Meet the Team – WaiKuan Yam, Cloud Architect
21 June 2022
How long have you worked at SLA Digital and what is your current role?
I started working for SLA Digital as a System Engineer on May 4th 2015, Star Wars Day! I was mainly responsible for system integration and operation. At the time I was learning about cloud computing and SLA Digital was able to provide me with on-the-job training in this area, which was a great opportunity. I am now responsible for developing strategies and solutions for cloud architecture designs and infrastructure to meet the company’s needs.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
My role is focused on developing strategies and optimising systems, which I see as a puzzle to be solved. To do this, I have to identify system characteristics and test various solutions to solve any issues that may arise. This allows me to put together the pieces of the puzzle to present an overall solution which gives me a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in my job.
Can you explain a little more about what your role entails and how you and your team help SLA Digital’s clients?
In my role, I manage a team of operations engineers and we help bridge the gap between SLA Digital and client systems. In addition to integration, we are on hand to support our business operation team who helps clients through any integration queries they may have. I also regularly review our system architecture and designs to see if I can make any improvements on scalability and stability.
In your opinion, how has the carrier billing space evolved over the last few years?
Telcos have always provided bundled offerings with their packages to attract customers as early as a decade. However, a huge part of the last few years has been tough on the world due to the pandemic and lockdowns, but it has also boomed considerably as mobile games and streaming services grew exponentially in this space under such conditions. We are seeing growth in the customer choosing carrier billing as their payment method for in-app purchases and subscriptions, partly due to the seamless integrations between mobile platforms and convenience of access.
Do you believe fraud prevention is essential for mobile payments and how do SLA Digital’s solutions help fight against fraud?
Yes, absolutely. Payment-related fraud inevitably causes monetary losses to parties who provide such services and an organisation’s reputation will be affected by such incidents; it is always in our best interest to aim to accurately detect and prevent fraud in a cost-efficient and scalable manner. Apart from our fraud detection solution, SLA Digital also work with reputable experts like AWS and Empello to enhance fraud detection capability.
Do you think it is important for companies to work with aggregators with ISO accreditation?
Yes, ISO has always been a global benchmark for high standards and quality policies. Working with aggregators that are ISO certified ensures that they conform to the same set of policies that a company has to avoid any potential dispute and legal risks.
What infrastructure features should a mobile operator or merchant look for in an aggregator?
When choosing an aggregator to work with you should look for the following;
- Good security practices, such as encryption and access control
- Compliant data privacy and integrity policies
- Minimal compatibility issues with your system
- That they conform to current trends such as cloud computing, iterative development process, ease of integrating
What future developments do you see for digital infrastructure?
Digitalisation is here to stay and as technology advances, new payment methods such as cryptocurrencies are slowly growing. I foresee that at a certain point, there will be more e-wallets appearing in the market but segmented to relying on traditional currencies and another on cryptocurrencies. Then eventually as users look to streamline these different types of wallets, perhaps there will be a Super app for e-wallets.
What progress has SLA Digital made in the carrier billing market since you joined and what is your team’s focus?
Since I joined SLA Digital there has been continuous growth in the number of mobile operators and merchants that choose to work with us, as well as significant enhancements to our product offering. My team’s focus going forward is continuing to improve on our fraud prevention methods and automate routine tasks to help improve efficiencies.
