Our learning series is back! In this latest episode, Yusuf delves into the realm of UI design, offering five invaluable tips to enhance the user experience of your Power Apps in just under nine minutes. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from our expert team at RedCloud. Access all our how-to series and unlock a wealth of knowledge to boost your skills and productivity here .

We sat down with Kelly Hallissey now that she’s settled into her new role at RedCloud. During this year of growth, we were lucky to bring Kelly onto our team when we acquired Denny Mountain Media  in January. While Kelly joined us during a busy transition, her experience was anything but chaotic. Read on to learn more about Kelly, where she sees her future at RedCloud, and what piece of technology she can’t live without (we can all relate!). We’re grateful to have you on our team, Kelly!  Briefly describe your role and how long you've been at RedCloud I’m an Account Manager primarily focused on content, marketing, and design roles at Microsoft. I’ve been with RedCloud for four months. What was it like to join RedCloud (onboarding process)? I was onboarded to RC during an acquisition which was a crazy time for the RedCloud management and HR / Operation’s team.  With a quick turn and many balls in the air, onboarding could have been chaotic, but instead, it was completely seamless, and I felt both prioritized and welcomed. Brett Alston’s communication throughout the process was both human and professional and always sprinkled with humor. Given your background and other experiences, what stands out to you with RedCloud? Everyone I’ve encountered at RedCloud is professional, kind, smart, works with humor, and is always looking for ways to connect, encourage and collaborate. What originally drew you to (stay with) RedCloud? Brett Alston. Initially, when hearing news of the acquisition from my former employer, I was both excited and apprehensive. Brett was immediately welcoming, responsive, and personable. Exactly what I needed to feel the leap was safe. Where do you see the future of consulting or the future of RedCloud? I see a bright future for RedCloud; we’re innovative, proactive, have experienced tremendous growth in a short period and most importantly, the founders are invested in both the success of the company and its employees. Name one piece of technology you couldn’t live without and why? Sadly, my iPhone. While in many cases, it’s an appendage, it also provides access to watch my nephew grow from afar, video calls with my parents, and access to a ‘mobile’ office for times of life/work balance. What are you looking forward to the most this year with RedCloud? Learning more about RedCloud’s offerings, growing the business, and fostering relationships with colleagues, new employees, and clients.

There are few on the RedCloud team who exemplify our culture, passion, and dedication to success, like Emily Barber - our Office and Human Resources Manager, who recently celebrated her 6th year anniversary working with us. Emily joined soon after RedCloud's "relaunch" in 2015 and has been critical to our success and ability to scale while maintaining the culture and tightness we are so proud of and recognized for. Learn more about Emily, her role, and what she loves about RedCloud. Briefly describe your role and how long you've been at RedCloud I provide a great work experience for all RedCloud employees by providing digital tools, hardware, educating, and addressing all things human resource and operations. I recently celebrated my six-year anniversary. What was it like to join RedCloud (onboarding process) - and how have you personally helped evolve that process since you joined? Simple and straightforward. I started with RedCloud when we had about 35 consultants and 6 corporate team members. I would perform 3-4 new hire onboards a month, process employee enrollments, office management, IT help support, hardware set up and write the monthly RedCloud newsletter. We’ve implemented benefit enrollments online, ERP system, and we are now doing roughly 10 onboards a month alongside 20 corporate team members that I enjoy collaborating with daily. Given your background and other experiences, what stands out to you with RedCloud? Much of my career has been in support roles in small sized and start-up companies. RedCloud started small and rapidly grew. RedCloud challenges you to become better every day and RedCloud really cares about its employees. What originally drew you to RedCloud? I wanted to pursue a career path in human resource operations and in the optimistic future for growing with the company. Where do you see the future of consulting or the future of RedCloud? Continually striving to grow and build a team and continue to be one of the best consulting companies to work for! Name one piece of technology you couldn’t live without and why? I’m inclined to say my iPhone like so many others. However, I couldn’t live without my gas range. I truly enjoy cooking, trying new recipes and sharing meals with my family and friends. In my next life I will be a chef. What are you looking forward to the most this year with RedCloud? RedCloud’s annual Holiday Party! This year it is going to be in person. I enjoy any occasion to converse, interact, and laugh with coworkers’ face to face. We always have a blast at our events and that’s in big part to all our talented employees.

