Rochester tech leaders on AI, innovation and growth in 2026

As 2026 gets underway, Rochester-area technology leaders are weighing in on the trends and opportunities shaping their industries — and what they’re most excited about within their own organizations. What follows is a snapshot of how local companies are turning emerging technologies into real-world impact.

“I think the biggest opportunity in 2026 is not just AI in the abstract, I think it’s the application of AI and how it changes how work gets done in our industry,” said Dave Wilson, vice president, platform and technology services at Paychex, Inc.

In the payroll and human resources industry,  Wilson says that’s  being seen currently in the evolution of AI’s movement from assistance to orchestration.  He’s also seeing more technology across industries that augments expertise instead of replacing it.

“We think that companies that win won’t be the ones that remove humans from the equation, but instead, keep them in the loop,” he said. “They’ll be the ones that use technology to elevate the judgment, creativity and speed of humans, creativity, speed.”

He notes this is very applicable to Paychex as the company engages with businesses of all sizes, including small and midsize companies that don’t necessarily have the funds or expertise required to build custom AI solutions.

Wilson says what excites him the most about the year ahead is that Paychex has moved past experimentation and is now into scaling that works, especially for small and medium businesses.

“A lot of our focus this year is building on what we spent the last couple of years doing, which was modernizing our platforms and our data and our architecture so that we could be AI-ready,” he said. “So now in 2026, our investment and our focus really start to show up in every single way, whether it’s smarter products, simpler experiences, or faster innovation cycles.”

Chris Aebli, president of mission-critical communications at L3Harris Technologies, a global defense and public-safety communications company, says AI is creating new opportunities to speed information sharing in mission-critical environments.

“For mission-critical communications, innovation is unending,” Aebli said. “However, the opportunities surrounding artificial intelligence—and how it can speed information-sharing processes—is sure to get a lot of buzz this year.”

He notes that organizations have long struggled to synthesize vast amounts of data quickly enough for actionable intelligence, and that L3Harris is addressing this by partnering with leaders in the AI space.

Looking ahead, Aebli says L3Harris recently reorganized its business structure to better align with emerging customer needs. For Rochester, that means expanding beyond tactical communications, networking and satellite communications to also include the company’s public-safety communications portfolio.

“There’s already a lot of overlapping needs and capabilities between defense and first-responder communications technology,” he said, noting the move allows L3Harris to deliver enhanced capabilities during national emergencies and other events where armed forces and emergency services work together.

Aebli also points to growing international partnerships, with L3Harris delivering systems to all NATO and Five Eyes countries while expanding regional service and support.

“The vast majority of the technology we deliver is developed and produced here in Rochester, supporting job growth locally,” he said.

He adds that customers worldwide share a common need.

“They all need to be able to send vital information that reliably gets across forces of coalitions and multiple agencies fast and without interference from or being intercepted by adversaries,” Aebli said. “This is a core competency of our company, and I am excited about the innovations we will bring to the table.”

R-Squared Solutions LLC

Mary Rombaut, Ed.D., CEO and fractional CMO of the marketing agency R-Squared Solutions LLC, names agentic AI as the most important trend and growth opportunity in her industry right now.

“Agentic AI can help small to medium businesses do more with less investment and adapt in real time to what they’re seeing, like potential clients interacting with their website,” Rombaut said. “It’s helping marketing agencies make real-time adjustments rather than in a reactive way.”

In addition to using agentic AI and building custom AI tools to help her clients in the year ahead,  Rombaut – who is also the CEO of Recommenda, a software requirement tool – is looking forward to continuing to use AI in her own businesses to also keep costs down and grow at a faster rate.

“I think that a lot of businesses right now still think AI is ChatGPT, and yes, that’s a stage in the process of understanding AI, but you’re way behind if that is your current thinking,” Rombaut said.

She also encourages local businesses to learn more about TechRochester, a non-profit, tech-oriented organization that connects businesses of all sizes and industries to Rochester’s technology community and all it has to offer.

“We have a board of all volunteers who are committed to sharing what’s going on in the tech community in Rochester with everybody, as well as connecting people,” said Rombaut, who serves as the secretary and director of operations for TechRochester. “It’s a great resource if you want to learn about what’s going on locally in the tech space.”

Wilmac Technologies

Steve McDonnell, president and CEO, Wilmac Technologies, a compliance software company that builds AI-powered solutions for mission-critical environments, says the biggest trend shaping his industry right now is the rapid shift toward applied artificial intelligence.

“If you’re a software company today and your world doesn’t evolve around AI, you’re probably not going to make it the next couple of years,” McDonnell said. “It’s basically taking it from ‘AI can do this’ to getting granular and building use cases for your customers.”

Wilmac develops software for highly regulated organizations, including 911 centers and large enterprise institutions, with products designed to centralize recorded communications and apply AI to help organizations search, analyze, and act on that data more efficiently.

“Our customers are adopting a lot faster than we ever thought,” McDonnell said. “When you talk to C-level people, you’d better come in with an AI plan.”

What McDonnell is most excited about in the year ahead is Wilmac’s newest product, Continuity WFM, an AI-based workforce management and forecasting platform for 911 centers that officially launched in October.

“We are making 911 centers more efficient, and we are helping them staff the 911 centers, which has become so difficult,” he said, about the technology that is the first AI-powered workforce management solution for PSAPs.

McDonnell also highlighted the role technology can play in supporting dispatcher wellness, as it is designed to help streamline scheduling, reduce manual effort, and improve operational efficiency.

