Website-Design-Application-Development-and-Systems-Integration-Blog

NKY Chamber Website - Award Winner!

2013-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce website required a great deal of flexibility, content management features and integration with third party service providers. Red Hawk's 4D Process was leveraged to define a rock-solid user experience, and to capture and define systems integration requirements. Red Hawk also designed and programmed the Chambers E-Newsletter following the new look and feel established for the website.

Soon after launch, the Chamber received two Annual Excellence Awards in the Group V category (specific to Chamber’s with a total income of over $500,001). The first award was given for Outstanding e-Newsletter and was based on layout, member appeal and mix of substantive content. The second award was given for Outstanding Website and was based on design, layout and ease of navigation.

Here's what our client had to say:

"Red Hawk's 4D Process proved to be highly effective during the NKY Chamber website project. In fact, their expertise was critical to its success. Their developers had no problem handling complex integrations with our other service providers, and their customer service exceeded our expectations.

I'm also thrilled with their content management solution. Not only is their CMS cost effective, it's extremely easy to use. It's a significant improvement over our prior solution. I'd highly recommend Red Hawk to any organization seeking a new website, particularly when a high-degree of expertise and customer service is needed."

Jeremy Schrand
Manager, Creative Services
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Cincinnati Web Tech Drinkup

2013-04-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Red Hawk Technologies is sponsoring the Cincinnati Web/Tech Drinkup this month and this time we're bringing .NET Nirvana so don't miss out! Your first drink is on us!

What: The Cincinnati Web/Tech Drinkup is open to all individuals who love to talk about technology and digital marketing! This group is dedicated to reaching all the different technology and web enthusiasts in the region - and connecting for a night of drinks and networking.

Where: Japp's since 1879

When: Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 5:00 PM

RSVP: Visit the Cincinnati Web/Tech Drinkup website to RSVP.

Red Hawk Hires .NET Developer

2013-03-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

We're pleased to welcome Ray Kuhnell to our family at Red Hawk!

Ray brings additional .NET development expertise to our growing staff. Ray began his career as a web developer in 2008 and has been developing complex websites and .NET web applications as his primary focus for the last several years. He'll be working closely with Red Hawk clientele, building custom solutions to meet their business needs. He will be responsible for executing several large projects over the coming months, including .NET websites and supporting applications. Ray will also be working on mobile applications and continuing to expand on his development skills in other unique and exciting ways.

Certifications
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development

Northern Kentucky Chamber recognizes Red Hawk as one of the region's fastest growing small businesses

2012-10-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce recently announced its 2012 "Emerging 30" designees. We are extremely proud to be among the group of companies that have found ways to grow their businesses during difficult times. No doubt, they too have their staff and clients to thank for their success.

The Northern Kentucky Chamber will recognize the region’s top growing small businesses at the 13th annual "Emerging 30" cocktail reception October 4th. We'll be there for the recognition and look
forward to meeting other business owners.

"Emerging 30” is comprised of local businesses making a significant economic impact on the community based on annual revenue growth. Winners receive public acknowledgement of their achievements and are encouraged to offer their guidance and advice to help other small businesses grow during special networking and training opportunities tailored specifically to "Emerging 30" designees.

"The Chamber’s Emerging 30 award is a very prestigious award," said Andy Tracy, chair of the Emerging 30 committee and manager of business development with VonLehman Technology. "I have seen recipients of the Emerging 30 award go on to receive state and national awards."

Award eligibility requirements include being a current Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce member or a company headquartered in Boone, Campbell or Kenton counties, privately held, in operation for at least three full years, fewer than 150 employees, revenues exceeding $250,000 and an average annual revenue growth of 15 percent or more over the past three years.

Special thanks to our wonderful clients and talented staff for making Red Hawk a successful business!

Red Hawk Launches New Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Website

2012-08-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Visit the site: www.nkychamber.com/

The new website for the NKY Chamber was realized through Red Hawk's 4D Process. Careful planning lead to a much-improved design, new navigation scheme and new features improving the user experience for both Members and Non-Members. The new Chamber website makes it a snap to easily share information via social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. A new information hub was added to the site providing listings of Business Resources, Community Calendars, and Economic and Education resources. Red Hawk's CMS application was also integrated, significantly improving the Chamber's ability to quickly and easily manage content throughout the website.

Check it out! We're proud of our work. For more information on this project, please contact Red Hawk.

