November 2025 Tech Upload
| The NEW Digital Alliance would like to thank Aon, Community First Credit Union & SECURA Insurance for their support as Executive Level investors! |  |
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NEW Digital News
Exploring the Future of Agentic AI at the 2025 Tech Summit
On October 1, the NEW Digital Alliance hosted our annual Tech Summit, bringing together technology leaders, innovators, and educators from across Northeast Wisconsin to explore the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.
This year’s theme—“From Ideas to Agents: Building Smarter Systems for Smarter Decisions with Agentic AI”—focused on how agentic AI is reshaping the way organizations think, work, and make decisions.
Through expert keynote presentations and an engaging panel discussion, attendees gained insight into:
- What agentic AI is and how it differs from traditional automation
- Real-world use cases demonstrating successful implementation
- Key infrastructure, tools, and team considerations for adoption
- Readiness and risk factors, including ethical and operational perspectives
- Practical first steps to begin—or accelerate—your AI journey
The event aimed to move beyond curiosity, helping participants discover how to effectively and responsibly put agentic AI to work in their organizations today.
We extend our thanks to all who attended, our incredible speakers, and our event sponsors—NRI, Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction, Werner Electric Supply, and KI—as well as a special thanks to DopeeDee Visuals for capturing the day’s highlights.
📸 View photos from the 2024 Tech Summit here:
Upcoming northeast Wisconsin IT events
Fox Cities Chamber AI Business Summit
Wednesday, November 5
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Hilton Appleton Paper Valley
Appleton, WI
Organizer: Fox Cities Chamber
CSforWI State Summit
Monday, November 10
8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
UW-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI
Organizer: CSforWI
FutureYOU Career Expo 2025
Tuesday, November 11
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunnyview Expo Center
Oshkosh, WI
Organizer: Oshkosh Chamber
WiTonCampus Job Shadow Experience
Thursday, November 13
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Jewelers Mutual
Neenah, WI
Organizer: Women in Technology Wisconsin
WIT Virtual Series: Fuel Your Friday
Friday, November 14
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Virtual (Teams)
Organizer: Women in Technology Wisconsin
NEWDA IT Roundtable – AI for Good
Tuesday, November 18
11:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Virtual (Zoom)
Organizer: NEW Digital Alliance
Sip & Sync in Appleton – AM Edition
Tuesday, November 18
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Copper Rock (downtown)
Appleton, WI
Organizer: Women in Technology Wisconsin
Sip & Sync in Appleton – PM Edition
Tuesday, November 18
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Pub 55
Kaukauna, WI
Organizer: Women in Technology Wisconsin
Carex October Labor Market Insights
The first Friday of each month is usually “jobs Friday,” when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases its monthly employment report, a cornerstone for understanding the health of the U.S. labor market. But this month, September’s report is missing due to the federal government shutdown, leaving economists, policymakers, businesses – and labor market nerds like me – searching for clarity through alternative data sources. Thanks to the government shutdown, we’re left squinting through private data like we’re trying to read fine print in a fogged-up mirror.
Technology is Taking Off at JR Gerritts Middle School in Kimberly!
We’re off to an exciting start this year as students dive into the world of technology and innovation! Our Girls Who Code Club and Computer Science Club are both wrapping up their third week of engaging activities, creativity, and problem-solving. Students have also been exploring artificial intelligence by training their own AI models using The Teachable Machine — turning them into AI-powered remote controls for our Finch Robots, powered by Micro:bits!
And that’s just the beginning — with many more exciting projects on the way, our students are truly bringing technology to life!
These hands-on experiences not only spark curiosity and creativity but also equip students with the skills and confidence to pursue future careers in technology, strengthening our region’s talent pipeline and preparing the next generation of innovators.
Other IT News
Hackers are using these malicious npm packages to target developers on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems – here’s how to stay safe
(Image credit: Getty Images)
By Emma Woollacott
ITpro
A recent warning from security researchers highlights 10 typosquatted npm packages that impersonate popular libraries (e.g., typescriptjs, react‑router‑dom.js, nodemonjs). Once installed, they deploy a multi‐layer obfuscated payload that harvests credentials from system keyrings (Windows Credential Manager, macOS Keychain, Linux SecretService) and sends fingerprint data back to attackers.
What to do now: Audit your dependencies (and developer machines) for those package names, assume compromise if found, reset credentials and tokens, enable MFA, rotate SSH keys, review access logs, and isolate builds and third‑party agents.
Why it matters: Developer machines and package ecosystems are an increasingly popular attack surface. Ensuring that we treat dev‑level access with the same rigor as production access is key to maintaining a strong security posture.
New AI tool helps rural hospitals improve financial incomes
(Image credit: Getty Images)
By Erin Burchfield
Microsoft
Microsoft’s new Claims Denial Navigator gives rural hospitals an AI‑guided way to process denied insurance claims (Medicare, Medicaid, commercial) faster and more cost‑effectively. With rural hospitals facing denial rates around 18 % and annually managing ~$330 k in denial‑related costs, the freely available tool (via GitHub) offers recommendations for billing teams, learns from their feedback, and keeps data local. This initiative—part of Microsoft’s Rural Health Resilience program—helps improve financial outcomes and sustain essential care access in underserved communities.
Why it’s relevant: For our digital ecosystem, it’s a concrete example of how tech and process innovation drive resilience, equity, and operational impact in real‑world settings.
One year of agentic AI: Six lessons from the people doing the work
(Photo credit: McKinsey)
By
with QuantumBlack AI by McKinsey
After analysing over 50 agentic AI deployments, McKinsey identifies six hard‑won lessons: (1) redesign workflows not just agents, (2) ensure traceability of every step, (3) build for reuse rather than one‑off bots, (4) institute governance and human–agent collaboration, (5) enable data/infrastructure/architecture readiness, and (6) clearly define and measure value. The message is clear: to make AI agents matter, you must change how work gets done.
Why it’s relevant: For our digital alliance members and investor‑community, the path to meaningful AI impact lies not in isolated pilots, but in workflow reinvention, reuse of capabilities, transparency and measurable value.
How Enterprise Mobile Apps Unlock Real-Time Device Control in IoT Systems
(Image credit: IoT For All)
By IoT For All
A recent article explains how enterprise mobile applications are transforming IoT from passive monitoring into real‑time actionable control. In manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and retail, mobile apps now let managers, technicians and supervisors interact directly with connected devices — adjusting settings, receiving alerts, managing performance and responding instantly. With IoT systems scaling across sites and devices, mobile control is emerging as a strategic advantage.
Why it’s relevant: For our digital‑alliance network, this signals that successful IoT deployments require more than sensors and dashboards — they require accessible mobile experiences, integrated workflows, and empowered users.