How Luxoft Created the First Agriculture and Food Practice that Doesn't Compromise the Prowess of Big IT NOR the Expertise of Industry Insiders.

1. Transforming Agribusiness for the Digital World -
Introducing the Elusive Pegasus Unicorn
Similartothe industrial revolutionthatforeverchanged industry,the FarmtoFork value chain
(agriculture throughfoodretailing)isonthe precipice of itsownrevolution,butthisone relieslesson
steamand steel andmore onanalysisandalgorithms. While the lastagricultural revolutionfocusedon
science basedtechnology,thisone focusesondataand informationtechnology. All playersacrossthe
Farm to Forkvalue chain have a unique opportunityto leverage breakthroughsin BigDataand IoT to
findnewwaysto meetthe needsof Food2040 and feeding9billionpeople highqualitynutrition.
Perspectiveonthe Problem
Havingfoundedand/orledthe five largestglobalfoodandagricultural professionalservicepractices
overthe last 2 decades,I’ve seenagriculturemove fromneedingturnaround managementtothe march
towardsconsolidationtothe radical advancesinagronomyandhusbandryscience basedtechnologies
provided. The nextgreatrevolutioninagriculture will be tiedtodatascience andinformation
technology. Foodandagriculture isthe leastdigitizedindustryandwill have tobecome digital ata
dizzyingpace,muchlike howmanyemergingcountriesavoidedcopperwire intelecommunicationsand
wentstraightto digital. Suchisthe leapagriculture and foodneedtomake to reach the total factor
productivityneededtofeed9billionpeople by2040 andthe needsof 4 billionnew middleclass
members(andforindividual companiestorealizethe opportunityassociatedwithsucharadical global
shiftindemographics).
The truth is the lackof digitizationinfoodandagriculture isasmuch the faultof the information
technologyindustry. Agricultureandfoodhave historicallybeen“backburner”industriesforITwhich
has chasedretail,technology,healthcare andother“hotter” sectors.
Agriculture andfoodcompanieshave hadtomake significantcompromiseswhentryingtodigitize...
until now. Letme explainthe conflictof the Pegasusversusthe Unicornandhow Luxoftisthe first
global BigIT firmto provide acomplete suite of hightechnologysolutionswithadeepunderstandingof
individualsectorsandneedsacrossthe Farmto Fork Value chainfrompre-farmgate inputstopost-farm
gate grain and proteinprocessingall the waytodistributionandfoodretail.
The Pegasus
Global businesses offeringnewbreakthroughsforotherindustries are consideredtobe Pegasustypes. A
worthyname,indeed - the termoriginatesfromthe PegasusCompanyof the Britishmilitarythatdoes
trainingandselection butcreates“cookie cutter”soldierswhichthe branchesthenhave totrainfor
specificbilletsorpurposes. Theydoqualityworkif youare a square hole fortheirsquare peg.
But on the flipside,theyare spreadouttoothin.Theyworkwithmanyindustries, andfocuson“hot”
industrieslike healthcare,technologyandtelecommunications tofocuswhatlittle sectorexpertise they
can muster. Foodand agriculture were just“lumpedinto”otherpractices (oftenspreadtooveradozen
differentpractices) versusbeingtreatedassomethingdifferentandspecial. Asa result,Pegasustypes
have little industryexpertiseingeneral andevenlessexpertise inanindustrytheyhave largelytreated

2. as a “flyover”. Agriculture andfoodproductionare areaswhere only atinypercentof the population
has directexperience. Beingone of the mostregulatedandcounterintuitiveindustries,youhave to
knowit specificallyversusassume itwillbe similartoadjacentindustries. Disasterhappensif youtreat
animal healthlike humanhealthortry to create a commoditytrade riskmanagementplatformforsoft
commoditieslike youdoforhard commodities. Itgetsevenworse whenIoTteamswithtraditionallight
and heavymanufacturingexperience trytotake that to a grainprocessingoranimal slaughterfacility.
Theyjustdon’tunderstandwhattheyare lookingat or how youmake a profit(orwhere youare liable
to take a loss). Nottomention,theyjustdon’tfitinor winthe trustof yourproductionemployees.
The Unicorn
On the otherhand,the Unicorn isan organizationthat solvesaspecificissue.Theyalsoreallyknowtheir
industry,sotheydon’tmake the rookie mistakesof the Pegasusdue tothatknowledge. Butonly
workingwithaUnicorn type businessalsohasitspitfalls. Inagriculture andfood,manysmall
technologyfirmshave beencreatedbyindustry“insiders”thatsolve real problemsbutsimplylackthe
disciplinedcodingandtechnologyskillsand/orwon’tintegrate withthe dozenormore other Unicorns
youwouldhave to workwithto geta real end-to-endsolution. Theyoftenlackthe cuttingedge
solutionsandare a generationortwobehindincritical areaslike satellite imageryanalysis,IoTorBig
Data. Theyalso are at constantriskof beingtakenover bya hostile competitororsimplyrunningoutof
funding. Theyrarelyupdate asquicklyasthe industrychanges(particularlyonregulatorymatters). So
theyquicklygo“out of date”.
The Unicorn isjust as frustratingasthe Pegasus.
Combining the Two
For thisreason,manyagriculture andfoodcompaniestriedtocreate theirownsolutionsatgreatcost.
Essentially,theywouldbuyaseriesof Unicorns hopingthatthroughsheersize these combined
Unicorns wouldactlike a true Big IT company.Theyneverdid. Ortheywoulddecide touse theirmulti-
billion-dollarturnovertocreate a scalable Pegasusthathad Unicornunderstandingof the industry
because itwasstaffedbyinternal resources. But,inevitably,oftenbeingengineeringandscience based
companies,theyweren’tsuitedforthe change of thinkingrequiredtocreate hightechnologyand
software orwork withBigData and analytics. Andevenif theywere somewhatsuccessful,whatwasthe
cost? Theyinvestedtheirmostexpensive and innovative laborintosomethingfarremovedfromtheir
core mission.
What was neededwasnotforagriculture andfoodto suddenlytransformintohightechnologyanddata
science,butfora Big IT companyto builda teamthat knowsend-to-endeachmajorFarmto Forkvalue
chainsector.
Enter Luxoft,the PegasusUnicorneveryone in agribusiness waswaitingfor.
What They Need

3. Luxoftisa NYSE tradedglobal technologycompany that’shome tosome of the brightestmindsand
sharpestsolutionsintechnology.It’snowonderwe workwithleadersof finance,automotive,high
technology,retail, healthcare,andotherareastoimprove theirsituationsbothinsideandout.
So whenitcomesto Luxoft’sagriculture team,they’re nothingtoscoff at. Over70% of the teamhas
master’sdegreesorPhDs,andtheiryearsof experience are unmatched byotherglobal players. In
addition,over20% have directfarmingexperience. Thisallowsthemtoconceptualizevisuallywhat
actual farmor agribusinessfunctionsencompass,nomatterhow complicated.Beingknowledgeable in
all areas of what youcreate is a strengthLuxoft greatly excelsat.
WithLuxoftas the PegasusUnicorn agribusinessneeds,technologycanmove forwardat a briskerpace
throughincreasingproductivityandcreating applicable and smartsoftware ata lowercost. The
agribusinessindustrydoesn’thave tobotherwithcreatingtech,andcan have more time forthe unique
“one thing”theydo betterthananyone else. The LuxoftPegasusUnicornistruly the mythical creature
they have all beensearchingfor.
Be sure to checkout our brochure that expandsonourinfluence inagribusiness,andfeel freetodrop
me a line at:
(314) 570-2631
rkottmeyer@luxoft.com
RichardKottmeyer