April 9, 2024
Published by MPN Canada on 11 July 2018
Do you want to build your cloud business? If so, check out this story about Long View Systems, the multi-Award-winning IT firm based in Calgary, Alberta.
Founded in 1999, Long View emerged in recent years as one of North America’s biggest and best technical IT powerhouses. In 2017, they won the Microsoft IMPACT award for Enterprise Cloud Partner of the Year – Canada. And they were chosen runner up for the Global Hybrid Cloud and Infrastructure Platform Partner of the Year Award. This year, they won took the top prize: 2018 Canada Partner of the Year!
A different vision
Now don’t let their size or all the impressive technical accolades fool you; Long View is all about people. In fact, while most companies dream of getting acquired or going public, Long View takes a refreshingly unique view. Their goal is to be a 100-year company, not to get bought or acquired.
No regrets careers
They also believe in “no regrets” careers. They’ve invested in a business culture that enables employees to build prosperous lives and work in a dynamic environment. Because of this empowering approach, employees grow strong and healthy relationships with customers, partners, and their communities.
“When you work in a great, healthy spot, you go back and contribute to your community in a positive way. That’s what we’re driven by.”
Employees matter
Case in point: Long View’s company’s management takes the time to go through a career/life planning process with its employees quarterly. Employees meet with their leaders to understand how they can develop and put a plan together charting their professional development. While this type of HR policy may seem touchy-feely to some (especially in the old macho tech industry), it makes a lot of business sense. After all, turnover is endemic in today’s talent marketplace.
Principled approach
Not exactly Gordon Gecko, right? Well, their business success demonstrates that growth and size do not need to come at the expense of ethics. With over 1100 employees working in offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Denver, and Houston, Long View’s clever solutions and flexible services attract diverse enterprise customers in both the private and public sectors.
“We are honoured to be chosen as the Canada Partner of the Year and to be recognized for our accomplishments within the Canadian partner community.” – Brent Allison, CEO, Long View
OneCloud
Take OneCloud, to start. Despite the benefits, it’s often difficult for organizations to evaluate, select, and manage the right mix of cloud technology. OneCloud solves that problem by unravelling the complexity and providing a single, customized solution addressing cloud workloads that reside in both public and on-premises environments.
“Azure is our first choice and our major provider for cloud. We also have our own geographical cloud in Canada and the U.S. for those unique applications that need more white-glove service. So, it’s about providing our clients with the right cloud for the right workload.”
SyncSource
Then there’s SyncSource. This Long View solution helps customers understand and procure the right software and hardware. Long View ensures customers utilize what they pay for through technology adoption programs with digital architects. By leveraging software asset management and optimization, they ensure their customers use licenses effectively and get the best technology ROI.
“We’re progressing from a standard, value-added reseller into a true business solution provider. And we’re fully aligned and engaged with Microsoft as a key partner.”
Security solutions
Long View is also a security specialist with a range of solutions on offer. CyberWatch, its managed security service, includes remote monitoring, detection, and response services. CyberShield, another security solution, provides a compliance managed security service. This depth and specialty of service helps customers operating in multiple, rigorous regulatory environments protect their interests from modern threats.
Service desk
Finally, there’s good old-fashioned support! Its Gartner-rated service desk helps clients with their technology every step of the way—from deployment and training, to day-to-day use. Behind the scenes, they manage everything for their clients, empowering them to focus on more strategic business activities than managing updates.
“In this mobile-first, cloud-first era it’s an exciting time to be a Microsoft partner in Canada. We are honoured to be chosen as the Canada Partner of the Year and to be recognized for our accomplishments within the Canadian partner community.” – Don Bialik, CEO, Long View
Microsoft Partner of the Year Award
For its excellence, Long View received the Microsoft Canada Partner of the Year Award—the top prize for any partner that’s celebrated every year at Microsoft Inspire! Highly prestigious, Country Partner of the year Awards recognizes the best of the best worldwide: companies put forward as examples of excellence for every partner. To give you a sense of Long View’s achievement, Microsoft received over 2,600 nominations from 115 countries across 39 global award opportunities. And there are over 100 Country Partner of the Year Awards as well.
“We did this in partnership with Microsoft. They gave us direction, they gave us insight, they gave us wisdom. Right down to the executives, they kept mentoring us and guiding us through this transformation.”