At RedCloud, we firmly believe that education has the power to transform lives and communities. It is with great pleasure and excitement that we announce the recipient of our prestigious 6th Annual RedCloud Consulting/Dave “Hendu” Henderson Educational Scholarship, Alan Guitierrez, a senior at Davis High School in Yakima, Washington. His remarkable journey and inspiring essay have left an indelible mark on our hearts and minds. We were thrilled to recently present our $5,000 scholarship award to him at school with Toys for Kids Founder and dear friend of RedCloud, Rick Rizzs (aka the voice of the Seattle Mariners). Alan's Remarkable Background: Alan's story is one of resilience, determination, and the unwavering pursuit of knowledge. Growing up, he witnessed the sacrifices his parents made to provide a better future. Their hard work and dedication inspired him to excel in his studies and strive for academic excellence. Alan's parents, his heroes, always encouraged him to do his best, setting the foundation for his exceptional educational journey. Alan's Winning Essay: Alan's winning essay beautifully encapsulates the essence of his educational aspirations. He shares how continuing his education is not just a personal milestone but a testament to the sacrifices made by his family. His words reflect the deep gratitude he feels toward his parents, who worked tirelessly to give him and his siblings a brighter future. Alan's determination to be the first in his family to attend a university exemplifies the transformative power of education that we believe in so greatly. RedCloud's Impact: Over the past six years, RedCloud has been dedicated to supporting outstanding students like Alan. Our scholarship program has donated $30,000, empowering young minds to pursue their dreams and make a difference in the world. Alan's award adds to this legacy of impact, further fueling our commitment to fostering academic excellence. Joining a Legacy of Success: Alan now joins the ranks of our esteemed scholarship alumni, including Madison and Emma. Their stories serve as powerful examples of the lasting impact of our scholarship program. To learn more about their incredible journeys, we invite you to explore their posts [insert links to alumni posts]. A Surprise Captured on TV: The heartwarming surprise moment when Alan received the award was captured by his school's news station. You can watch the touching video below, witnessing the joy and inspiration that filled the room. At RedCloud, we are proud to support young talents like Alan, who remind us of the boundless potential within every student. We congratulate Alan on his well-deserved scholarship and look forward to witnessing his continued academic success and contributions to the world. Together, we celebrate the transformative power of education.

You may be familiar with our previous work and support for the UW Foster School of Business, but this year marks a new, exciting endeavor! The UW Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC) is holding a Business Management Consulting Program via Zoom, and RedCloud is excited to provide a team of mentors to help out. Four RedCloud mentors, Marie, Sophia, Mary Anne, and Scott, are tasked with guiding and advising the small student teams (4-6 members each) as they navigate a real-life client challenge scenario, devising their own plan for solving it with their business school knowledge thus far. The projects kicked off earlier this year and are in the client presentation phase, after which final meetings will occur with the clients for questions and thoughts on implementing their strategies. As our mentors work through feedback sessions with their teams, they each work through the clients’ provided situation, looking a lot like this: Situation: Client A fabricates their own products and is struggling to attract new, large opportunity customers. Their audience is from a generation that likes routine and regularity. Key Questions from Client A: How can we attract new and larger customer audiences? How can we use technology to differentiate ourselves from our competition? In working through the challenges faced by each client, the student groups will recommend a solution. The solutions are backed by hours of market research and competitive analysis in mind. The students spend significant time and effort diving into the client’s industry wholeheartedly to recommend the most effective next steps to make a difference. So far, these groups of eager future consultants have done an excellent job, and our mentors are really impressed! Check out what UW Consulting’s Instagram post had to say about the progress. As an example, the following recommendations could be made to the client: Project Managers as target customers Referral Service Increased networking Implementation of CRM or MRP systems Blog posts that showcase Client A’s operations Continuation of the current payroll program Pursuing 3D modeling programming in 3 years We commend each of the student groups for a job well done and look forward to your entry into our industry in the near future. Well done all, and thanks again to our RedCloud volunteers for providing such critical feedback and guidance to these students!