Red Hawk's 4D Process proved to be highly effective during the NKY Chamber website project. In fact, their expertise was critical to its success. Their developers had no problem handling complex integrations with our other service providers, and their customer service exceeded our expectations.

I'm also thrilled with their content management solution. Not only is their CMS cost effective, it's extremely easy to use. It's a significant improvement over our prior solution. I'd highly recommend Red Hawk to any organization seeking a new website, particularly when a high-degree of expertise and customer service is needed.

Jeremy Schrand
Manager, Creative Services
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

Red Hawk Technologies Adds to Development Staff

2012-06-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

Kevin Moreland has joined Red Hawk Technologies as a senior developer, adding to the company's already comprehensive capabilities and expertise in interactive application development, systems integration and advanced website design and development.

Kevin is a veteran developer who brings to Red Hawk 30 years' worth of experience working with an impressive number of programming languages and software programs.

For the last decade, Kevin has focused on hybrid web-based and Windows-based development. Some of his areas of expertise include system architecture, system development and web and Windows-based development. His development expertise includes: ASP.NET, SQL database integration, jQuery and Web services.

During his career, Kevin has consulted for Cincinnati-area companies such as Cintas and Fidelity Investments, and also with global companies such Sony Records, Sybase, Unilever and Schering-Plough.

Kevin resides in Hamilton, Ohio, and is a dedicated guitarist who plays gigs with various bands in venues throughout the tri-state area. He also spends time recording music in his in-home studio.

Red Hawk Continues Growth, Hires Account Supervisor

2012-05-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

We’re excited to announce that Red Hawk is growing again and has added another new member to our team.

Anne Sells has joined us as Account Supervisor and brings with her more than 20 years of experience in client and project management positions in a variety of industries. She’s worked in the custom publishing, insurance, non-profit and internet software industries. Most recently, she worked at a regional advertising agency, managing the digital and traditional marketing efforts of two of the agency’s largest-billing clients.

Anne loves building relationships and helping her clients get the most out of their marketing and technology investments. She’s excited to leverage her knowledge for the good of her clients at Red Hawk.

Anne graduated from Ohio University’s EW Scripps School of Journalism, and lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two sons and rowdy puppy.

Welcome, Anne!

Red Hawk Plugs Into "Circuit" To Power-Up 4D Process

2012-03-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Matt Strippelhoff, Partner, Red Hawk Technologies, was recently interviewed by “the circuit,” the information technology association of the Cincinnati region. Matt expresses his Company’s philosophy regarding utilizing Red Hawk’s unique 4D process to support successful systems integration.

Creating structure to support service offerings is critical to any company’s success. However, many find

the current state of their enterprise applications do not integrate with other systems, either creating manual

work for the company or preventing them from accessing key data that could help improve decisionmaking.

Matt Strippelhoff, Partner at Red Hawk Technologies, believes ALL projects are developed to

support processes. Because of this, Red Hawk approaches each and every project from the perspective

of workflows. This philosophy, the Red Hawk 4D Development Process, is a key business differentiator.

Matt feels each “D,” Discover (define), Design, Develop, and Deliver, are integral to an effective process

that forces all participants to carefully consider the actions required by various types of users to support

each business process.

“Existing companies have a vision for a new way to do something, or start-ups a vision for a service not

currently provided. This always requires different users who need to work together to get something

accomplished. Our process brings all stakeholders in at the start of the project, ensuring systems will

work together to provide the workflow and information the company needs.”

He describes 4D as a method of work the Company has adhered to since its start in 2008. “At first, it

wasn’t quite so structured. Then we realized that what we were doing was developing workflows – and

what better process to employ than business process management tools. At that point, we embraced the

vision and formalized the approach.”

When Red Hawk opened its doors, the Company immediately saw the need for system integration. Matt

notes, “Clients usually house data in different silos – for instance, they may have information in a CRM

platform that we need to be able to leverage to support a component on the website. To generate that

component, we need to integrate the data. We soon realized this was true across the board. Often, clients

had to use manual processes to move data from one area to another.”

This is often true when working with a company that is not a data or process expert. “For instance, take

the case of an interactive marketing program where you want to capture leads. Full service marketing agencies are not tech companies, so they are likely to create a program that stores data in a new silo. The

lead is sent through to a database and stored. Moving data from the new silo to the clients’ CRM is now a

manual process.”

Red Hawk solves this by identifying all the people that will interact with a given solution, as well as

systems that may need to share data. “We then plan a solution to integrate the various systems.”

