The Infotec 2025 conference from the AIM Institute brought in entrepreneurial leaders and industry experts to discuss the latest tech innovations in the business world. The event took place on May 5 at the Kiewit Luminarium in Omaha. It featured sessions on topics like artificial intelligence (AI), workforce development and recent trends in emerging tech and data analytics.

AIM is an Omaha-based nonprofit organization that seeks to grow the region’s tech sector through education and career training programs, outreach and events. AIM President and CEO Dala Alphonso opened the conference by discussing why he and the AIM team relaunched Infotec after a hiatus following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Now, if you bring that mask out and put it on, it will remind you of the last time we had this event,” said Alphonso, referring to the facemasks within the complimentary merch bags for attendees. “That is just a reminder of how much things have changed in our lives. Now, imagine what has happened to technology since that.”

With AIM hosting other events like the Heartland Developers Conference and Big AI, Alphonso said the organization wanted to narrow down Infotec’s purpose and differentiate it for the event’s return. As the hype surrounding AI progresses to employers simply seeing the technology as just another tool for the workplace, Alfonso said AIM didn’t want to shape the conference around a single advancement. Instead Infotec was designed to center businesses sharing all their latest insights and tech use cases, including cybersecurity and employee engagement, to one another. 

“Technology is an enabler,” said Alphonso. “It doesn’t matter what business you’re in. You need technology.”

Alphonso said he hoped attendees would shake any of their skepticisms surrounding emerging technology, find ways to integrate the tools into their daily tasks and leverage the advancements to attract and retain talent to the region. 

In a LinkedIn post following the conference, Alphonso said AIM had retired its Big AI event for Infotec’s revival — a decision made in late January. He added that there were around 300 attendees at Infotec 2025 and that the nonprofit plans to host Infotec again next year. 

Keynote takeaways: Human potential unlocked through AI

“What could you create if you didn’t have to start from scratch?” posed keynote speaker Sam Sapp, founder and CEO at Lockbaud. 

Sapp opened his presentation by describing how his young daughter is growing up in a world where AI is going to be the norm, not “magic.” He said it was the responsibility of the current generations to learn how to harness the potential of this tech in order to act as a bridge for the next generation, instead of fear mongering around machine learning. 

As AI improves, Sapp said the only limitations on creativity and creating new pathways in the workforce will be language. Through mastering prompts, he said individuals can, and will, build their own software, art and prototypes without the need of experts — allowing for untapped ideas to flourish. As AI can only improve through feeding it more data, Sapp also said users need to continue to be considerate on what they give the software access to. 

Breakout sessions: The future of AI, Gen Z talent pools and tech tools for small businesses 

Mike Douglas, senior vice president of digital transformation at Lunavi, discussed the latest trends and his current predictions with generative AI. He said he is currently seeing companies use AI for customer service and software development, ranging from chatbots to more task-based agents. 

As the technology is always evolving, Douglas said to anticipate some of his predictions becoming reality or altering as quickly as the software updates. Some of his predictions included the eventual decrease in demand for programming jobs due to increased AI productivity, the rise of AI agents working alongside human employees, and the decline of SaaS due to businesses being able to create their own software.  

“Everyone needs to become a prompt engineer,” said Douglas. “If there is any skill that anybody can learn in any job — learn how to write prompts.”

Luke Goetting, a keynote speaker and expert on the future of work, led a session centered on how employers can “evolve” to attract and retain Gen Z talent. As those born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is a growing contributor entering the workforce. 

Goetting said members of Gen Z value workplace cultures that emphasize things like transparency, quick communication, career advancement opportunities and a sense of making a difference. To appeal to these potential employees, Goetting suggested strategies like “day in the life” videos to showcase work environments, descriptions on how a job can advance to other roles, and strategies to “gamify” the workplace to give a sense of progression. 

Kris Boedigheimer, associate director of the Southwest Minnesota Small Business Development Center (SBDC), provided a tech demo on various AI and software tools accessible to small businesses in order to create videos and other content for marketing. 

Highlighting tools like Canva, HeyGen and Pollo AI, Boedigheimer said videos play an important role in building trust with customers and maximizing search engine optimization (SEO). AI software enables quick editing and production of this content. Boedigheimer encouraged businesses to play around with these products and features, but she said creators should still consider concerns about authenticity and protecting likeness. 

Panel discussion: Insights from local corporate and business leaders

The conference ended with a panel discussion moderated by Shonna Dorsey, executive director at Nebraska Tech Collaborative and Aksarben Scholarships and Internships. Panelists included Charlie Cuddy, co-founder of Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital; Mark Haner, director of North American sales at LinkedIn; Joe Fox, deputy director of business development and programs at the Nebraska Department of Economic Development; Jerry Vuchak, executive vice president and chief information and innovation officer at Children’s Nebraska; and Allie Hopkins, server operations area lead for Iowa and Nebraska with Google. 

The panelists each shared perspectives on how their own companies and organizations in the region are using tech advancements and how it impacts their decision making. Talking points included balancing speed with stability, especially in established environments like healthcare, keeping people on both the customer side and employee side in mind with decisions, and considering whether incorporating specific innovations is cost effective and aligns with the mission of an organization.  

With regard to startups, panelists were in agreement on the significance smaller companies can play in excelling in niche solutions and offering innovations to the broader ecosystem that larger companies are not able to prioritize. 

“These startup companies that come in with this hyper-focused, innovative idea to solve really new problems…really pushes us, pushes our own boundaries and helps us become even better in our own way,” said Hopkins. “Or we partner with these people to push us.” 

Attendee Takeaways 

Attendees described their motivation in coming to Infotec 2025 to keep up with the latest tech uses and figure out their own five-year goals to maintain their businesses’ relevance in the advancing tech ecosystem. While responses were overall positive, there was still some hesitancy towards tools like AI, especially when it came to creative ventures or maintaining customer loyalty. 

Christopher Ruhaak, a photographer and drone pilot with Heartland Photos & Design, said he saw how AI could help mockup a desired photograph or help in the editing process. Still, he said he believed in the power of direct social interactions when it comes to building customer relationships and the product outcomes that only a skilled professional can provide when making editing and production decisions. 

“Do you want ‘okay’?” Ruhaak asked. “Or do you want a professional?”

What’s next for AIM

AIM President and CEO Alphonso said Infotec 2025 was part of the nonprofit’s overall “rebirth” in the upcoming years. 

To realign its initiatives and increase impact during a time of quickly advancing technology, Alphonso said AIM is in the process of reconnecting with the community and talking with stakeholders like Metropolitan Community College (MCC) and Tech Nebraska. He said he is open to chatting with anyone interested in learning more about the organization and working with them in achieving their shared goals. 

“AIM cannot be everything to everyone,” said Alphonso. “We have to stick to the things that we’re great at, and more importantly, we have to leverage strategic partnerships that we have.”

Looking to the future, Alphonso said AIM is planning to host the Heartland Developers Conference in the fall and relaunch the AIM Leadership Academies in partnership with Bellevue University in August. 

To learn more about AIM’s five-year plan, “Vision 2030: Rebirth 2 Rebuild,” you can read SPN’s previous coverage on the nonprofit’s new trajectory.