We forge ahead, as always! Despite the uncertainties of 2020, our team is moving forward with confidence and an ever-expanding team of pros. With the recent news of our “fastest growing” awards from the Puget Sound Business Journal and Inc. 5000, it’s an exciting time to onboard. Our clients are appreciative of our team’s continued dedication given the new virtual landscape, and we commend all of our employees on a job well done this year.
During 2020, RedCloud has seen a tremendous up-tick in demand for Power Platform and Business Solutions services (Microsoft 365 suite, the Power Platform, Power BI, Dynamics, etc.) with clients seeking to leverage data in new and powerful ways. To this end, we’ve invested in collecting and building RedCloud’s capabilities in this area to better position our firm for the increased market demand.
As we began to look at this trend, we saw an opportunity to maximize our ability to assist clients who’s needs best match our team's strengths. After auditing our team’s existing work in data-driven business solutions, we quickly realized we had a blend of existing intelligence experts, as well as eager minds ready to apply their skills to a burgeoning industry of data analytics and intelligence. Prior to the rapid impacts of the pandemic which arrived in early 2020, our firm - like many companies in the Seattle area - was on track to have a record year, fueled by strong results on behalf of our clients, a growing team of professionals who brought their best every day, and a booming regional economy in need of the services RedCloud specializes in.
Of course the personal, economic, and societal fallout from the onset of the pandemic has touched everyone in one way or another - some far worse than others from a medical and economic perspective. It is safe to say we are all still navigating the pandemic every week, or every day. For this month’s employee Lunch and Learn, we turned inward to learn more about ourselves with the help of our special guest, Executive Coach Todd Calongne. Todd’s background as a senior-level public affairs and communications expert with several prominent U.S. Government agencies makes him a natural leader and experienced executive. He has advised cabinet secretaries, foreign dignitaries, members of Congress, and CEOs. Today, Todd helps companies like RedCloud become more self-aware, encouraging authenticity for success. We loved the sound of this!
Today we’re connecting with Yan Ma, a new Senior Marketing Manager on our team. Despite joining our team during the unique time in our society and economy, Yan is off to the races with her clients, providing expert-level services based on a career in technology.
Yan’s expertise lies in many areas from digital marketing to vendor management and process improvement. With previous experience at Microsoft as a Product Marketing Manager and a consultant, she’s a natural fit for our RedCloud team, too. We recently had the chance to sit down (virtually, of course!) with her about her RedCloud experience so far. While 2020 is a year unlike anything we’ve seen as a society in recent memory, our business is staying strong thanks to dedicated clients and consultants who forge ahead to keep business stable and moving forward! As part of that forward-looking approach to tough times, we’re proud to announce the latest group of new RedCloud team members who bring outstanding professional experience in a variety of areas like social media, strategic partnerships, team leadership and even race car driving!
The stability and flexibility that RedCloud’s approach provides in these uncertain times continues to attract and add new professionals. If you’re interested in what your career could look like at RedCloud as we continue to grow during 2020, we welcome you to reach out to us. With all that has happened in our community and society since November 2019, it seems like much longer ago than just 7 months when we proudly awarded our annual RedCloud Consulting Scholarship to Madison from Stanwood High School. Alongside our community partners at Toys For Kids, this tradition is one of the most impactful for us - a tangible benefit of the hard work by our team throughout the year.
Michael Ernst is one of our newest faces at RedCloud, joining the team in February as a Senior Project Manager with over 15 years of industry experience. His main role focuses on helping his client’s Marketing Managers and Brand Strategists to create marketing plans for individual marketing moments. In short, he’s tasked with creating and executing plans to produce marketing materials.
Outside of his role at RedCloud you might catch him brewing beer as the Owner of Hemlock State Brewing Co. (we’re excited to see what this quarantine brews up for them!). With the added challenge of being remote at the beginning of his time with us, we connected with him to see how he’s doing and to hear more about what he’s up to.
“The job for life has disappeared. With the pace of technology and the pace of change, you’ll have multiple career pivots throughout your life….”
Tune in to Beyond the Blue Badge, a podcast series produced by the Microsoft Alumni Network, featuring RedCloud’s Managing Partner Brett Alston with host Lora Peopping as they take listeners through tips on making successful career pivots to adapt to the times and needs of today. At RedCloud, community is everything. It’s one of our North Stars, and serves as a guiding value we keep close to our business in all we do. We believe our success is in part due to a healthy, vibrant community in which we operate, and a driver for why we partner with a group of organizations who help children in our region.
|