Much of this can be done by leveraging clients’ existing data sources as opposed to creating new ones.

“We use back-end programming to tie systems together,” he explains. “Oftentimes, depending on how

well defined the program or vision is, we’ll produce a prototype. We carve off the first step in the 4D

process and go through the exercise. This allows us to see where we are with third-party apps or proprietary software. Sometimes we develop a middleware application with an Application Programming

Interface (API), between the website and the client’s data sources. It all depends on what they have.”

This makes the proposition fairly simple for clients, and removes some of the risk. “Our proposals are

based on the technology of where they are today and where they want to go tomorrow.”

And, as more and more companies realize how beneficial this approach can be, they are using the approach

up-front as they create new systems. Matt explains that interactive agencies are now a good portion of

the client base. “We are asked to come in and do high-end integration work. Clients are so much more

sophisticated than they were 10 years ago. Marketing Directors are more tech-savvy than ever before, and

IT Directors understand the need to support efforts on the marketing side.”

At the end of the day, Red Hawk’s goal is to create systems that Matt says, “come together and are able to

speak to each other very well. We want to make it all work for you.”

The Name, Red Hawk

When Matt and his business partner, Ron Dunlevy, decided to start their company in 2008, they wanted a

unique name. Why Red Hawk?

Matt explains, “I thought about the red hawk as a symbol of speed, power, and extraordinary vision. We

feel we bring those qualities to the table while providing unparalleled value to our clients.”

Creating structure to support service offerings is critical to any company’s success. However, many find the current state of their enterprise applications do not integrate with other systems, either creating manual work for the company or preventing them from accessing key data that could help improve decisionmaking.

Matt Strippelhoff, Partner at Red Hawk Technologies, believes ALL projects are developed to support processes. Because of this, Red Hawk approaches each and every project from the perspectiveof workflows. This philosophy, the Red Hawk 4D Development Process, is a key business differentiator.

Matt feels each “D,” Discover (define), Design, Develop, and Deliver, are integral to an effective process that forces all participants to carefully consider the actions required by various types of users to support each business process.

“Existing companies have a vision for a new way to do something, or start-ups a vision for a service not currently provided. This always requires different users who need to work together to get something accomplished. Our process brings all stakeholders in at the start of the project, ensuring systems willwork together to provide the workflow and information the company needs.”

He describes 4D as a method of work the Company has adhered to since its start in 2008. “At first, it wasn’t quite so structured. Then we realized that what we were doing was developing workflows – and what better process to employ than business process management tools. At that point, we embraced the vision and formalized the approach."

When Red Hawk opened its doors, the Company immediately saw the need for system integration. Matt notes, “Clients usually house data in different silos – for instance, they may have information in a CRM platform that we need to be able to leverage to support a component on the website. To generate that component, we need to integrate the data. We soon realized this was true across the board. Often, clients had to use manual processes to move data from one area to another."

This is often true when working with a company that is not a data or process expert. “For instance, take the case of an interactive marketing program where you want to capture leads. Full service marketing agencies are not tech companies, so they are likely to create a program that stores data in a new silo. The lead is sent through to a database and stored. Moving data from the new silo to the clients’ CRM is now a manual process.”

Red Hawk solves this by identifying all the people that will interact with a given solution, as well as systems that may need to share data. “We then plan a solution to integrate the various systems.”

Much of this can be done by leveraging clients’ existing data sources as opposed to creating new ones. “We use back-end programming to tie systems together,” he explains. “Oftentimes, depending on how well defined the program or vision is, we’ll produce a prototype. We carve off the first step in the 4D process and go through the exercise. This allows us to see where we are with third-party apps or proprietary software. Sometimes we develop a middleware application with an Application Programming Interface (API), between the website and the client’s data sources. It all depends on what they have.”

This makes the proposition fairly simple for clients, and removes some of the risk. “Our proposals are based on the technology of where they are today and where they want to go tomorrow.”

And, as more and more companies realize how beneficial this approach can be, they are using the approach up-front as they create new systems. Matt explains that interactive agencies are now a good portion ofthe client base. “We are asked to come in and do high-end integration work. Clients are so much more sophisticated than they were 10 years ago. Marketing Directors are more tech-savvy than ever before, and IT Directors understand the need to support efforts on the marketing side.”At the end of the day, Red Hawk’s goal is to create systems that Matt says, “come together and are able to speak to each other very well. We want to make it all work for you.”

