About Mike Landman

Author: Mike Landman is the founder and CEO of Ripple IT. You can find him on Twitter & Google

Atlanta Tech Village is The New Home of Ripple

By Mike Landman

In February, Ripple announced that we are the Official IT Partner of the ATV. Today, I’m excited to say we’re going to be a tenant at Atlanta Tech Village as well, starting on May 1st.

There are a lot of reasons to want to be in the ATV, and nearly all of them apply to Ripple. A great community of companies, flexible lease arrangements, great building, Chipotle across the street. But one reason really stood out to me, and it’s the reason we’re leaving our awesome digs on Means St.

The power of peers.

The power of peers is why going to college instead of watching college on iTunes is much more meaningful. It seemed nuts to deny Ripplers the workplace equivalent of an awesome university environment. So we’re packing up and heading to Buckhead for immersion courses in asskicking with the best startups in Atlanta.

Can’t wait.

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The Best Partnerships

By Mike Landman

ATV founder David Cummings writes that the Best Business Relationships are the Easiest Ones.

I’ve found that the best business relationships and deals are the easiest ones. Easy, in this case, means that they feel effortless. Both sides are working toward similar goals, have good chemistry, and trust each other. Whenever a relationship or deal feels forced, that’s often a sign that it should be further evaluated.

This is something we’ve learned over the years at Ripple as well. Finding companies that have shared values and complementary cultures leads to productive, long-lasting, meaningful relationships. Like finding great employees, friends, or a mate, it’s much wiser to vet them early, than to wait until it’s too late.

If it is too late, it’s harder. But still better to fire them than to let them compromise your values.

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Ripple is The Official IT Provider of the Atlanta Tech Village

By Mike Landman

When David Cummings set out to create the #1 hub for startups in the Southeast with Atlanta Tech Village, we knew this was an idea so Ripply, we had to be involved.

We set out to see how we could help. After a few months of strategizing, pivoting, and working together, everyone involved knew this was going to be a great fit. One that would benefit all parties, but most importantly Atlanta startups. We share the vision to make Atlanta one of the top 10 startup cities in the country, and as the IT provider of Atlanta Tech Village, we know we can help do our part. What is the partnership exactly?

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Gift Ideas from the Ripple IT Support Team

By Mike Landman

With many people celebrating the holidays in December, we at Ripple thought we’d share some of the high-tech doodads and gadgets that caught our eye this year. Oh, and let us know if you have any particularly kickass gift ideas of your own by leaving a message (with link) in the comments section.

FITBIT ONE | $99 | The Fitbit One packs a lot of features into a tiny, clip-on device. It has the ability to transmit your fitness and sleep data over Bluetooth to desktop and mobile devices, allowing you to track your progress in terms of calories burned, distance ran, and even how soundly you’re sleeping. It also includes an alarm clock, which you can set from either a mobile device or Fitbit’s online dashboard, and it will vibrate to wake you up. Fitbit even sends motivational messages, reminding the wearer of their fitness goals. Like other previous Fitbit models, it is splash-and-sweat proof for those particularly grueling workout sessions. | BUY IT: Fitbit | Amazon

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Case Study: Why Pardot Chooses Ripple for IT Support

By Mike Landman

Pardot is a SMB-focused marketing automation vendor, and one of the fastest-growing companies in America. They were recently named the Top Small Workplace in Atlanta by the AJC, and their marketing automation software will be included in Dell’s Cloud Business Applications. Pretty impressive for a company that had only a handful of employees in 2007.

As they were transforming from a startup to a leader in the field, Founder David Cummings knew they’d need serious IT service. His idea? Outsource everything that isn’t core to Pardot’s business to experts in those specific fields. He chose to work with Ripple after getting the lowdown on our unlimited support, managed services, and team of friendly IT technicians. With our Beyond Support (™) service David Cummings can focus on growing Pardot, and his people don’t have to worry about anything other than getting their jobs done.

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Case Study: Why Matchstic Chooses Ripple for IT Support

By Mike Landman

Our friends at Matchstic are top–notch creatives, specializing in brand identity. Their staff is a mixture of full-time, part-time, and freelance employees who work in the office, on the road, and sometimes from home. They need dynamic IT support.

Before Ripple came on board, Matchstic was reliant on a single person who serviced them along with a number of other businesses. People often had to wait until he was in the office to get help, which created a lot of frustration and downtime. In addition, Matchstic’s decision makers needed more strategic consultation to help them improve their processes and keep their technology up-to-date.

With our Beyond Support (™) service Matchstic folks no longer have to wait for help, and there’s no limit on how often they can call in to get it. We also provide their VoIP phone system ( a little something we like to call OfficeTalk), managing everything from the phones themselves to the network they run on.

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Pardot is the best place to work in Atlanta

By Mike Landman

If you haven’t seen, Pardot was awarded the Best Workplace in Atlanta by the AJC last week. It was no fluke – they earned it.

I have known David Cummings (one of the Pardot co-founders) since 2007. I’ve watched as he built – with great discipline, the culture that makes Pardot such a great place to work.

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Personal SEO

By Mike Landman

Most companies are aware by now that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) exists and that they should probably try to do something about getting their companies as well-ranked as possible. For business, there are plenty of SEO firms and inbound marketing tools to chose from.

But what about for people? Do you see what you want to see when people search for you personally? Does your LinkedIn profile show up? Your website? Or do people find some other person or worse yet, inaccurate information? continue reading

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Email Resurrected…Again

By Mike Landman

Email is often proclaimed to be dead, so much so that I often assume its replacement is right around the corner. So far, it hasn’t happened. A recent survey found that email dominates as the preferred channel for permission-based messages. #2 is so far behind that it could be an asterisk ( direct mail of all things).

So why is email so pervasive and beloved if it sucks so much that it’s supposed to be dead? continue reading

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Rippler Brian Gibson performing at Octane in Atlanta

By Mike Landman

At work, Ripplers are ass-kicking experts helping people with their IT problems. But outside the office, we’re musicians, parents, filmmakers, and more. Being in a ROWE company, we manage our own time, work where we want to, and are treated like adults. It’s a philosophy that requires us to communicate a lot with one another. So, we tend to know more about each other’s families, hobbies, and goals than the average coworker. And that’s without having to dig through any social networks. We know Curt spends a good amount of time at the gym, Alfredo can spin on his head, and Bryan Gibson is a killer cellist.

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