LEVEL UP: NEWS & VIEWS FROM RED LEVEL

Top 5 Infrastructure Trends for 2019

We’ve bid 2018 farewell and welcomed 2019 with open arms. So what's next? What’s going to happen in 2019 from an infrastructure perspective? The answer for 2019 is similar to that of recent years. Cloud and security are still the top priorities. Let’s take a quick look at what may impact your infrastructure focus. 1. Exchange Migration Migrations from Exchange on-premises to Exchange online and upgrades from older versions of Exchange to the latest version are both projects going strong in 2019. We continue to support our clients who are going through these Exchange migration and upgrade processes and predict that Exchange migrations, upgrades, and support will continue to be a trend with our clients. 2. Multi-Factor Authentication To add [...]

Red Level Acquires C/D/H to Expand Business IT Services Across Michigan

Partnership will enable digital transformation for businesses throughout the state Novi, MI — February 5, 2019 — Red Level has announced its strategic acquisition of Grand Rapids, MI-based business and technology consultancy C/D/H. As of February 1, the combined companies will give businesses across Michigan access to a broader array of IT services — including custom application development, business analytics and collaboration tools — all under Red Level, one of Detroit’s leading comprehensive technology and managed services providers. “C/D/H has an outstanding reputation for providing the best IT services and consulting throughout Michigan for the past 30 years, and Red Level is excited to build upon that strong base,” said Red Level CEO David King. “We expect this partnership will [...]

2019-02-05T20:08:48+00:00By David King|News & Events|

The 7 Secrets to Project Management Success

The digital revolution is already underway. Both individuals and organizations must adopt new habits, modes of thinking and ways of living if they want to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven world. Whether you’re automating existing processes or designing cutting-edge digital-first strategies, implementing new technologies can make your business more agile, competitive, productive, and ultimately, successful. But implementing new technologies also has the potential to be disruptive. To reduce this friction, you need to have a carefully designed project management plan in place. Whether you’re ensuring workstation compatibility in the wake of a merger, carrying out a routine hardware upgrade, or performing an enterprise-level cloud migration, follow these pro tips to ensure that your project runs as smoothly as possible. 1. [...]

2019-01-25T17:43:13+00:00By Andrew Cipolla|cloud infrastructure, Project Management|

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365

Imagine this all-too-common scenario: someone in accounting receives a large invoice by email and pays it. It’s several months before you discover that the invoice originated from a compromised or spoofed email account, that your vendor never received the funds, and that you’re now obligated to provide the FBI with evidence for a criminal investigation. How long would it take you to locate the suspicious communications? Especially if they’d been deleted months before? As business email compromise and spear phishing attacks grow in sophistication, we’re seeing more of these unfortunate scenarios, but we also regularly encounter less dramatic circumstances in which our clients discover an urgent need for backups of emails or files —backups that may be easy or impossible [...]

2019-02-14T19:54:39+00:00By Robert Tessanne|back up, back up as a service, Back-up Solutions, backup as a service, backup server, backups, business transformation, Microsoft Partner, Microsoft Solution Provider, Office 365|

Migrating to Azure with Confidence

You’ve already envisioned the benefits: you know migrating to a cloud-based hosting platform can boost the performance of your organization’s computing infrastructure. You can see how it’ll improve efficiency, save time, and reduce costs. And you’re prepared to join the hundreds of thousands of other businesses, large and small, that have already chosen Microsoft Azure for its service quality, security, reliability and global reach. But there’s no getting around it: migrating to the cloud entails significant organizational change. To make the best possible use of the Azure platform, you need to understand its unique attributes and keep them front-of-mind throughout the migration process, and beyond. Fortunately, Microsoft offers an extensive set of tools and services that can help ease and [...]

2019-01-03T19:07:16+00:00By Quade Finnigan|Azure, Azure Everywhere, Cloud, cloud adoption, cloud collaboration, cloud computing, cloud environment, cloud infrastructure, cloud services, cloud strategy, Cloud technology, Cloud Technology Services, cloud usage, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Partner, Microsoft Solution Provider, migrate to the cloud|

What is spear phishing and how can my company avoid it?

The average person receives 16 malicious emails per month. A 2018 study of 500,000,000 emails found one out of every 101 emails received were malicious. Are your employees properly educated about this? Or will they click a link that could cost the company millions? Most of the time, the greatest risk to your company’s internet security are the people who work for it (including you). One click on a malicious email—even one that looks like it comes from a friend—could seriously damage your company. New employees are the most at risk for being duped. [1] What is Spear Phishing? Spear phishing is an attack in which hackers trick targeted users into sharing confidential information. It can also involve tricking the [...]

Red Letter IT Newsletter – November 2018

MEET THE TEAM: Helpdesk Manager, Hayley Sargent Hayley Sargent leads Red Level's Helpdesk team as they wrangle technical issues and support the IT needs Detroit area business. TECH NEWS: What is Cloud Computing? If you aren't taking advantage of cloud computing, or don't know how best to implement it, we've written this guide to help you. THANKSGIVING: Happy Thanksgiving from Red Level A few members of our team of IT pros at Red Level sit down to share their favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner plus some of the reasons they are feeling thankful this year. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: What Digital Transformation Means for Your Business Mike Balatzis, Red Level's Microsoft Manager, talks Digital Transformation and what it really means for business owners [...]

2019-01-04T15:08:58+00:00By Kristy Mossoian|Cloud, cloud adoption, cloud collaboration, cloud computing, cloud environment, cloud infrastructure, cloud services, cloud strategy, Cloud technology, Cloud Technology Services, cloud usage, Digital transformation|

Digital Transformation and What it Really Means for Business

It's impossible to pick up a business magazine or read an IT blog without seeing "Digital Transformation" in the headlines. And while it's garnering a lot of ink and pixels, many professionals aren't quite sure what this means for their business. When we need technology answers, we go right to Mike Balatzis. He's Red Level's Microsoft Solutions Manager and besides being a nice guy with a big brain, he talks in plain English so even the non-geeks can understand. We peppered him with a few questions about Digital Transformation and what it really means for business owners and executives. Here's the scoop. What is the Digital Transformation? In simple terms, every business is a Digital Business and the importance of [...]

2018-11-20T18:52:58+00:00By Red Level|Digital transformation, Microsoft, microsoft 365 business, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Partner, Microsoft Solution Provider, Office 365|

Meet the Team: Q&A with Red Level Helpdesk Manager Hayley Sargent

By day, Hayley Sargent leads Red Level's Helpdesk team as they wrangle technical issues and support the IT needs Detroit area business. On nights and weekends, you'll find her wrangling a different animal. The Office 365 and Azure expert trades her Microsoft Surface Pro and headset for a saddle and hat as she trains horses. We sat down with Hayley for a quick Q&A on What’s your favorite restaurant? Believe it or not, Texas Roadhouse! What's your favorite pastime outside of work? If I had to pick just one, I’d have to say training and riding horses. If I’m allowed two, don’t forget a love of video games! Why did you choose to work in IT? I enjoy the consistent [...]

2018-11-20T18:13:51+00:00By Red Level|IT Help Desk, Talent|

VMWARE VSPHERE 5.5 REACHES END OF LIFE – AND IT’S TIME TO MOVE

VMware’s vSphere 5.5 has served countless businesses, and many Red Level clients, exceedingly well. As a cloud computing virtualization platform, vSphere 5.5 placed features and functions that were undreamed of previously, and made managing complex hybrid cloud environments incredibly easy and effective. Our clients reported outstanding stability and security, and they came to count on vSphere 5.5 to a remarkable degree – and many have been more than a little reluctant to let it go. […]