LEVEL UP: NEWS & VIEWS FROM RED LEVEL

What is an IT Service Provider?

An IT Service Provider (sometimes called a Managed Service Provider, or MSP) is a proactive IT firm that anticipates the needs of its clients and delivers a wide array of technology services. The primary roles of an IT Service Provider include streamlining the day-to-day technical operations of a company and providing the cost benefits of bundled services. Services from an IT Service Provider include: Network and Cloud Security On-Demand Data Backups 24/7 IT Help Desk Support Office 365 Installation, Training, and Maintenance On-Site and Virtual Technicians Cloud Services and Storage Consultation, Strategy, and Roadmaps Disaster Recovery Services Application Development and Hosting Business Process Automation Data Analytics Digital Transformation Why do companies prefer IT Service Providers? SAVINGS. Companies save considerable amounts [...]

2021-07-26T18:22:39+00:00By Red Level|IT Managed Services, IT provider, IT services, IT Support, Managed IT Services|

Red Level Ranked on Channel Futures MSP 501 – Tech Industry’s Most Prestigious List of Global Managed Service Providers

Annual MSP 501 Identifies Industry’s Best-in-Class Businesses Growing Via Recurring Revenue and Innovation Red Level has been named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the prestigious 2021 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings. Red Level has been selected as one of the technology industry’s top-performing providers of managed services by the editors of Channel Futures. For the past 15 years, MSPs from around the globe have submitted applications to be included on this prestigious and definitive listing. The Channel Futures MSP 501 survey examines organizational performance based on annual sales, recurring revenue, profit margins, revenue mix, growth opportunities, innovation, technology solutions supported, and company and customer demographics. Managed services providers that qualify for the list must pass [...]

2021-07-12T18:05:09+00:00By Kristy Mossoian|Awards|

Ransomware attacks are on the rise: 15 ways to protect your company

Recent ransomware attacks and security breaches are detrimental to an organization's business data, and reputation. Ransomware attacks are not new, but the rate at which they are occurring in the United States is radically increasing. Ransomware attacks are up 365% according to TechRepublic. What are ransomware attacks? Ransomware is a type of cyberattack wherein an organization or individual threatened for money. The attacker threatens to publish the victim's personal or corporate data or permanently block access to it until a ransom is paid—usually via a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Other recent variants include cutting off access to utilities, internet access, oil pipelines, and corporate intranets. Can you refuse to pay ransomware? The US government prefers you to refuse to pay cybercriminals. [...]

2021-07-01T14:03:42+00:00By Red Level|Ransomware|

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, [...]

2021-06-10T12:36:57+00:00By Red Level|working virtually|

Red Level Named to Redmond Channel Partner Magazine RCP 350

Red Level has been named by Redmond Channel Partner (RCP) magazine to the RCP 350, a qualitative list of companies that demonstrate a laser focus on Microsoft technology and a strong commitment to providing great value for their customers. Selected by the RCP editors, the RCP 350 recognizes companies that are members of the Microsoft Partner Network, have major end-user service operations in the United States and have at least one Microsoft gold competency. “Red Level is honored to be recognized as one of the top 350 Microsoft partners. We strive to understand our client’s business needs and pair them with the technologies that enable them to reach their goals. Through this, we have been able to expand our team, [...]

2021-05-28T18:22:14+00:00By Kristy Mossoian|Awards|

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, [...]

2021-07-26T18:22:52+00:00By Red Level|Uncategorized|

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. [...]

2021-06-10T12:42:21+00:00By Red Level|cloud computing, cloud environment, Cloud Security, cloud services, cloud strategy|

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 critical 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 [...]

2021-04-16T17:30:26+00:00By Red Level|Managed IT Services, Managed Services, Managed Services Provider|

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, [...]

2021-03-03T20:32:32+00:00By Red Level|Digital transformation, IT Detroit, IT Solutions, Microsoft Partner, productivity, scalability, Technology partner|

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 [...]

2021-03-03T20:31:31+00:00By Red Level|artificial intelligence|

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