As part of our ongoing work to empower local kids with access to education and technology, we partner with Toys for Kids - an outstanding local organization who helps children of all socioeconomic backgrounds be better prepared for school and life. Every year our annual RedCloud Consulting/Dave “Hendu” Henderson Educational Scholarship awards a $5,000 scholarship to a student who exemplifies high standards and commitment to their community. We recently caught up with our past awardee, Emma. Check out what she had to say below. Emma Gruenberg - 2021 Winner I recently started my sophomore year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. I’m majoring in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, and I’m minoring in Psychology. So far, I’m truly enjoying my life here at college, and classes are going really well for me. After college, I would love to become a forensic accountant or auditor, preferably for a government agency such as the FBI or CIA. I’ve discovered intramural sports as well as fascinating clubs here at school that I love participating in, and my friends and I spend a lot of time together. As for advice for a student finishing high school and going into college, I say this: continue to work hard in school, it truly pays off, but also don’t forget to enjoy your time there and do things you love. College is an amazing experience that not everyone gets to have, so be sure to cherish your time there because it won’t last forever. ​Follow your dreams and make every choice count!

With the New Year upon us like a breath of fresh air, many of us put together a list of resolutions to improve ourselves, our careers, our homes, or our relationships, etc.. The big question is always will those resolutions turn into solutions?  ​At RedCloud, we have a list of our own resolutions for the firm and our approach to this dynamic consulting industry, beginning first and foremost with our continued support and empowerment of our consultants. Our people are the lifeblood of our success and the reason our clients come back with smiles, kudos and future projects. A Quick 2023 Review But before we look ahead, here’s our top highlights from 2023 that will guide us forward:  Expanding Practices and Client Solutions: 2023 was a year spent keeping our eyes on the latest tech trends and tools, and further developing and expanding the solutions we offer, particularly in our Privacy, Data and Analytics, and Business Solutions and Intelligence practice areas. Our client roster flourished, our office footprint expanded, our geographical presence exploded, and our service offerings have diversified. These milestones are not just markers of success; they are reasons to celebrate! Appreciating our Diverse, Nimble Team of Professionals: We’re proud that we’ve maintained a diverse and talented workforce, and even prouder of the work. 2023 brought opportunities and changes to our business, but our consultants stayed nimble, adapting to the ever-evolving demands of our industry and our clients. RedCloud continues to prioritize relationships above all else and values people as individuals, each with their own unique story. Sustaining Sustainability: In the way we operate our business, interact with our clients and support our employees, RedCloud is committed to achieving environmental sustainability to address the impacts of climate change and support a successful future for our planet. 2023 saw us hone our carbon emissions tracking and reporting process and sustained our commitment to . . . well, sustainability. In 2024, we’ll make even greater progress against our goal to reduce our emissions by 55% in the next few years; now that’s a resolution we’ll be keeping.  Our 2024 Outlook We’re seeing some trends and priorities emerge in 2024 that will help guide RedCloud’s work and vision for the consulting industry:  Solutions Evolving Alongside New Technologies:  In the ever-evolving world of technology, staying ahead of the curve is not just a goal – it's a necessity. In 2024, RedCloud’s practices are positioned well to help our clients understand the impact and implement emerging technologies like AI to provide innovative solutions, helping them navigate and leverage these advancements. Investing in Our People: In 2024, we again recognize that our greatest asset is our people. We’ll continue to provide professional development initiatives to connect our consultants (even though they may be geographically spread), and give them the training and latest skills to ensure that our firm remains a leader in the industry. We understand that investing in our team's growth is synonymous with investing in the success of our clients. Investing in our Community: Our long-standing commitment to youth and education in the communities in which RedCloud operates will not waiver in 2024. We will continue to make time for our team to give back to the communities in which we live and work. This is embedded in our company culture. RedCloud's long-standing partnerships with local organizations such as Toys For Kids and Junior Achievement of Washington provide our team with a variety of opportunities to give back every year. ​As we step into 2024, the horizon looks bright for RedCloud. Embracing new technologies, maintaining a people-centric focus, investing in our local communities, and building a sustainable future are key pillars that will continue RedCloud’s upward trajectory, providing unique, rewarding opportunities for our team, and delivering excellence for our clients.

