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About Red Level

As a comprehensive technology services company, Red Level delivers customized scalable technology solutions designed precisely to our client's unique needs – solutions that accelerate growth, reduce costs and enable collaboration. As a preferred partner to technology leaders such as Microsoft, DellEMC, and VMWare, we deploy the most advanced business technology solutions, ensuring optimal reliability, productivity and value.

What We Learned About Remote Working in 2020

What did we learn from remote working last year? Plenty, as it turns out. We upped our tech game at home. Kind of. We bought more equipment for our home studios and home offices. This correlates with increased video conferencing as well as the rise in podcasting that people and companies are venturing into. Microphone sales increased near the end of 2020 and are expected to continue to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% through 2025. What were we buying for our home studios? Microphones Speakers Gaming headsets (hitting record levels) Soundproofing foam Everything by Apple (Macbook Pros, iMacs, iPhones, iPads, and Airpods, all hit record sales numbers) What didn't we buy? New desks and chairs (Haworth sales, for example, dropped from $2.25B in 2019 to $1.8B in 2020) Faster WIFI (Some states increased their WIFI speeds, but as a nation, home accounts did not) New PCs (sales dropped by ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:19+00:00

Cloud Security, Part II: BYOD, and Remote Workers

In the first part of this series, we talked about many of the areas where cloud computing can be affected by employees and some of the major security issues. In this part, we will explore two overlapping areas of concern in cloud security: Remote working Bring your own devices to work (BYOD) Remote Workers After the first pandemic lockdowns, many organizations invested in secure equipment for their employees; others did not and put the onus on their employees. Those organizations did themselves a disservice. Employees should not be expected to be security experts 80% of IT business leaders believe employees need mobile devices to do their jobs —TechRepublic The pandemic may have forced most office workers into becoming remote workers, but that does not mean employees are suddenly reliable IT departments. The average employee’s home security is inferior to what their company provides. There are many pros to having remote ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:19+00:00

Cloud Security, Part I: Employee Risk

While the COVID-19 pandemic closed down much of society and work environments, one area that was blown wide open was security—in particular, cloud security. In this two-part series, we will examine risks to (and solutions for) businesses. This first part covers employee risk; because it can be the largest and most sensitive topic related to cloud security. Malware delivery continues to shift into the cloud, with 61% of all malware delivered via a cloud app. 36% of phishing campaigns target cloud app passwords and 13% of campaigns use phishing methods hosted in the cloud. Malicious Office documents increased by 58% in 2020 and now comprise 27% of all malware downloads, using cloud app delivery to avoid email and web security. 83% of users in the enterprise use personal apps, increasing the risk of unintentional or unapproved data movement. —Skopje Malware delivered over cloud apps increased from 48% to 61% in ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:19+00:00

How to Choose the Right Managed IT Company

When looking for an IT company to manage your firm's technology, reading reviews is an excellent first step. We often choose our lawyers, healthcare providers, and even phone carriers based on word of mouth or reviews. Choosing an IT provider is no different. Start with reviews. Just don't stop with reviews. A company may have dozens of 5-star reviews yet be unable to service your firm. Some IT companies are specialized, while others may lack the necessary experience in your industry. We've compiled a list of IT-specific questions for you. These aren't questions you will get answers to out of a Google review. Some of them may not apply to your situation, but most will. You should be familiar with these before deciding on a provider. Experience in our industry Some newer IT startups will try to use their "new company vibe" to entice clients. However, think about the ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

Tech Stack Showdown — Top Five Stacks Compared

Why might you want to read about tech stacks? We can think of two primary reasons: You're a developer. You want to keep current. Skip right to the comparison. You're not a developer. You have a digital project and want to understand what you're getting into. Stick with us a bit. We'll explain this in plain terms first. Section 1. Explanation What the heck is a tech stack? A tech stack is a set of tools, programming languages, and technologies that work together to build digital products or solutions like websites, and mobile or web apps. Some people call them Solutions Stacks, but it's the same thing. Netflix is built on a tech stack. So are Airbnb, Facebook, WebMD, Wikipedia, and just about any major digital tool or app you use. Stackshare is a great online tool to discover which tech stack a major company is using. Here is WebMD's ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

