Engineering and Business: A Delicate Balance
As the Tech Race Summit 2026 draws near, Sergey Kastsukevich, Chief Technology Officer at SOFTSWISS, is laying out the challenges at the intersection of business growth and engineering scalability in the gaming world. It’s a familiar tension: Businesses are eager to launch rapidly and innovate faster than rivals, while engineering teams are responsible for the long-term stability of these rapid expansions. The catch? Business is all about speed and market share, but engineers focus on scalability and reliability — often leading to stark disagreements. “Business always wants things fast, high-quality, and cheap,” Kastsukevich states. The critical negotiation for any CTO is balancing these sometimes conflicting priorities, especially in start-ups where risk tolerance is higher. But mature companies, particularly those handling real money in regulated markets, have less room for error.
In This News
Scalability Concerns from the Ground Up
Kastsukevich sheds light on scalability — a key factor often overlooked until it’s too late. “Launching for five players per hour is easy,” he notes, but handling thousands across multiple markets is where true engineering discipline comes into play. Scale isn’t a switch flipped overnight. It’s a foundational decision, one that can’t be ignored when planning for future demands. Without early architectural decisions, new requirements such as market expansions or additional payment methods can overwhelm systems. “Why can’t you just handle a million users?” is a frequent question, but the real issue is whether the system was designed with such scale in mind from the start.
The Burden of Technical Debt
Kastsukevich explains how technical debt — the cost of prioritizing quick wins over sustainable architecture — ultimately becomes business debt. The short-term choices made to expedite launches often lead to sluggish future developments. Bugs become more complex, and new features take longer to integrate because they rest on unstable foundations. Eventually, businesses must authorize extensive rebuilds that could have been avoided with incremental investments. “Technical debt never disappears,” he warns. “It simply waits.”
The Hidden Risks of Outdated Technology
Outdated tech is more than an inconvenience; it’s a risk. But legacy systems become increasingly challenging to maintain, hindering security updates and new integrations. Kastsukevich emphasizes that explaining the necessity of tech investments to non-technical stakeholders is tough, especially when the system appears to function fine. Engineers often have to frame these updates in terms of risk management rather than immediate benefit. And while the improvement might not make the platform faster or directly increase revenue, it mitigates future risks and avoids complications with newer technologies.
Investing in Research for Future Success
Research and development are vital for long-term success. Large companies, like Google and OpenAI, invest heavily in research, but smaller outfits often see it as an unaffordable luxury. Yet, those that prioritize research are better positioned to capitalize on new technological shifts. It’s all about preparation. Smaller firms might feel constrained, but Kastsukevich points out that research time is essentially time spent ensuring the business doesn’t stagnate. Teams that experiment not only learn faster but also adapt to changes more seamlessly when innovations like AI move from interesting to indispensable.
The Road Ahead
The Tech Race Summit 2026 in Warsaw on September 10 offers a platform for discussing these challenges. Featuring over 30 speakers from tech giants like AWS, Google, Oracle, and more, it’s a chance for industry leaders to explore solutions to these pressing issues. Whether companies will make the right investments in scalability and long-term tech health remains the open question.
Garry Sputnim is a seasoned journalist and storyteller with over a decade of experience in the trenches of global news. With a keen eye for uncovering stories that resonate, Alex has reported from over 30 countries, bringing light to untold narratives and the human faces behind the headlines. Specializing in investigative journalism, Garry has a knack for technology and social justice issues, weaving compelling narratives that bridge tech and humanity. Outside the newsroom, Garry is an avid rock climber and podcast host, exploring stories of resilience and innovation.