In 2023, our "10 Minutes With" blog series has been a voyage full of insights, enlightenment, and even a few surprises. We’ve featured interviews with the brilliant minds (and talents) at the heartbeat of our team. From seasoned veterans and fresh faces to trailblazing visionaries and more, each dialogue delved deep into the distinctive viewpoints and journeys that make RedCloud who we are. So, if you're eager to uncover the insights, motivations, and expertise that power RedCloud, dive into some highlights from our 2023 "10 Minutes With" series. Prepare to be inspired, motivated, and intrigued by the stories and experiences that define our team. Senior Product Manager Bradley Millington Embark on a journey with Bradley Millington, an essential member of the RedCloud team. Discover his unique approach to mornings, the secrets to maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and insights into the distinctive company culture at RedCloud. Join Bradley for a glimpse into his vibrant life beyond the office walls. Read Bradley's Insights. Senior Consultant Alka Garg Meet Alka Garg, a seasoned professional shaping the realms of data privacy and tech consulting. In her recent interview, Alka shares insights into her role in developing and maturing RedCloud's Privacy and Security practice. Explore her journey, the seamless onboarding process at RedCloud, and the pillars of trust, integrity, and culture that set us apart. Discover Alka's Story. Alumni Chris Frost Join us for a special Q&A session as we catch up with Chris Frost, a valued member of the RedCloud alumni. Learn about his career path, updates since his time at RedCloud, and the qualities that made him a true friend to our team. Connect with Chris. Account Director Lou Hazim Lou Hazim, our Account Director for the Privacy & Security Practice, has rejoined RedCloud with over 20 years of consulting experience. Explore Lou's passion for enhancing Cyber Security Posture and his role in expanding the success of his practice area. Get to Know Lou. Intern Siqi Zhao Get to know our summer intern, Siqi Zhao, as we sit down for an insightful conversation. With a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Siqi brought tremendous self-driven ambition to the table. Meet Siqi. Senior Consultant Tugcem Kurbanzade Meet Tugcem Kurbanzade, a Senior Consultant leveraging her expertise in Microsoft Power Platform technologies to help our clients. Join us as we explore Tugcem's journey since joining RedCloud last year. Discover Tugcem's Expertise. Senior Associate Marco Gastelum Welcome back, Marco! Explore the journey of Marco Gastelum, a senior associate on our Business Solutions and Intelligence team. With deep consulting experience, Marco is set to contribute to the success of RedCloud. Connect with Marco. Production Designer Chris Munson Join us in celebrating Chris Munson's first anniversary with RedCloud. Discover how Chris quickly settled into his role as a vital member of our team after joining during a busy transition period. Explore Chris's Impact. We're continuously seeking enthusiastic individuals eager to embark on our path of innovation and distinction. If you feel you possess the qualities to contribute to our dynamic team, don't hesitate to get in touch! Be a part of sculpting the future of technology and innovation alongside us. The starting point for the next chapter of your career could be right here at RedCloud.

