-2.png)
Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge
Italy Sep 25, 2025 Invitation Only Physical italian
Nel percorso verso l’AI e la trasformazione digitale, dati e automazione sono gli elementi centrali di ogni strategia tecnologica. Ma senza una governance chiara, rischiano di diventare non solo fonte di inefficienza, ma anche di rischi e incoerenza. Come garantire che i dati siano completi, accessibili e affidabili? Come automatizzare le operation IT e i processi aziendali mantenendo controllo, compliance e sicurezza? Durante questa roundtable esclusiva, organizzata da CIONET Italia e IBM, affronteremo: La governance come abilitatore di dati affidabili e automazione sicura. Come prepararsi a un’adozione dell’AI realmente scalabile. Il ruolo di controllo, resilienza e gestione del rischio nell’innovazione.
Read More
Belgium Oct 16, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
AI isn’t just another tool. It changes how we work, how we think, how we organise ourselves.Yet most organisations still approach it like a digital upgrade, deploying assistants, automating workflows, testing use cases inisolation.The results are predictable. Short-term wins. Long-term confusion.Effort spent. Value unclear.Many companies can’t connect AI to their actual strategic goals,and the promised ROI never materialises.At the same time, something deeper is shifting.AI can now reason, decide, adapt. Not just mimic processes butcontribute to them.The technology is evolving, but the way we implement it hasn’tcaught up.If your AI still fits inside a single department, you’re likely solvingthe wrong problem.If it works only for individuals, you're missing how your teamsactually deliver value.If it replaces people instead of supporting them, you're buildingfor today, not tomorrow.The next step isn’t more AI. It’s the right AI.Built for your business, your teams, your way of working.Not a tool to add but a structure to build around.Are we ready to treat AI as a shared capability, not a scatteredexperiment?Can we move beyond individual efficiency and build systems thatcollaborate, learn and adapt with us?Those are the questions we’ll explore at the round table.
Read More
Germany Oct 28, 2025 Country Members Physical german
Am 28. Oktober lädt CIONET CIOs und Digital Leaders nach Köln ein: hier stellen wir reale Anwendungsfälle vor, in denen KI-Agenten Aufgaben autonom übernehmen, Prozesse beschleunigen und Entscheidungen vorbereiten – mit messbarem Nutzen für das Business.
Read More
France Nov 4, 2025 Country Members Physical french
À l’ère des mutations géopolitiques et réglementaires, l’établissement d’une souveraineté numérique est devenu un élément stratégique essentiel pour les entreprises. Ce dialogue stratégique mettra en lumière le rôle fondamental du réseau dans la mise en place du contrôle, de la confiance et de la résilience. Nous explorerons comment une infrastructure moderne et résiliente permet d’appliquer des politiques de gestion des données et d’assurer la continuité opérationnelle. Ce dialogue stratégique, réservé à un groupe restreint de pairs, est conçu pour permettre aux leaders du numérique d’échanger sur l’un des enjeux les plus urgents aujourd’hui. Nous discuterons des réseaux « sovereign-ready » et débattrons des préoccupations croissantes autour de la souveraineté des données, qui motivent l’adoption de politiques de confidentialité et de protection des données de plus en plus strictes à l’échelle mondiale.
Read More
Netherlands Nov 10, 2025 Public Physical english
CIONET Nederland vertrekt met een groep Nederlandse CIO's en digital leaders 10 t/m 12 november 2025 voor de geheel verzorgde CIO Innovation Trip naar de Web Summit in Lissabon, Portugal. Reis jij mee of neem je collega(s) mee!
Read More
Isabel Group automates operations, takes efficiency to the next level with Azure data platform
Belgian FinTech Isabel Group revamps platform with Azure for data & automation. New platform unlocks flexibility, unstructured data handling & machine learning, empowering employees & clients.
Our analysis of the cloud computing market revealed Azure as a leader in data analytics. - Michael Van de Borne: Data Analytics Manager - Isabel Group
For Isabel Group, simplification is a key to success. The Belgium-based fintech company’s core mission is removing hassle for customers through IT-based products that facilitate the exchange of documents, identities, and payments. In the complex world of financial administration, Isabel Group finds ways to streamline processes for its customers.
It was a natural evolution to enter into the wider Microsoft ecosystem both from a business continuity perspective and to ease the migration effort. - Michael Van de Borne: Data Analytics Manager - Isabel Group
Isabel Group originally had an on-premises data platform that was used only for BI purposes. The BI platform was a traditional SQL server-based data warehouse with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), SQL Server Analysis Services, and SQL Server Reporting Services. Employees accessed data through multidimensional models and paginated reports. For reporting requests, business users were required to file a ticket and a BI developer would query the data warehouse.
