned lack of communication. I hope this post shines some light. We do a good job informing you on what's delivered. We will make an effort to see how we can engage you guys in what's in the making - maybe here on cTDN. I think it is not a bad idea for Product Managers to talk to you on the subject of what's in development now, maybe even sharing feature requirements here with you for feedback. Importantly, we understand that in the end of the day it is you guys voting for platforms with your trades and therefore it makes sense to build what you need, not what maybe assumed that you need. Also, we will see how to make this forum more useful - with less canned responses and more meaningful engagement. After all we all love cTrader.

Oh, in case you did not read the whole of the above - we are building a store for you to sell your cBots! Get ready.

Andrey Pavlov
CEO
Spotware Systems
ap@spotware.com

BeardPower
13 Jul 2017, 15:23

RE: Spotware CEO replies

Andrey_Pavlov said:

Uche, BeardPower,

I would like to address your open letter.

Dear Andrey Pavlov,

Thank you very much for your response and time. I really appreciate it!

Firstly let me share with you where Spotware is now. We're a company in Cyprus of around 100 people, just over 7 years old. We have 4 major technology teams for Server, Windows, Web and Mobile development. Then we have product teams consisting of Product Managers, Business Analysts and Quality Assurance, they are supported by Deployment Engineers, DBA/DBP, System Admins, Designers and the Service Assurance team. This is the muscle part of the company - some serious muscle I have to say - my guys kick ass like no other in the industry. And a bit of fat: me, sales, finance, marketing, HR. The plan is to grow to around 150 people in the short to medium term. 

Your team seems well prepared for the future to come.

As for products, apart from all the infrastructure (cServer, cHub, Proxy Cloud, cBroker), which is mostly of interest to brokers we have cTrader, cAlgo, cMirror. Some of it is in the downloadable, some on the web and on the mobile. cTrader has been a major focus for us and as you see we are delivering there constantly, we will also soon release Renko, Range, super-fast ticks as well as some new interesting order types like MOO and OCO.

cTrader needs definitely to address the needs for traders, which use/rely on time-independent chart types, like the ones you are mentioned. Point&Figure (a correct implementation) should also be on the list.
I understand, that the majority of traders is using time-based charts, but a lot of traders do not get the chance to use your great platform or don't switch, because they just simply can't.
So these types of charts need to get the same attention as the currently supported ones.

cMirror has been gradually progressing; it now can hold over 1000 followers per strategy, it's ROI is just about to change to daily TWRR.

cMirror and the IB are absolutely a big plus of your platform, as there is no need to rely on third party solutions, if traders want to copy trades between cTrader brokers.

cAlgo was in maintenance mode for a long time, I will not make a secret out of this, that's changed - it is now under new management of a promising professional who I hope will engage with you here and his plans are vast, including: API growth vertically and horizontally, IDE and backtesting improvements, monetization for you guys through a cBot store, maybe even cloud execution.

That is great to hear! I'm looking to a fruitful discussion with him or her.
A platform might has a big amount of great features, but it needs to provide mechanisms to grow by user content. If users have the programming skills and are eager to change the platform and/or add features they need, they should not be limited or be constrained. Both users and the platform will win.
If there are no real threats to the core system, every system. the user/developer/platform can benefit from, should have an API.

cBot store sounds great, but a cloud execution would be awesome. No need of an expensive VPS and their management any more.

We will soon release brand new mobile native applications with smooth charts, fast loading time.

Very good. There is not really an alternative for non-native apps. Either they are slow, feel out of place or are some ugly hacks around
some solution, which was never designed and targeted for these platforms in the first place.

You may be pleased to know that we are currently merging all applications into one - i.e. cAlgo will go inside cTrader.

This makes perfect sense. Having cAlgo and cTrader as two separate applications, but both offering same features like charting and running the cBots itself, always felt like some redundant and unnecessary overhead.

An amazing PAMM solution will be released soon.

Another very needed feature, great!

There is a lot we have to do due to regulatory changes, many other broker requests, but we always stay true to Traders First (TM) and brokers still cannot inject prices or use things like "virtual dealer" as in other platforms or interfere in any other way. I won't even go into all the stuff we have done on the infrastructure, connectivity side of things - we all know that cTrader execution speed is unsurpassed.

There were some concerns about conflict of interest posted on the forum recently. I totally understand you cannot go into all the details, but I think any concerns regarding COI can only
be cleared, it the users have a very clear picture of the inner workings.
Regarding the execution speeds, it would be a good thing, if there was some statistics on that. E.g. average execution times for x trades at time y and so on, which is updated in real-time and public accessible.

In regards to our broker clients. We are currently the second largest platform provider in the industry. Part of the reason we are not the first is that we do not onboard all the brokers that come to us. Not only that, we let some brokers go when they are not treating their clients properly. We will not tolerate bucket shop operations under the cTrader name. Another part is that the competitor does have some strengths like the algo community. But word on the street is that only 1/3 of competing platform brokers are legit operations, many of which are also our clients. The other 2/3 we just wouldn't onboard. The beauty of it for traders is that with cTrader you can be sure that you are dealing with a legit broker - as legit as it gets. Our plan is to grow further, while maintaining the Traders First (TM) approach. We do not look for short term gains.

This is a very noble ambition. I think we all are aware what happened recently, with one of the "legit broker". There are and will always be some black sheep out there. What matters more is, how a company will deal with such a situation.

You also mentioned lack of communication. I hope this post shines some light. We do a good job informing you on what's delivered. We will make an effort to see how we can engage you guys in what's in the making - maybe here on cTDN.

I already can see an improvement on the forum. Spotware employees are more active now and I know it's time consuming and an investment to engage with the community, but a company will benefit from a tight bond with it's user base.
It sometimes took a long time, until someone from the Spotware team was replying to some threads and kind of feel like an abandoned space.
Even some very good idea was changed over time: the direct feedback option in cTrader. Previous versions provided input fields for feedback and suggestions, which offered to send the content directly to Spotware. The Feedback button in the actual versions, only link to the forum. Why was this changed? I maybe overlooked some post regarding this, but I did not find post, which explained this move.
Was it misused for Spam? Are you thinking of bringing it back? Maybe with the possibility to add screenshots/screencasts tot for bug-reports? Even a public accessible bug-tracker?

I think it is not a bad idea for Product Managers to talk to you on the subject of what's in development now, maybe even sharing feature requirements here with you for feedback. Importantly, we understand that in the end of the day it is you guys voting for platforms with your trades and therefore it makes sense to build what you need, not what maybe assumed that you need. Also, we will see how to make this forum more useful - with less canned responses and more meaningful engagement. After all we all love cTrader.

Absolutely! I think the risk of giving away too much information to the competition is not really given. A clear roadmap and a feedback based feature requirement adds real value.
The user will receive features, which matter and are tailored to the real needs of the traders.
Adding the possibility to edit posts on the forum would be a good start.

Oh, in case you did not read the whole of the above - we are building a store for you to sell your cBots! Get ready.

I carefully read everything you wrote. If I wouldn't have done that, it would be first, very disrespectful of me and second, it would totally contradict the reason why we reached out in the first place: to discuss and shape the future of the platform together!

Thee is a very exciting future ahead, if the things you explained will be released in the short-term.

Andrey Pavlov
CEO
Spotware Systems
ap@spotware.com

Thank you again for taking the time for your detailed response!

Kind regards and all the best!