Cyber security refers to the aspect of protecting an organization, its employees, and its assets against a variety of cyber threats. As businesses become increasingly reliant on technology in today’s digital landscape, improving cyber security is of paramount importance in the face of constant threats from cybercriminals. Here are seven key reasons highlighting the significance of enhancing cyber security posture and where RedCloud can help: Protection of Digital Assets : Businesses accumulate a vast amount of valuable digital assets, including sensitive customer data, intellectual property, financial information, and operational data. Strengthening cyber security posture ensures the protection of these assets from unauthorized access, theft, or compromise. Mitigation of Financial Losses:  Cybersecurity incidents can result in significant financial losses for organizations. Data breaches, ransomware attacks, or system disruptions can lead to financial damages, such as the cost of remediation, legal fees, regulatory penalties, customer compensation, and reputational damage. By improving cyber security posture, businesses can reduce the risk of financial losses associated with cyber incidents. Preservation of Reputation and Customer Trust:  A data breach or security incident can severely damage a company's reputation and erode customer trust. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the privacy and security of their data, and they are more likely to patronize businesses with strong cyber security measures in place. By prioritizing cyber security, organizations can build and maintain trust with their customers, enhancing their reputation in the market. Compliance with Regulatory Requirements:  Numerous industries are subject to specific data protection regulations and compliance standards. Organizations must adhere to these regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), to avoid legal consequences and penalties. Improving cyber security posture ensures compliance with these regulations, protecting businesses from legal repercussions. Reduction of Downtime and Operational Disruptions:  Cybersecurity incidents can lead to significant operational disruptions, including system downtime, loss of productivity, and interruption of critical business processes. By enhancing cyber security posture, organizations can proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, reducing the likelihood of successful attacks and minimizing operational disruptions. Protection against Evolving Cyber Threats:  Cyber threats are constantly evolving, with hackers developing new techniques and tools to exploit vulnerabilities. Improving cyber security posture involves staying updated with the latest threats and implementing robust security measures to counteract them. This proactive approach helps organizations stay ahead of cybercriminals and reduces their risk exposure. Safeguarding Business Continuity:  A cyber incident can severely impact business continuity, leading to a loss of revenue, disruption of operations, and a negative impact on customer relationships. By improving cyber security posture, organizations can enhance their resilience to cyber threats, ensuring uninterrupted operations and minimizing the potential for business disruptions. The importance of improving cyber security posture cannot be overstated. It is crucial for businesses to prioritize and invest in robust cyber security measures to protect their digital assets, mitigate financial losses, preserve reputation and customer trust, comply with regulations, reduce downtime, stay ahead of evolving threats, and safeguard business continuity.

Our commitment to operating a sustainable business is strong and only grows stronger as we experience severe weather events impacting our region, country, and the world at large. The need to stay focused on decarbonizing our business operations and supply chain becomes more important each year. At RedCloud, we believe that sustainable business practices are not only essential for the health of our employees and their communities but for the long-term success of the company as well. We're proud to be a consulting firm that values sustainability and is dedicated to doing our part to ensure that future generations benefit—as we did--from a healthy planet. In that spirit, we’re sharing a quick update on RedCloud’s sustainability journey to inform and inspire others to act, too. 2023 Sustainability Update Having committed to sustainability several years ago, we’re working to reduce the impact of our business on the world around us. Some of our ongoing sustainability activities and initiatives include: Carbon Reductions We commit to reduce our emissions by about 55% by 2030. This aligns with the goals of a major client, Microsoft, which is a leader in corporate sustainability ambitions and practices. This goal will continue to be our North Star, guiding our decisions and investments in sustainability. Engagement with Emissions Data Specialists Over the last year, we have engaged with Rye Strategy, an independent assessor specializing in emissions data collection, analysis, and reporting, to help us verify that our emissions data is accurate and actionable. This investment will help demonstrate clear emissions reductions. Annual Collection and Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data We continue to collect and disclose GHG emissions data related to RedCloud operations, including our supply chain, to measure the impacts of our actions and investments. This data includes office leasing and energy use, receipts for purchased goods (such as laptops), and travel itineraries and expenses. Identification of Additional Mitigation Strategies We’re investigating and assessing the feasibility and potential impact of new sustainability strategies, including: Sourcing products from “greener suppliers” Using more energy-efficient products in daily operations Reducing overall business travel and investing in “sustainable aviation fuel” Expanding our hybrid work model for our employees Encouraging our commercial landlord to purchase renewable energy Continuous Improvement We regularly review our practices, set new sustainability goals, and seek innovative ways to reduce our environmental impact. As a professional service firm, our carbon footprint is smaller than those of manufacturing, transportation, and other industries, but we still have work to do. Sustainability is an ongoing commitment