The platform’s single-purpose construction meant that it couldn’t handle unstructured data or be utilized to support other critical business processes. Many operations did not use automation, resulting in repetitious, error-prone tasks that needed to be carried out manually. Because the solution used on-premises infrastructure, business users were forced to rely on database administrators and datacenter operators for managing physical upgrades, hindering their autonomy. The lack of flexibility prevented internal business users from improving processes like marketing campaigns and billing and forced business decision makers to use inefficient tools to compensate for what the BI platform didn’t provide. “Or worse, they went without the proper data or no data at all,” says Van de Borne.
Isabel Group had an opportunity to simplify its own process—and unlock new business capabilities at the same time. The company needed a mature, scalable platform that could make use of machine learning and advanced analytics while offering seamless integration through every step of the data pipeline.
Azure machine learning and data science can address all kinds of problems that nobody believed we could solve previously. - Michael Van de Borne: Data Analytics Manager - Isabel Group
Going from an on-premises Microsoft SQL Server setup—where internal users worked on Windows laptops with Microsoft Office products—to an Azure ecosystem made sense. “It was a natural evolution to integrate into the wider Microsoft ecosystem both from a business continuity perspective and to ease the migration effort,” says Van de Borne. “Our analysis of the cloud computing market revealed Azure as a leader in data analytics.” Isabel Group also took advantage of Fast Track Support from Microsoft, which offered a series of workshops to evaluate how different Azure services could be used.
Working with Microsoft Cloud Partner Program member element61, Isabel Group built a solution using Microsoft Azure Data Factory with self-hosted integration runtimes, Azure Data Lake Storage for scaling and storage, Azure Databricks for processing large datasets, and Microsoft Power BI Premium for insights and reporting. Isabel Group used Azure DevOps to build a custom toolchain, build and deploy models and reports to Power BI, and test and deploy data engineering code to Databricks.
The process starts with raw data that is taken from databases via integration runtimes or sent by apps, then raw data is sent to the staging area in Azure Data Factory. Data is arranged in star schema and business keys and foreign keys are updated through Databricks, then Databricks triggers Power BI API to refresh datasets. With datasets refreshed, business insights are ready to be presented. The end-to-end process includes machine learning model training, a feature that Isabel Group wanted but was unable to fit into their old system.
The process was a complete redevelopment of all the SSIS pipelines Isabel Group used—which number in the hundreds. After two and a half years of planning, problem-solving, and building custom tools and libraries, Isabel Group was able to fully decommission its on-premises BI platform and switch over to Azure.
With the move from traditional BI reporting to more comprehensive data engineering and analysis, Isabel Group gained the ability to process larger and unstructured datasets. Plus, the automation possibilities are a huge win for the team. Infrastructure and data pipelines are automated in the new solution—in fact, the team even automated the creation of new data pipelines, since so many needed to be migrated or remade. “This has unlocked a new range of possibilities,” says Van de Borne. “Alerts, in the case of a failure, and data quality tests are now automated.”
With the modern platform, the data team can provide new data initiatives more quickly and data engineers are more efficient. This means less time is needed to maintain pipelines and reports, and more time can be given to onboarding new use cases. For example, Van de Borne’s team has already begun work on new products used for validating the identity of payment beneficiaries in real time for help with fraud detection. As a result, employees have increased trust in the data team and platform, and Isabel Group can offer new services that continue to streamline and simplify business for its customers.
With the recently deployed platform, Isabel Group expects faster turnaround times for the creation of data products and machine learning-based solutions for both internal and external use. Employees are excited to explore advanced analytics and long-term, organization-wide data governance models. Insights into user usage patterns across product offerings will help steer future development of product features and identify cross-selling opportunities within its customer base. “Azure machine learning and data science can address all kinds of problems that nobody believed we could solve previously,” says Van de Borne.
Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge
.png)
Isabelle Droll - CIO for Airline, Corporate, Hotels & Resorts and Sustainability at TUI - Data, Diversity, and Destinations
.png)
Sharon Prior - CIO in transition - How Great Tech Leadership Begins with Business Thinking
-1.jpg)
José Antonio López, Group CIO at TOUS - Jewels, Data & AI: Inside the Digital Transformation of TOUS
.png)
Tom Tanghe - General Manager ITC EMEA at Daikin Europe - Reinventing the CIO Role
.jpg)
CIOFEST 2025 - From Order Taker to Proactive Disruptor
Geopolitical tensions have dominated the headlines for over two years now. In this context, the cyber threat landscape is also evolving rapidly. The protection and security of critical infrastructure – both physical and digital – is becoming increasingly important.
.png?width=600&height=600&name=Anna%20Kopp%20(1).png)
