Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS): Delivering IT and Business Transformation

Diane Arnold, Director of Technical Services

The last four decades have been a steady journey of growth and innovation for Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS). Founded in 1979 as a computer consulting company, LRS has grown to become a global provider of innovative information technology solutions with more than 700 employees. The diverse and growing company has transitioned over the last decades to become a technology leader and expanded throughout the regions of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Impressed by the solutions and platform that IBM brought to the table, LRS became an IBM business partner in 1995. The company has gone through a rapid transformation, with IBM shifting its focus toward software and services rather than the hardware platform. Today, LRS not only assists IBM as their re-seller but also represents their digital transformation practices, which includes cloud, security, and analytics. We got in touch with Diane Arnold, the director of technical services at LRS, to learn more about her company’s growth and diversification.

What are some of the trends that you expect will have an impact in the IBM sector this year?

Data is valuable and using it to its full potential—in the form of insights—has become important for companies all across the globe. That’s where we enter the picture, by providing analytics and securing the data at the same time. As the concern around data integrity is rising, efforts to safeguard it are evolving continuously. We provide a comprehensive and integrated technology solution which encompasses a secure data center and cloud.

In your interactions with the CIOs of leading companies, what sense do you get of the challenges they face in the IBM solutions space?

The role of the CIO continues to evolve as there are many stakeholders involved in making a technology-based decision today. The CIO ultimately has the responsibility to keep the data safe. In our conversations with CIOs of different companies, we focus on collaboration and alignment to attain organizational objectives by including every stakeholder. The IT department must not make decisions alone; there must be an equal involvement of every department in technology decision making.

Additionally, with a plethora of technology providers existing today, it can be a daunting task for CIOs to manage all the business-owned information. Clients are helped by LRS to identify siloed data storage locations, after which they are enabled to build data repositories that can combine, enrich, and extract data to create a powerful impact on the business.

Our track record, combined with our three guiding factors—quality, flexibility, and relationships—have served us well and continue to push us forward

How do LRS’ solutions help companies leverage existing IT investments and decrease the cost of delivering business-critical information around the organization?

LRS recognizes that digital transformation practices have evolved over the years. Customer experience is the sole factor that drives the change today. We believe the customer holds the key to success, and this philosophy must not be restricted to a particular department, but it should permeate throughout the company. To this end, when we talk to a customer, the conversation has a purpose of initiating a company-wide commitment. We focus on providing value around infrastructure and cloud, security, and analytics solutions to meet the business needs of our customers. Our methodology is focused on taking a consultative approach to discover challenges with regards to identifying and addressing vulnerabilities existing in the network.

Since our inception, we have been dedicated to creating IT solutions that incorporate the best IT products and services available and delivered by our outstanding staff of IT professionals. We provide value and expertise in a competent manner. Our track record, combined with our three guiding factors—quality, flexibility, and relationships—has served us well and continue to push us forward.

How does LRS’ partnership with IBM help in delivering best-in-breed information technology solutions, products, and services to the customers?

As an industry leader, IBM is enabling partners to drive better business outcomes for their customers with a robust portfolio of integrated solutions. LRS’ industry expertise and our deep knowledge in big data and analytics, security, cloud, and integrated technology align well with the IBM solution portfolio. Leveraging both provides our customers with new ways to look at the business holistically, drive innovation and growth.

Could you please cite a case study on how you have enabled clients to overcome hurdles and attain desired outcomes with your innovative array of solutions?

We recently worked with one of the nation’s largest food re-distributors. The client has nine distribution centers used to service all 50 states and 25 countries. They employ 50 people to manage data sourcing and report creation which created massive delays in information delivery.

Our team worked with the CIO and stakeholders of their organization to support their digital transformation and automate their reporting environment. Using a consultative approach, we uncovered their operational challenges first and then, based on the findings, our team architected a high-performance data warehouse appliance and enterprise-class management and governance platform. We also proposed IBM Infosphere Information Server for data movement and governance.

What does the future hold for your organization? Any footprint expansion plans or platform enhancement strategies that you can shed light upon?

Our customers appreciate our ethical and consultative approach, as we understand and respect the policies that exist within the clients’ environment. We develop close-knit relationships with our clients, and, going forward, we will continue to preserve those relationships. Our longstanding partnership with IBM helps us enhance our capabilities and solution practices and keeps us at the forefront of technology solutions. We have a close eye on novel technologies such as AI and blockchain and would aim to leverage these technologies to build a secure and competent practice around it.