RedCloud Consulting: Integrity-Based Consulting

Bringing visionary endeavors to fruition is not easy. It requires the unique expertise of a team of subject matter experts and collaboration to ensure long term success. Bellevue, WA-based RedCloud Consulting is a leader in this space and offers its core services to help their clients develop and implement high-level solutions.

RedCloud Consulting provides a broad array of business and technology consulting services through its core services: Empower Operations, Empower Sales and Marketing, Empower Customers, Empower Security and Privacy. Since its recent launch, the company’s Business Solutions and Intelligence Practice has rapidly expanded to serve the tremendous up-tick in the demand for Power Platform and Business Solutions services (Microsoft 365 suite, the Power Platform, Power BI, Dynamics, etc.).

The company’s ongoing innovation around service offerings and company culture has earned it a place in our 30 Great Places to Work 2020. We recently interviewed RedCloud’s Brett Alston, Co-Founder and Managing Partner to hear more details on the company’s focus on retaining the best talent, creating a supportive place to work in, and more. Read on for the excerpts from the interview.

Tell us about the history of RedCloud. How has it evolved over the years?

Founded originally back in 1995, RedCloud has a deep history of success in engineering consulting here in the Pacific Northwest, so we have had a stellar foundation on which to build. In 2015, we saw a unique opportunity to re-launch the firm and expand its focus beyond engineering to encompass a full suite of management consulting services to meet the needs of a dynamic, rapidly expanding, and tech-driven economy in the Seattle market.

Along with co-founder and Managing Partner Brett Clifton, we re-launched RedCloud to provide a different experience for consultants and clients alike – ensuring success on both ends of the consulting equation. Having both worked in the industry on the client and consultant side for years, and both being entrepreneurs, we wanted to infuse the firm with that industrial spirit that drives success, while moving away from the old habits and rituals of consulting that just don’t apply to today’s professionals and get in the way of true success for clients.

In just five short years since that re-launch, we are proud to be creating a new type of firm, where experts are empowered to solve a specific business challenge or to provide additional support for an ambitious project, ultimately bringing even the most visionary endeavors to fruition.

How has RedCloud attracted and retained the region’s top consulting talent?

Everything we do at RedCloud has been built with an unwavering focus on Integrity and Transparency, meaning – we believe our team succeeds when they see the whole picture and are provided with honest feedback and ongoing support. This equation, along with the continued boom of the regional technology and business market, has provided us high rates of growth and a strong reputation as an engaging and supportive place to work.

More tactically, we provide highly competitive compensation and benefits, along with a heavy focus on peer support and community outreach. Some of our benefits include 401K matching, paid time off, our RedCloud “triple touch” project support, unlimited referral bonuses, mentorship, and flex/telecommuting (even before the necessity of today’s remote-only work due to the pandemic).

What trends are you seeing in talent acquisition and career opportunities in management consulting?

More and more companies are seeking to employ the expertise of consultants to bring efficiencies into their projects without the cost associated with new full-time employees. This growth, of course, means an ever-widening landscape of opportunities for professionals who have a bank of skills in their back pocket, even if they have never considered moving into a consulting role. We are working with more and more professionals new to our industry, helping them make that transition.

Moving from the perceived security of an FTE position to the world of consulting can be slightly intimidating or perhaps even confusing given a wide range of experiences, opportunities, and approaches to the industry by a plethora of consulting firms. However, once the door is open, many professionals find a world that brings its own job security, unmatched flexibility, and the ability to grow their career (and compensation). And in the case of RedCloud, they get all this while working for a firm that truly values its people.

And while consulting isn’t for everyone, there is a unique sense of purpose, accomplishment, and satisfaction that comes from applying your background and skills to see clients succeed, continually diving deep to learn about new companies and their products and services, all while building your own professional resume along the way.

How has the current remote work environment impacted RedCloud?

While the personal, economic, and societal fallout from the onset of the pandemic has touched everyone in one way or another, at RedCloud we are proudly staying the course in our business, ensuring our clients and employees maintain a sense of stability and results that we have long prided ourselves on.

For our consultants, the adaptation to remote work has gone astoundingly well. We recognize that our industry’s reliance (and implementation) on technology makes us fortunate to continue work. We disseminate our decision making via today’s communications tools - ensuring we stay highly productive on behalf of our clients. We know that RedCloud is fortunate not just to have survived the pandemic to date, but to have continued to thrive – building our team and adding new clients and projects.

While our firm and projects continue to push forward under the steady eye of our leadership team and account managers, as a company we continue to learn each day of this unusual life we all find ourselves in and are adapting to the new realities we all face. “We are all in this together” is an often used term in today’s society – but could just be the most simple and poignant way to describe our firm’s attitude in the midst of a challenge unlike any other.

The Consulting Expert

Brett Alston, Co-Founder and Managing Partner

A former Director at Microsoft, Brett Alston co-founded RedCloud with Brett Clifton, a former business consultant at Arthur Anderson. Born in Australia and raised in England, Mr. Alston is a team player and places strong emphasis on integrity-based work.

“Everything we do at RedCloud has been built with an unwavering focus on Integrity and Transparency, meaning – we believe our team succeeds when they see the whole picture, and are provided with honest feedback and ongoing support.”