LucentraConsulting

Clear thinking for complicated software.

Lucentra Consulting helps teams design, build and ship software and AI systems that people actually use, backed by 25+ years of projects from embedded hardware to enterprise banking.

Start a conversation See what we do
  • 25+ years delivering projects
  • Firmware to enterprise banking
  • Inscape365 founded and sold

What we do

Three kinds of work, often combined. Every engagement is scoped to a real outcome, not a block of hours, and led by a senior consultant from first call to handover.

01

Software services

Custom applications, integrations and platforms, built to be maintained by your team long after we're gone.

What we build

  • Web apps, portals and internal tools in C#/.NET, Java and JavaScript
  • APIs and integrations between the systems you already pay for
  • Salesforce and Microsoft 365 solutions, automation and reporting
  • Embedded and hardware-connected software: Arduino, ESP32, machine-level C++
  • Modernising legacy code without a risky big-bang rewrite
  • Rescuing stalled projects and getting them over the line

For exampleReplacing a spreadsheet-and-email ordering process with a Salesforce-connected portal wired into your ERP.

Best for teams outgrowing spreadsheets, legacy apps or manual processes.

02

AI and automation

Practical AI that fits the way your team already works, plus the plumbing that makes it reliable enough to trust.

What we build

  • Assistants and agents grounded in your own documents and data
  • Document processing: invoices, contracts, forms and email
  • Evaluation, guardrails and monitoring so quality is measured, not guessed
  • Workflow automation across your CRM, helpdesk and back office
  • Taking an AI pilot from demo to production

For exampleA support assistant that drafts replies from your knowledge base, with a person approving every send.

Best for teams buried in repetitive, document-heavy or knowledge-heavy work.

03

Strategy and advisory

Straight answers on what to build, what to buy and what to leave alone, before the money is spent.

How we help

  • Technical due diligence for investors and acquirers
  • Architecture and code reviews with a prioritised fix list
  • AI readiness: where it pays off in your business, and where it won't
  • Build-vs-buy decisions and vendor selection
  • Fractional CTO support for teams without a senior technical lead

For exampleA review of a product's codebase and roadmap ahead of a funding round, with a plain-English report.

Best for leaders facing a big technology decision who want a straight answer.

Not sure which fits?Most projects start with one of these.

Our AI pilot never made it to production We inherited code nobody understands Our team re-types data between systems We need a second opinion before signing a vendor We have an idea and need a first version

25+ years of real projects, in very different worlds

From Arduino and ESP32 hardware on the plant floor to enterprise banking platforms. From machine-level C++ to C#, Java, Salesforce and today's AI tooling. That breadth is the advantage: we've seen what works, and what quietly fails, in a lot of different rooms.

Project experience includes Bank of AmericaBMO Bank of MontrealCDWCompass GroupPrimEdge

Banking and financial services

Enterprise-scale systems where security, compliance and reliability aren't optional.

Bank of AmericaBMO

Manufacturing, automation and embedded

Arduino and ESP32 firmware, machine-level C++ and the software that ties hardware, sensors and operations together.

ArduinoESP32Embedded C++

Enterprise IT

Large-scale technology environments, integrations and the reporting that keeps them in check.

CDW

Food service and hospitality

High-volume, many-location operations where systems have to work for people on the ground.

Compass Group

Small and growing businesses

Practical builds for owner-led companies: the right-sized tool, not an enterprise invoice.

PrimEdge
Founder experience

Built and sold Inscape365

A Microsoft 365 management and reporting product, taken from idea to launch to sale.

SaaSMicrosoft 365Exit

The toolkit

Decades of hands-on work across languages, platforms and hardware. We pick what fits your situation, not ours.

Languages

  • C#
  • Java
  • C++
  • Arduino C/C++
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • Python
  • SQL
  • PowerShell
  • HTML / CSS

Microsoft and .NET

  • .NET / .NET Core
  • ASP.NET Core
  • Web API
  • Entity Framework
  • WPF
  • WinForms
  • WiX installers
  • Visual Studio

Java ecosystem

  • Spring Boot
  • Hibernate
  • JavaFX
  • Maven
  • JUnit

Embedded and hardware

  • Arduino
  • ESP32
  • ESP8266
  • Embedded C++
  • Machine-level C++
  • Sensors and I/O
  • Serial / I²C / SPI
  • HMI and controls
  • MQTT

Web and front end

  • React
  • Angular
  • Node.js
  • REST APIs
  • Responsive UI

Cloud and DevOps

  • Azure
  • Azure DevOps
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Docker
  • Git / GitHub
  • IIS
  • Windows Server

Data and reporting

  • SQL Server
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Oracle
  • Power BI
  • Dashboards and reporting

Microsoft 365 and identity

  • Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Graph
  • Entra ID
  • SharePoint
  • Teams
  • Exchange Online
  • Power Automate

Salesforce

  • Apex
  • Lightning Web Components
  • Flows
  • SOQL
  • Salesforce integrations

AI and LLMs

  • Claude Code
  • Claude API
  • OpenAI
  • GitHub Copilot
  • LLM apps and agents
  • Retrieval (RAG)
  • MCP servers
  • Prompt engineering
  • Evaluation and guardrails
  • AI-assisted development

How an engagement works

Listen

A short call to understand the problem, the constraints and what success looks like.

Scope

A written plan with clear deliverables and next steps, shaped around your priorities.

Build

Regular demos of working software. You see progress, not status reports.

Hand over

Documentation, training and a clean handoff so your team owns what we built.

Small by design, senior by default

John Schiavarelli
Founder and Principal Consultant

John has spent more than 25 years delivering software projects, from Arduino and ESP32 hardware and machine-level C++ in manufacturing to enterprise platforms at some of North America's largest banks. Along the way he founded Inscape365, a Microsoft 365 management and reporting product, built it and sold it.

Today Lucentra pairs that experience with modern AI: LLM-powered tools, agents and AI-assisted development that ship faster without cutting corners. The person you talk to on the first call is the person doing the work, so nothing gets lost between the pitch and the delivery.

Background
25+ years across banking, enterprise IT, manufacturing and embedded hardware, hospitality and small business, plus a product built and sold.
Who we work with
Enterprises, growing businesses and product teams who need to move faster than their current setup allows.
How we engage
Project work, advisory or ongoing support. Remote-first, with in-person sessions when it helps.

Have a project in mind? Let's talk it through.

Send a few lines about what you're working on and we'll get back to you.