Chris is back with us today! We were excited to track him down for a special RedCloud Alumni Q&A session so we could share updates on his career path and his whereabouts since his time working at RedCloud. Chris is the consummate professional. He was always detailed and caring, however, what made him so successful in his client engagements was his ability to relate and empathize with everyone. He’s someone our team would consider a true friend. After his time with us assisting our clients with key IT projects and honing his craft, he’s moved on to impressive projects and is here to share some reflections with us today. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Chris. What was your role at RedCloud, and what position do you hold now?  As a senior consultant at RedCloud, I was a Project Manager….a role I continue today in my current role at Savers, specializing in IT Retail.  What kind of projects/client service did you work on at RedCloud?   I worked on Microsoft projects in the Marketing groups with Avanade and Accenture, focused on driving Azure sales. The last engagement I had was at Savers (also known as Value Village), where I worked as a Project Manager on the IT Retail Team, driving the software updates to the Point of Sales systems, Registers and Self-Checkouts. This project led to my full-time role with Savers, and I am now part of another great group of people. I really miss seeing my RedCloud family. But we still stay in touch, grabbing coffee and lunch when our schedules allow.  What is your favorite part about the RedCloud team members? Or some specific memories about a project or collaboration?  The RedCloud team truly cares about everyone. (Managing Partners) Brett Clifton, Brett Alston, and (Account Director) Scott Ekman are always there to listen and offer advice. Benny Swedberg (BS&I Practice Lead) is always there to help you figure out and understand any technical issues. Emily Barber (HR Manager) is always available with a smile and an immediate fix for any HR or hardware issues. When I had a project end, the team was quick to find me another engagement.  I am in my 40s, and RedCloud is the first place I have worked where I felt like I was part of a family. I am lucky to have these people as friends. What were some skills or best practices you learned during your time with RedCloud that you took with you to your next job? I learned the basics of PowerApps and definitely strengthened my PM skills.  ​ What would you say to someone who was thinking about working for RedCloud?   Engage with the other team members. Ask for help when you need it. Be a part of the family!

There are often ad hoc needs that go beyond what is possible with a human clicking on their computer, or should be possible for productivity’s sake. For example, a need we ran into was capturing a datetime in a SharePoint list for when an item was approved. Done manually, this meant looking through the history version. That would be fine if it were for a few items. ​ The Concept We needed to detect when a SharePoint item was approved. At first you may think that could be found with the earliest version where the Status column was equal to ‘Approved’. However, what happens when something is then set back to ‘In Review’ before being set to ‘Denied’ or ‘Approved’ again. That means we need to find the most recent time the Status column was changed to ‘Approved’. ​ Building the Utility Flow At its most basic level, this utility flow only consists of three actions, which I’ll outline below. Before that, I’d like to show how we made the flow a true utility with the 5 required parameters: ​ SharePoint Site URL: the base URL for the specific SharePoint site that holds the List SharePoint List Name: the name of the List to be queried Field Schema Name: the schema or logical name of the column, which may be different than the display name Target Value: the value of the field you are interested in determining when it became that value ID: the ID of the SharePoint item These are all critical to composing the SharePoint http requests that respond with version history information. So now let’s get to the more exciting part of building the actions. As described above, we need to find the most recent version where the specified column does not equal the target value. ​ Following that step, you then find the most recent version where the specified column is equal to the target value but is also a later version than the version returned in the first http call. ​ Code snippet for the VersionId gt comparison: first(outputs('Get_first_non_target_version')?['body/value'])?['VersionId'] With that, you have all the information you need! The final step is responding back with the datetime of the change. This makes it possible to call this flow as a child flow and run it for numerous items! Suggestion: make a Utilities Solution that holds these types of Flows and share them with your team. ​ Response snippet: first(outputs('Get_last_target_version')?['body/value'])?['Modified'] ​This isn’t a complicated build, but it is incredibly useful when backfilling data. It can also be tweaked to restore information while not being able to restore an actual version. If you’d like to use the Flow yourself, you’ll find the file below. You’ll also find a more thoroughly built out flow that takes into consideration many of the potential failure points. For example, what happens when the column isn’t found or when the item has never been set to the target value?