The Name, Red Hawk

When Matt and his business partner, Ron Dunlevy, decided to start their company in 2008, they wanted a unique name. Why Red Hawk?

Matt explains, “I thought about the red hawk as a symbol of speed, power, and extraordinary vision. We feel we bring those qualities to the table while providing unparalleled value to our clients.”

Infographic: The Google Panda Update, One Year Later

2012-03-02T09:34:51.173-05:00

Google's "Panda Update" was designed to filter low quality or "thin" content from its top search results. There have been several updates to Panda since it's release.

Below is a really nicely done infographic produced by Search Engine Land in conjunction with BlueGlass. It's posted here using the embedd tag they provide for sharing the graphic. It covers how Panda works, what it impacted and the various updates from Panda 1.0 through Panda 3.2 that have happened along the way.

Click here to learn more about the Panda Update.

Constant Contact Releases NEW Social Marketing Campaigns

2012-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Can't wait to begin reaching out to our Constant Contact client base. We're totally pumped about the new, really simple, social campaigns feature. We can easily add couponing and special offers to Facebook, etc. Check out the tutoral below.

Interested in a free trial? Please check out Constant Contact portal for details.

Website Design and Production: Jet Air, LLC Site Takes Flight

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Our website design and production expertise has, once again, taken wing with the launch of the new Jet Air, LLC site, www.jetairllc.com.

The redesigned site for this well-established Cincinnati firm, based at Lunken Airport, promises to take the Company’s new leads generation to new heights. Launched on 12/29/2011, the site is the product of Red Hawk’s proven 4-D Process for website design and development. The process stepped the Jet Air executives through a thorough consultation, identifying the wants and needs of their target audiences. We then utilized this valuable information to efficiently and effectively architect the website.

Red Hawk was joined by two collaborative partners in the site’s development. RVP Photography did a phenomenal job of capturing the true essence of Jet Air through compelling imagery. Talk 1, an agency partner, worked their magic via highly targeted copywriting, providing content that creatively conveys the Jet Air service offerings and brand messaging.

Check out the new Jet Air website. We’d love to know what you think!

Red Hawk Launches A&P Technology Website

2011-10-25T16:32:38.298-04:00

We've just completed a redesign of the A&P Technology website. For more than two decades, A&P Technology, maker of Sharx™ brand braided reinforcement, has been a world leader in braiding technology and they continue to push the boundaries of possibility every day. Red Hawk was contracted by A&P Technology to design and program a new website that reflected the companies position in the market place and drive new business. Following Red Hawk's 4D Process, the website was completed on-time and on-budget.

"Thank you, Red Hawk. I am very impressed with your team’s professionalism, timeliness and knowledge. And as an added bonus, you are very fun to work with!"

— Marketing Manager | A&P Technology

Check out the case study to learn more.

Red Hawk Launched New Melink Website

2011-08-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

The new Melink website was just launched. Our 4D Development Process proved to be very effective. The site was completed on time and on budget. The website is a significant improvement over the prior version. The new site was carefully architected based on clearly defined business goals, target audience wants and needs, and SEO requirements. The website is very easy for the Melink Marketing team to manage through the Red Hawk CMS application. We're very pleased with the results and are looking forward to a long-term relationship with Melink.

SCION Go Exposed 2011 Website Launch

2011-07-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

The 7th Annual SCION Go Exposed event is now being actively promoted. Red Hawk launched the updated microsite today. We also completed the email campaign to SCION owners to spread the word. RSVP's are flying in through the site. Very exciting to watch an active campaign taking flight.

This year we added a new feature to the website. The new section, titled Spread the Word, provides interactive marketing components to assist SCION owners in spreading the word about the event. These consumers are a passionate bunch. Banner adds and code for a twitter widget are already being downloaded and placed on club sites around the region.

This is always a fun project for us. We're already looking forward to next years event.

PBJamwich Mobile Site Launch

2011-07-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

We just completed and launched a QR Code driven Mobile Site for AdvancePierre to promote their PB Jamwich product line. What a fun project. QR Codes are printed on packaging. Consumers can now get additional information on the product while in the store prior to making a purchase. Of course, the marketing objective is to drive the purchase decision. What better way to do this than to incorporate testimonials from Moms and Kids.

The mobile site includes:

consumer testimonials
product information
- description
- nutritional facts
- where to buy
options for consumers to share the mobile site through email, twitter and facebook

Red Hawk Looking for .NET Developer

2011-06-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Web and Mobile Application Development
.NET Application and SQL Database development

ONLY GREATER CINCINNATI AND NORTHERN KY CANDIDATES NEED APPLY

Red Hawk will not provide relocation services. Please do not apply for this position if you are not a resident of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern KY area.

