Thank You Alliance Members

The NEW Digital Alliance would like to thank Secura for their support as a strategic investor in 2021, and New North for their support as an executive investor in 2021. To learn more about Secura or New North, click on their names.

Alliance News:

Happy May! Here in Wisconsin, May brings with it the end of the semester for colleges and warmer weather indicating summer is just around the corner. This year, May is also bringing a renewed energy in many other areas as well. The NEW Digital Alliance continues to bring new voices to the Executive committee, welcoming Barb Struebel (CIO at Kreuger International), Dan Miller (Senior Manager at Wipfli), and Jack Brown (Director of Business Intelligence at Secura). We are thrilled to have them join us and help us set the direction for the organization as our community begins to open back up. Read more about our new Executive Committee Members below.

ITIL standards are also experiencing some updates, with the inclusion of cybersecurity practices. Join our TechTalk on Tuesday, May 4 to learn more about ITIL and Cyber Practices and Certifications. Guest speakers Elaine Reidel and Brain Lindow from Secura will share their knowledge and experience. Check out past TechTalks on our website here.

On July 20, The NEW Digital Alliance will be hosting our next Quarterly meeting. We are pulling together a panel of local leaders to share their thoughts and decisions regarding return to work, and how to manage the new hybrid workforce. We encourage you to join us to hear what others are doing and join in the discussion. Registration will be open soon. Check out our Events page to register for this, and many other regional tech conversations. 

Speaking of technology, May 7 is World Password Day! Use this day to update your passwords in order to keep all your personal and professional data safe. To help keep you safe, here are some tips from the experts:

• Use a different password for each account
• Avoid common words and character combinations such as “password” and “1234”, pet names, your name or nickname, anniversaries, etc. as these are easily hackable
• Longer passwords are better – target a minimum of 10 characters and use a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters (ex. !, &, %)
• Don’t reuse passwords, as tempting as that might be. If it was already stolen, then hackers can break into your account you are now using the password for.

• Set up two-factor authentication wherever possible

If your head is spinning with the thought of keeping all these passwords and accounts straight, consider leveraging a password manager to keep track of everything. 1Password and LastPass are generally considered to be safer options than the password managers built into your browser. Since your password manager essentially holds the keys to the kingdom, experts recommend using a minimum 25 character password for your password manager

With Mother’s Day on May 9, take some time to help mom (and dad!) be safe as well. Did you know, after Christmas and Hanukkah, more people buy flowers and plants for their moms on Mother’s Day than any other holiday? Around approximately one-quarter of all the flowers purchased throughout the year are bought for Mother’s Day. And for all you techy mom’s out there, we wish you a warm and wonderful Mother’s Day!

New Faces on the NEW Digital Alliance Executive Committee

NEW NORTH, April 12, 2021 – Barb Streubel, of Krueger International, Inc. (KI), and Dan Miller, of Wipfli, recently joined the NEW Digital Alliance’s Executive Committee, announced Kim Iversen, Director of the NEW Digital Alliance.

Streubel is the Chief Information Offers at KI. She has been in information technology her entire career, starting when punch cards were used for writing programs. She joined KI in 1998 as a Senior Systems Analyst and held multiple roles prior to being named CIO in 2014. Before joining KI, Streubel worked at two other manufacturing companies in the Manitowoc area. According to Iversen, “Barb has a passion for connecting youth and adults with technology careers and has been an active volunteer at our NEW Connect IT event each year. Inviting her to join the Executive Committee was a natural choice.”

Miller is a senior manager on the information technology management team in Wipfli LLP’s Green Bay office. He brings over 28 years of experience while working with clients in the areas of technology infrastructure, IT strategic planning and staff development, technology risk management, business continuity planning, and information security. Miller also is a board member of the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce Advance Economic Development Program and president of the Northeast Wisconsin Christian Homeschool Athletic Association. “As a senior manager for an IT consulting company, Dan brings a broad perspective of what the technology and tech skill needs are in our region,” says Iversen.

Unemployment Updates

Demand for talent continues to remain strong for Wisconsin and the New North region. National demand for tech talent also remains high, with the tech unemployment rate for March (1.9%) and lower than pre-pandemic levels of 3% in January 2020. National unemployment continues to hover around 6.2%, with Wisconsin at 4.8%, and Northeast Wisconsin at 5.2%

Data Sources: CompTia IT Employment Tracker, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and New North IntelTracker