Looking ahead, McDonnell says Wilmac is focused on expanding its presence both nationally and locally. He points to the region’s strong universities and emerging talent pipeline, emphasizing the importance of growing local companies that can offer high-paying technology jobs and help retain skilled graduates.

iSECURE

Annette Warren, president of iSECURE, an information security company, says innovation is a constant in cybersecurity, with rising threats from artificial intelligence and quantum computing shaping many of the conversations she’s having with clients this year.

“Every year is exciting in cybersecurity as innovation is always happening,” Warren said. “Addressing the rising threats from AI and quantum in the coming year is most exciting for us.”

Warren says iSECURE continues to expand its offerings to help organizations reduce risk, including services focused on AI, compliance and navigating multiple regulations such as CMMC.

“iSECURE is always innovating, finding ways to creatively offer services that minimize risk and close gaps for our clients,” she said.

She also emphasizes the importance of building a cybersecurity culture inside organizations, noting that increased communication around the role technology plays in business can significantly reduce risk exposure. Beyond client work, Warren says iSECURE is also reaching into the community, encouraging young women from K–12 through university to explore careers in cybersecurity.

Looking ahead, Warren says she’s excited to help organizations uncover challenges tied to emerging trends and threats, and to develop tailored solutions.

LMT Technology Solutions

Alma Vieru, president of LMT Technology Solutions, a Rochester-based managed IT and automation services provider, says artificial intelligence remains the most exciting trend in technology this year—but only when it’s applied with purpose.

“The real opportunity isn’t just adopting AI, it’s applying it in ways that automate repeatable work so people can focus on what truly matters: relationships, strategy and expertise,” Vieru said. “When implemented thoughtfully and securely with strong security guardrails and smart automation, AI can help your team focus on higher-value work.”

At LMT, Vieru says AI is already being used to streamline internal operations, from documentation and administrative tasks to call routing and ticket creation.

“Any time we define a process or look for ways to operate more efficiently, we ask one simple question: can this be automated?” she said.

By clearly defining processes and automating time-consuming tasks, Vieru says the company is creating more consistency while freeing up time for meaningful interactions with employees, clients and partners. She adds that LMT’s growing Automation Team is connecting systems, data and workflows to expand capabilities without sacrificing its high-touch client experience.

Looking ahead, Vieru says LMT views AI as an accelerator for growth rather than a replacement for people.

“We see AI as an accelerator for growth, and not a way to replace people or reduce costs,” she said. “By helping other organizations adopt AI responsibly, we enable their teams to work smarter, innovate faster and be more present and strategic with their clients.”

Justin Copie, CEO of Innovative Solutions, a Rochester-based cloud and software development firm, says that across industries, artificial intelligence is moving beyond hype and delivering measurable business impact.

“For the past couple of years, everyone talked about AI, but most companies weren’t sure what to actually do with it,” Copie said. “That’s changing. Now we’re seeing businesses use AI to handle tasks that used to require entire teams.”

Copie points to applications ranging from automating insurance claim appeals to helping physicians make faster clinical decisions, noting that the real value of AI lies in saving time and money — and in health care, even lives. He adds that small and midsize businesses now have access to the same tools once reserved for Fortune 500 companies.

“A 50-person company today can use the same AI capabilities that giant corporations use—they just need the right partner to help them get there,” he said.

At Innovative Solutions, Copie says the company is launching five AI-powered health care products designed to reduce administrative burdens tied to denied claims, surgery scheduling and emergency room bottlenecks, while also expanding DarcyIQ, an internal platform now being developed as a product that can generate cloud solution roadmaps in hours instead of weeks.

Looking ahead, Copie says Innovative Solutions is focused on helping organizations modernize without unnecessary disruption, often tapping into funding programs through Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate adoption. He notes that AWS is also investing directly alongside the company this year.

“When the largest cloud company in the world puts significant resources behind your strategy, it tells you you’re onto something,” he said.

NextCorps

James Senall, president of NextCorps, a nonprofit that helps innovative technology companies launch and grow, says two major trends are shaping the region’s technology landscape this year: the rapid adoption of AI and Rochester’s growing strength in commercializing “deep tech.”

“Using AI tools to build software products and software companies has really changed the market dramatically,” Senall said. “Entrepreneurs can now create a software business in literally days instead of months.”

He points to a recent AI Startup Jam in downtown Rochester in October, where forty participants turned software startup ideas into functional prototypes in a weekend. The event guided attendees through AI-powered product prototyping, collaborative build sprints, mentorship, networking, and peer learning.

Senall also highlighted momentum in areas such as optics, photonics, climate, and advanced manufacturing, noting that Rochester has a unique ability to take complex technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace.

“Our region has a lot of strengths in taking these challenging technologies and figuring out how we get them made and built,” he said.

Looking ahead, Senall says NextCorps (an affiliate of the University of Rochester) is focused on raising Rochester’s profile as a destination for startups, while continuing to support more than one hundred companies each year across its programs.

Through initiatives like its Luminate accelerator – the world’s largest business accelerator for startups working on technologies enabled by optics, photonics, or imaging – Senall says NextCorps has already attracted more than twenty optics and photonics companies to the region and plans to build on that momentum in 2026.

“One thing we really want to focus on this year is getting Rochester recognized as one of the best places to start and scale a company,” he said. “We no longer want to be the best-kept secret in the world.”

Caurie Putnam is a Rochester-area freelance writer.