Language and Artificial Intelligence Challenges

What article on artificial intelligence is complete without a linguistics joke? An esteemed professor of linguistics addresses his 101 class. "In English, a double negative is a positive. In Russian, a double negative is still a negative. But there are no languages we know of, where a double positive can be a negative." A kid in the back row scoffs, "Yeah, right." As machine learning becomes more commonplace every day, we encounter more obstacles. This article will explain some of the issues faced by companies analyzing Big Data sets, and the unusual challenges endemic to training machines to understand language, the written word, and how we communicate with each other. First, you need data Finding the right data is the first critical issue. Why? Several reasons, but here are some top ones. Humans make mistakes. One of those mistakes can be choosing the wrong dataset to begin with. Not choosing ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

MS Power BI Hacks: The Ultimate Guide

Power BI. It's … well powerful. And there's a ton of power hidden under the hood that you should know. These aren't fun hacks. They are serious workflow improvements you can take advantage of right now. Don't have Power BI? Get the latest version here. If you're not even proficient at BI, may we first recommend some videos? From Edureka: Power BI Full Course - Learn Power BI in 4 Hours From Naresh i Technologies: PowerBI Online Training Session 1 From Zebra BI: 7 Worst Power BI Dashboard Mistakes & How to Avoid Them From Guys in a Cube: 5 things you didn't know about Power BI Desktop From softlanding: All You Need to Know About Microsoft Power BI From Red Level Group: What’s The “Power” in Microsoft’s Power BI Making a Well-Designed Report You need a report, but the default report looks about as exciting as a screenshot of a pivot table. How about some hacks for making those reports into something ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

How to Reduce Background Noise in Teams Meetings

How to reduce background noise in Teams meetings Microsoft announced that you now have the ability to remove unwelcome background noise during calls and meetings with a new AI-based noise suppression option in Microsoft Teams. Whether it's shuffling papers, slamming doors, or barking dogs teams offers three levels of noise suppression to help keep distractions at a minimum. You can enable this new feature by adjusting your device settings before your call or meeting and selecting "High" in the "Noise suppression" drop-down. Note: This setting is currently available only in the Teams Windows desktop app. From the main Teams window Select your profile picture at the top right of Teams and then select Settings. Select Devices on the left and then, under Noise suppression, select an option. • Auto (default) The Teams app decides on the best level of noise suppression based on local noise.• High For this option, your computer's processor must support Advanced Vector Extensions ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:21+00:00

Unleashing Growth through Digital Transformation

Many believe that change leads to growth. However, this overlooks the difficulty of adapting to new technologies and systems. If you own or run a company, implementing process changes can be daunting, especially when it involves teaching dozens or even hundreds of people a new way of working. Nevertheless, the undeniable benefits of digital transformation, such as improved efficiency, enhanced security, and increased success, make it hard to ignore. COVID-19 brought about a drastic shift in circumstances When COVID hit, business owners faced financial losses or disruptions that made them reevaluate their plans and budgets, including those allocated for digital transformation. Yet, the importance of investing in advanced technologies and efficient operating systems became evident as countless businesses had to adapt by transitioning online or enabling remote work. Companies equipped with up-to-date digital tools experienced a smoother transition compared to those heavily reliant on manual processes. Efficiency, mobility, and customer ...

Red Level2023-06-06T19:13:16+00:00

5 Long-Term Tech Changes Set in Motion This Year

Another year, another technology roundup. However, this list, much like the past few months, is anything but ordinary. We’ve all had to work against the clock to develop new processes and protocols to keep our companies on track, even as the virus shut down offices and halted business travel. The disruptions have been numerous, but so have the technology solutions. This recap of 2020’s fastest-changing technology offers a look at how we’ve stayed nimble and productive this past year. Remote collaboration tools thrived Working from home can make collaborating and maintaining company culture challenging. Thankfully, remote work tools have stepped up to that challenge, creating more efficient and spontaneous work environments in the process. These WFH collaboration tools empower employees to go beyond communication alone, helping them make vital connections to one another and their work. Some of the more notable collaboration solutions include: Editing documents or presentations in real-time using the cloud. ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:21+00:00

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