Long View
Defining and Customizing the Future of IT

In relative terms, it wasn't long ago that the IT department could have consisted of a single computer operator, storing data on magnetic tape, putting those tapes in a box and that box in a basement. As time has progressed, IT has evolved and while many players have stepped foot in the market, not many have managed to make an impression, with a few exceptions. The story of Calgary based Long View has made its mark due to its business model, "To build the best and most sustainable team driven IT consulting and procurement organization where great people can have healthy lives and prosperous careers".

The company's business model has endured the changing and expanding nature of IT. "By focusing every effort towards our clients and employees," says Gord Mawhinney, CEO, "We continue to foster personal relationships, which in turn has helped advance Long View’s growth." Mawhinney goes on to add, "Long View has furthered the development of its employee’s careers and clients’ businesses, all reflecting back to our business model of growth and success."

Long View offers project based technology solutions focused on IT infrastructure, as well as end to end operational outsourcing solutions for SMB

Long View offers project based technology solutions focused on IT infrastructure, as well as end to end operational outsourcing solutions for SMB to enterprise customers. Founded in 1999 by Don Bialik, it houses some of the best IT people anywhere and has senior technical experts in key technology areas like converged infrastructure, managed IT/outsourcing, cloud, virtualization, storage networking, collaboration, user support, and Data Center.

Long View since its inception has achieved outstanding growth and profitability year after year. With its presence in the Healthcare, Oil and Gas, Government, and Education sectors, Mawhinney says, "We have become a dominant player in the Western North American IT market based on our industry experience, successful track record, the quality of our people and our technology partners."

The company's philosophy of becoming a 100 year old company has been the cause of all the success. It has strived to ensure that every one of its clients will be a reference client that will stay with it year after year, decade after decade.

Strategy for the Near Future

Long View continues to use Geoffrey Moore’s Core vs. Context model as a strategic planning tool. Their business planning process is a multi-faceted approach combining financial strategy, technology changes, and trends in regional markets. As such, they review and update their Core vs. Context grid at quarterly strategic planning sessions. These updates are shared with all employees via the internal website, monthly general meetings, executive update e-mails, and weekly team meetings. This tool has proven effective because it addresses the challenges of disruptive change, a constant issue in the technology sector.