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The Launch Pad Will be Closed on Monday, February 20th
 The Launch Pad will be closed on Monday, February 20th in observance of Presidents Day. As always, engineers are monitoring and on call as needed for emergencies. For support, please email support@launchpadonline.com or call the support line at 813-920-0788.
Event
The Launch Pad’s RevITup TechEd Webinar Series
Blue Skies, Green Clouds - The Hottest Ways to Squeeze Value from the Cloud
Date: February 29, 2012
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 P.M.
Location: Online Webinar
Is your company prepared for the Cloud technology evolution? By 2016 more than 900 million tablets will be in the hands of users. An estimated 21% of small business will take on Cloud services. The Cloud and “green” technologies are inviting small and medium sized businesses to change their infrastructure and reduce their technology footprint.
Join us as Launch Pad CEO, Ilene Rosoff discusses, “Blue Skies, Green Cloud – The Hottest Ways to Squeeze Value from the Cloud”. The spotlight will be on must-know Cloud forecasts, deskless technology trends and sinkholes to avoid in your technology future. Discover how to grow your business in the Cloud, save “green” and “Go Green” in 2012! Register Now >>
Features
Mobile Nightmare - The True Cost of Stolen Laptops
 Did you know that a laptop is stolen every 12 seconds? What if the missing laptop is a business laptop used by an employee? Even if your employee isn't mobile and only uses the laptop at home, a startling 46% of business laptops go missing while in employee’s homes. Two-thirds of companies don't take advantage of even basic security practices for their laptops and don't fully understand the affect lost laptops can have on their bottom line.
A recent study found that the average cost of a laptop is $49,246.00, 80% of which is the value of the data. Losing laptops also crushes productivity. Mobile employees can't work effectively, IT spends time replacing and reconfiguring equipment and clients get put on ice while you get back up to speed. Do you have a plan? Here are a few suggestions on what to do if that stolen laptop belongs to you. Continue Reading >>
Looking for a “Shot in the Arm” for your Business? Consider Applying for a Business Grant
 With the economy showing glimmers that it may be improving; many small business owners are looking for creative ways to grow their business, hire new staff and improve their employee skill-sets to be more competitive in the marketplace. There are grants out there to start a business or give existing businesses a boost, but it does take some work to get your hands on money that you don’t have to pay back. There are a plethora of government grants available but only 5 percent of those grants are awarded to smaller businesses. The Small Business Administration’s website is a great resource but many opportunities offered by the SBA are loans rather than grants, requiring scheduled repayment plans.
Continue Reading >>
Google Privacy Policy Change - What this Means for You
 On March 1st Google will be making the biggest change to its privacy policies ever by getting rid of 60 different policies and replacing it with one. Google states that they are making this change to create one simple and intuitive experience across all the Google products with a shorter and easier to read privacy policy.
Simply put, this change means that when you are signed into your Google Account, Google will use the data they have for you to refine your personal experience on Google. There are many factors that will be taken into consideration but basically Google wants to make sure that when you search for something, the results they provide you with is more tailored to you vs. someone else. Continue Reading >>
Announcements
Our Team is Growing - Welcome Radford Richardson :
 Technology Service Sales Manager
The Launch Pad is pleased to announce that Radford Richardson has joined our team as our new Technology Service Sales Manager. All of Radford’s previous experience has made him an excellent addition to our Sales team and we are very excited about having him on board. Get to Know More About Radford >>
The Launch Pad Is Hiring
![int_img2[1]](./assets/images/int_img2-1-.jpg "int_img2[1]") The Launch Pad is in hiring mode! Since our most successful team members have historically come from referrals, I'm reaching out to my most valued local networks and colleagues. If someone you know might be interested in the positions listed below, please ask them to submit a professional cover letter & resume to jobs@launchpadonline.com.
• Senior Network Engineer | Client Solutions Manager
• Network Administrator | Client Support Specialist
• Senior Marketing Manager
As a show of our appreciation, any referral we hire that stays on for 60 days earns you a $500 referral fee.
TechRecs
TechRec: Turn Your Tablet Into a Monitor - Display Link for iPad
 For those of you not familiar with DisplayLink, the company manufactures display expanding technology. We are partial to the USB adapter that allows you to add up to four additional monitors to your desktop. This tool is DisplayLink’s free iPad app which allows your iPad to become an additional monitor… wirelessly! The app requires users to download the free iPad app and DisplayLink’s desktop software, after which they can then move over your desktop windows to your iPad just like any other monitor.
Continue Reading >>
TechRec: Crowdsource Your Design Work & Save Money
 Imagine having a hundred designs from designers around the world and only having to pay 1 of them! Crowdsourcing is a very different way of thinking about getting tasks done but it can be very cost effective for SMB’s. Let’s look at the numbers: If a business were to pay 10 designers for a logo design that took 3 hours to create it would cost $900-$3,000 depending on the hourly rate of the designer. Crowdsourcing a logo design would cost on average about $500 and it allows business owners to review many designs without having to pay every designer for their time.
Continue Reading >>
Recent Events
The Launch Pad’s RevITup TechEd Webinar Series
Trending Technology | Hot Topics & Profitable Predictions to Drive Your Business in 2012
In case you missed it...download the archived version of our Trending Technology, Hot Topics & Profitable Predictions to Drive Your Business in 2012. Join The Launch Pad’s CEO, Ilene Rosoff for an interactive discussion on our must-know predictions, hot trends and sinkholes to avoid in your 12-month technology future. Continue Reading >>
Tweet Digest - Highlights from the Month:
As an accredited Green IT MSP Alliance Member, The Launch Pad is committed to helping our clients and our community: http://ow.ly/875tP
1:45 PM January 2
What if you could install an app on your phone that gave you extra data at no additional cost? Well, you can with this! http://ow.ly/8cviQ
5:00 PM January 2
Wonder what cloud computing looks like from your CFO’s perspective? Find out what the Cloud really means for your biz: http://ow.ly/8cuNa
10:30 AM January 5
56% of businesses lack a comprehensive disaster recovery plan. Don’t Leave Your Data Out In A Thunderstorm: http://ow.ly/8cuUW
3:00 PM January 4
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