Most businesses still have boxes of paper documents in unlocked rooms, manual processes eating up hours each week, and employees doing repetitive tasks that technology could handle in seconds.

In this episode, Brandon sits down with Scott from James Imaging to break down what digital transformation actually looks like on the ground - not the buzzword version, but the real one. They cover how businesses can identify where their workflows are breaking down, why the push for "going paperless" often stalls before it starts, and how workflow automation applies to businesses of every size - including yours.

Scott brings 34 years of experience helping companies move from paper-heavy, manual processes to smarter, more efficient systems. He shares real examples from the field, including a compliance issue hiding in an unlocked room and a 64-year-old skeptic who became a true believer after just two months.

In this episode:

• What "going paperless" actually looks like in practice
• What workflow automation actually means for a small or mid-sized business
• ow to identify process bottlenecks before they become bigger problems
• Why document management isn't just for large companies
• How to handle employee resistance to change
• The "land and expand" approach to getting wins without overwhelming your team

Whether you're running a 5-person office or a 500-person operation, this one will make you look at your daily processes differently.

🎙️ IT Unplugged is brought to you by M2 Technology - IT that's approachable.

Listen to IT Unplugged:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Wherever you get your podcasts

https://youtu.be/aEMfEo-YZvk

📞 920-362-6869 | m2.technology/get-in-touch

Rebecca, Vice President of Talent Development at New North, joins Brandon to talk about what it actually takes to grow a regional economy — and why workforce development, entrepreneurship, and technology all have to work together to make it happen.

New North covers 18 counties across Northeast Wisconsin with a team of six. They're running industry alliances, launching leadership academies, recruiting transitioning military veterans to the region, and figuring out how to prepare a workforce for jobs that don't fully exist yet.

This one is grounded in the real challenges facing Wisconsin businesses — the IT worker shortage, the demographic cliff, and why telling kids about career opportunities only works if the adults in the room actually understand them first.

Topics covered:

• What New North is and how regional economic development actually works
• The New Digital Alliance and New Construction Alliance — and why businesses collaborate instead of compete
• The construction leadership academy: moving skilled tradespeople into leadership roles
• The digital mentorship network keeping talent in Northeast Wisconsin
• The IT worker shortage — and why you can't solve a talent problem without engaging the talent
• Youth apprenticeships, externships, and why teacher externships might be the most underrated tool out there
• New North Hires Heroes — 98 veterans relocated, nearly 350 individuals brought to the region
• How New North is approaching AI when the landscape changes faster than any training program can keep up

Connect with New North: New North — https://www.thenewnorth.com

Listen to IT Unplugged: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Wherever you get your podcasts

Questions about IT or cybersecurity for your business? https://www.m2.technology/get-in-touch or call 920-362-6869

David Zey has spent his career at the intersection of IT leadership, application development, and startup consulting. Today he's an Engineer in Residence at TitletownTech — the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft-backed innovation hub — where he's been running manufacturers and growing businesses through the Microsoft AI Co-innovation Lab in Milwaukee.

In this episode, Brandon and David get into the real-world AI use cases that are actually moving the needle for manufacturers — not "I made an email" ChatGPT stuff, but quoting automation, compliance acceleration, and capturing institutional knowledge before it walks out the door. They also dig into when you should hire inside versus bring in outside help, what Wisconsin's data center buildout means for the region's future, and why the rate of change is becoming a competitive advantage on its own.

This one goes deeper than most — from startup risk profiles to whether AI is making creative thought more disposable. Worth the full listen.

Topics covered:
• How David's consulting background across enterprise, SMB, and startups shaped Zeytech
• Why startups are "any other business compressed" — and what that means for technology decisions
• TitletownTech, the Microsoft AI Co-innovation Lab in Milwaukee, and what the 4-day prototype sprint actually looks like
• Real AI use cases in manufacturing: quoting automation, compliance routing, and knowledge capture
• The workforce knowledge problem — and how AI can act as an institutional memory system
• Build internal AI capability vs. bring in outside help: what David actually recommends
• Over 250 AI use cases reviewed in a year — what patterns keep showing up
• Fractional expertise, long-term partnerships, and why Zeytech's model is harder to market but more fulfilling
• Wisconsin as an emerging tech hub — data centers, corporate ecosystems, and what's coming
• The philosophical side: is AI making creative thought disposable?

Connect with David Zey:
Zeytech — https://www.zeytech.com
TitletownTech — https://titletowntech.com

Listen to IT Unplugged:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Wherever you get your podcasts

Questions about IT or cybersecurity for your business?
https://www.m2.technology/get-in-touch or call 920-362-6869