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July 27, 2026
KIMBERLY – Foxgate Technology Group has expanded its Northeast Wisconsin presence through the acquisition of Corporate Network Solutions, Inc. (CNSI).
President/CEO Scott Tornio said the Kimberly-based company – which has been providing managed IT services to small- and medium-sized businesses since April – was formed from the managed IT and professional services division of HawkPoint Technologies.
The acquisition, Tornio said, brings together two established Fox Valley technology providers with more than 50 years of combined industry experience, combining their expertise and resources under a single brand.
“Foxgate’s all of three months old, HawkPoint was 23 years old, CNSI was 28 years old, so Foxgate’s the baby of the group,” he said.
Tornio said HawkPoint had been in talks with CNSI “for a while” before the “very similar but very different businesses” struck a deal.
The resulting acquisition, he said, “is not about change.”
“It’s about combining strong relationships and trusted people with a much larger operational foundation behind them,” he said. “The investments [HawkPoint] made over the last year, combined with this merger, allow us to scale the right way without losing the responsiveness and accountability clients expect from a local partner.”
Tornio said the new, Kimberly-based entity combined HawkPoint’s and CNSI’s workforces and client bases.
The acquisition officially closed June 30, he said, with Foxgate formally launching the following day.
Tornio said existing clients have experienced no disruption in services.
“So far, they call the number they’ve always called, and they talk to the person they’ve always talked to,” he said.
Services now offered through the expanded company include:
- Managed IT services
- Cybersecurity services
- Cloud solutions
- Network infrastructure
- IT consulting
- Technology procurement
- Backup and disaster recovery
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace support
Professional IT in the AI era
Amid a rapidly evolving tech landscape fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), Tornio said it’s more valuable than ever for businesses to have a real, reliable, accountable contact for IT.
“There’s a lot of really great tech out there that’s working in our favor, that’s helping us help everybody else,” he said. “The bummer of it is there are bad guys out there who use the same tech to try to do bad stuff.”
Tornio said he understands the temptation for smaller companies to look to AI for IT assistance to save money in the short term, yet warns of security risks that could cost companies dearly in the end.
These threats, he said, don’t only stem from bad external actors, but can also be self-inflicted.
“If you’re using a free AI [chatbot], you should never put anything private in there,” he said.
Even for paid, “somewhat more private” subscriptions for AI chatbots, Tornio said these often feature a setting for users to help to train and “learn” from the information they submit – which many will unwittingly allow.
“What that means is, ‘let the model use your personal information and tell everybody all about it,’” he said. “Don’t do that. Turn that setting off.”
A company like Foxgate, Tornio said, does much more than simply tell businesses what not to do.
According to foxgatetech.com, the process starts with an online form asking a basic question – “How can we help you?” – followed by an introductory phone call and a list of next steps.
Spending three decades in the IT industry, Tornio said his focus has always been on the bigger picture.
“The way I do IT is the ‘1,000-foot view,’” he said. “I have a number of processes running at a time where I’m looking for ways to improve the greater environment, not just the device in front of me.”
Rather than overwhelm clients with jargon, Tornio said he likes to explain technical concepts in “pretty plain language.”
“You need to talk to them about the value [IT] brings to their job…,” he said. “You need to make sure you’re speaking their language. Read the room and understand they don’t carry the same passion for computer components an IT guy does.”
Tornio said Foxgate’s focus on technology keeps the team aware of emerging tools and software, but with the goal of finding practical solutions rather than pushing the latest products.
“When I go in, my No. 1 goal is, ‘What is the best technology amongst the whole pool of technology we can use to make things better for this client?’” he said. “Not the thing I sell the most, not the thing I make the most money on – none of that kind of stuff, [but], ‘What is the best tool we can use here?’”
Tornio said Foxgate’s services further help businesses save money by mitigating any downtime due to tech issues.
“The second your computer [system] starts to act up, [employees] get up, they go to the water cooler, they talk about the game, they do about 100 other things,” he said. “You lose a whole bunch of productivity, and you’re paying all that money…, so you should have somebody in IT make sure the computers work well.”
From data and financial security – “if you have a computer and money, you’re a target” – to maintaining productivity and providing industry expertise, Tornio said Foxgate’s goal is to absolve businesses of what can otherwise be a source of significant stress.
“We’re going to watch [your technology] every day, and you can go do what you do,” he said. “It’s off your plate, and we’ll take care of it.”
Out of the gate, into the future
Tornio said the Foxgate team – comprised of 18 employees formerly of HawkPoint and CNSI – has hit the ground running.
From the CNSI contingent, Tornio said he knew he could count on what he’d always considered “a good company with good people.”
After HawkPoint reevaluated and upgraded its entire stack of IT software and tools in 2025, he said Foxgate’s improved organization and expanded resources have allowed the company to complete projects more quickly.
Though customers have not noticed any disruption in their service, Tornio said Foxgate has seen internal improvements, particularly in the speed at which projects can be completed, after streamlining services through a single dashboard.
“I don’t have to go to 100 different types of software and look to see if client A has a problem, but client B is okay – I look at one major software, and it says, ‘Yeah, everything’s fine,’” he said. “That’s why you [reevaluate/upgrade a stack] – it’s better security, it’s more stable. People don’t have a problem, because we got to it before they had it.”
Tornio said Foxgate’s strong foundation owes credit to CNSI’s founders, Todd Schroeder (who now works at Foxgate) and Brian Van Asten.
“It may have been an acquisition, but it really is a merger of taking people who have like minds and trying to do the right thing,” he said. “We’re not in this for the money. We love the tech, we like the people we work with and we just want to do good work. It’s a good way of carrying that forward.”
Even with ongoing changes in IT, Tornio said he maintains a perspective that “a lot of technology is just ‘toys’” to be troubleshot.
“AI is cued up to be another big game-changer,” he said, “but a lot of the technology you see come out doesn’t actually impact the end user or the day-to-day computer user.”
And, as is ultimately the case with any tech, Tornio said the key to effective use – and effective IT – lies in the humans behind it, which, in the case of Foxgate, is cause for optimism.
“I really can’t reiterate enough what a great job Todd and Brian did building a solid business [with CNSI] and getting great clientele – the ones I’ve met so far are just awesome, amazing folks,” he said. “And I’m obviously excited to continue the service we built with the HawkPoint clients, and super excited to see where all this goes and what we can all collectively accomplish together now.”