Desired Skills & Experience

3 to 5 years IT experience
Ability to learn quickly
3+ years experience in .NET development
Technologies required: SQL Server, .NET, AJAX/Web Services, Javascript, XML, HTML

Company Description

Red Hawk specializes in interactive application development and systems integration.

Over a Decade of Website and Application Development Expertise:
Red Hawk is comprised of designers and programmers that have been working together for more than a decade. We have successfully integrated the disciplines of design, interactive marketing and programming under one roof. We consistently bridge the gap between client IT and Marketing Departments ensuring successful projects with measurable ROI.

Partnering with Advertising Agencies:
The founders have along history of working in concert with Advertising Agencies in the greater Cincinnati region. We understand the creative development process from the agency perspective and assist early in the strategic planning process — helping to identify unique opportunities for agency clients to stand out from the competition. In most cases this process results in the development of web and mobile applications that integrate interactive marketing programs with client data sources and CRM solutions.

Contact Kristen Neace at kristen@redhawk-tech.com

Miva Merchant Certified Web Developer

2011-05-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

Red Hawk Technologies is a Miva Merchant Certified Web Developer thanks to the efforts of Ryan Molley. The certification process furthers our relationship with Miva. Red Hawk has been developing customized Miva Merchant websites for several years. Recent examples of our work include Aniara Corporation and Sweaty Bands ecommerce websites.

We're excited to continue our advanced Miva Merchant website development and support services in the coming years. Please contact us for details on what we can do to extend your Miva Merchant website.

Miva Merchant Certified Developer

2011-05-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

We've achieved rock-star status with Miva Merchant. We've completed the process and are now a Miva Merchant SILVER Certified Web Developer. Miva Merchant is an excellent option for most e-commerce clients. The shopping cart is fully-featured. The product has been available for many years and is quite mature. Third party developer plug-ins are readily available and affordable to extend the core feature set. Red Hawk has developed a lot of e-commerce sites using Miva for a broad client base. In fact, we've got one underway right now. Here are a few we've produced over the last year or two:

New Phillips Edison & Company Website

2011-05-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Phillips Edison & Company owns and manages more than 26 million square feet of neighborhood shopping centers across the country. Their commitment to continued growth is creating exceptional opportunities for retailers, investors and development partners. Red Hawk has been providing Phillips Edison & Company with website design, development and support services for several years.

Red Hawk just launched a new and improved version of the website this week. The new website utilizes JQuery to improve the user experience in a number of areas. Red Hawk's CMS application was integrated to allow for easier content management to support the Marketing staff. Property listings database, management tools, and filters were revamped to accommodate changes in business needs.

Red Hawk Technologies Received 2010 Constant Contact All Star Award

2011-05-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

We did it again! Thanks to our wide range of clients taking advantage of our email marketing expertise and the power of Constant Contact as a fully featured email marketing application, Red Hawk was named a 2010 Constant Contact Award Winner!

Constant Contact is a great email marketing solution that we've developed a lot of expertise around over the past few years. We're now in the process of contacting all of our clients about a new feature that’s already part of their subscription package. Through Constant Contact’s new Social Share tool, out clients can easily deploy information about their events, newsletters, etc. to their Twitter and Facebook sites.

Red Hawk Launches New HRM Experts Website

2011-04-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

The new HRM website is a testament to good strategic planning. Their data-driven, regional approach is unique toward helping progressive marketing and sales executives achieve unprecedented brand success. Clarifying the message and educating the target audience on service offerings were the primary objectives. Design and architecture were driven by user profiles developed during the Red Hawk 4D Process. Points of conversion include downloads and form submissions, all of which are tracked in Google Analytics and integrated directly with HRM's CRM platform.

SCION Go Exposed Planning Panel Promotion

2011-03-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Oh boy! It's that time a year again. We've just launched a revised version of the SCION Go Exposed event microsite to call for planning panel submissions. An email campaign just went out to last years event attendees. Red Hawk programmed a registration process that allows SCION owners to register, enter profile information and upload a video. We integrated the process with a third party service providers API to convert videos to a standard format. Additional programming was done to support the administration area of the site to allow the SCION staff to view candidate videos and read through profiles. SCION will use this to select winning candidates to help them with planning the 2011 event.