Gunter Van Craen - CDIO at Bekaert - Embracing Digital Transformation

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Belgium 18-12-25 Invitation Only Physical english
We look forward to brainstorming with you on how we can strengthen meaningful engagement among our participants, create valuable opportunities for visibility, foster peer-to-peer networking, and deliver impactful content. Your expertise and guidance will help shape our strategy for the coming year and ensure that we continue to provide the best possible value to our entire community. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected community that benefits us all.
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Belgium 13-1-26 Squad Only Virtual english
Migrating legacy systems to the cloud remains one of the toughest balancing acts in IT. Every choice affects stability, cost, and trust at once, and what starts as a modernisation effort quickly turns into a negotiation between ambition and reality. Suddenly budgets rise, dependencies appear late, and timelines tighten as old architectures collide with new expectations. In the end, success depends on sequencing, ownership, and aligning business priorities with infrastructure limits, and not only on technical readiness. Making it work requires more than a plan on paper. Knowing which systems genuinely belong in the cloud, which can wait, and which should stay put shapes the entire roadmap and defines its success. Each refactoring decision sets the level of future flexibility, but it also drives cost and risk. The trade-offs between speed, sustainability, and resilience only become clear once migration begins and pressure builds. Let’s discuss how to plan migrations that stay on track, manage hidden dependencies, and handle downtime with confidence. Let’s also discuss how governance, testing, and vendor coordination keep progress visible and credible. Are you in? A closed conversation for those who turn cloud migration from a disruption into a long-term advantage.
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Germany 19-1-26 Country Members Virtual german
Bei diesem „Spotlight“-Online-Event wird diskutiert, wie moderne Identity Security im Zeitalter autonomer KI-Agenten gestaltet werden kann. Teilnehmende erfahren, wie KI-Agenten als eigene Identitäten verwaltet werden, wie korrekte Zugriffsrechte für Mensch und Maschine sichergestellt werden und wie Zero-Standing-Risk-Ansätze vor modernen Bedrohungen schützen. Praxisnahe Einblicke unterstützen Unternehmen dabei, ihre Identity-Programme zukunftssicher auszurichten.
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Belgium 20-1-26 All Members Physical english
CIOs today are being judged less as technology leaders and more as portfolio managers. Every euro is under scrutiny. Boards and CFOs demand lower run costs, higher efficiency, and clear ROI from every digital initiative. Yet, they also expect CIOs to place bets on disruptive technologies that will keep the enterprise competitive in five years. This constant tension is redefining the role. In this session, we go beyond FinOps and cost reporting to tackle the strategic financial dilemmas CIOs face.
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Switzerland 20-1-26 Country Members Physical english
Spain 20-1-26 Invitation Only Physical spanish
Arrancamos 2026 retomando la actividad del Círculo de Ciberseguridad de Catalunya.
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Belgium Dec 18, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
We look forward to brainstorming with you on how we can strengthen meaningful engagement among our participants, create valuable opportunities for visibility, foster peer-to-peer networking, and deliver impactful content. Your expertise and guidance will help shape our strategy for the coming year and ensure that we continue to provide the best possible value to our entire community. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected community that benefits us all.
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Germany Jan 19, 2026 Country Members Virtual german
Bei diesem „Spotlight“-Online-Event wird diskutiert, wie moderne Identity Security im Zeitalter autonomer KI-Agenten gestaltet werden kann. Teilnehmende erfahren, wie KI-Agenten als eigene Identitäten verwaltet werden, wie korrekte Zugriffsrechte für Mensch und Maschine sichergestellt werden und wie Zero-Standing-Risk-Ansätze vor modernen Bedrohungen schützen. Praxisnahe Einblicke unterstützen Unternehmen dabei, ihre Identity-Programme zukunftssicher auszurichten.
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Belgium Jan 20, 2026 All Members Physical english
CIOs today are being judged less as technology leaders and more as portfolio managers. Every euro is under scrutiny. Boards and CFOs demand lower run costs, higher efficiency, and clear ROI from every digital initiative. Yet, they also expect CIOs to place bets on disruptive technologies that will keep the enterprise competitive in five years. This constant tension is redefining the role. In this session, we go beyond FinOps and cost reporting to tackle the strategic financial dilemmas CIOs face.
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Switzerland Jan 20, 2026 Country Members Physical english
Gain insights into key strategies for achieving IT resilience and network with peers in the intimate setting of the NapaGrill Circle Room in Zürich.
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UK Jan 21, 2026 Invitation Only Physical english
This event is ideal for senior IT decision makers looking to effectively manage their IT estate in order to drive greater efficiencies and deliver increased business value. Join us for an evening of insightful conversation and great company among industry peers and experts.
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Belgium Jan 27, 2026 Invitation Only Physical english
AI is becoming embedded in every workflow, every application, and every decision engine. But as data grows exponentially, IT estates become heavier. Moving data - across clouds, across regions, or even across environments - has become slow, expensive, and risky. Latency, sovereignty, egress fees, and unpredictable cloud bills make the old defaults unsustainable.
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Belgium Dec 18, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
We look forward to brainstorming with you on how we can strengthen meaningful engagement among our participants, create valuable opportunities for visibility, foster peer-to-peer networking, and deliver impactful content. Your expertise and guidance will help shape our strategy for the coming year and ensure that we continue to provide the best possible value to our entire community. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected community that benefits us all.
Read More
Germany Jan 19, 2026 Country Members Virtual german
Bei diesem „Spotlight“-Online-Event wird diskutiert, wie moderne Identity Security im Zeitalter autonomer KI-Agenten gestaltet werden kann. Teilnehmende erfahren, wie KI-Agenten als eigene Identitäten verwaltet werden, wie korrekte Zugriffsrechte für Mensch und Maschine sichergestellt werden und wie Zero-Standing-Risk-Ansätze vor modernen Bedrohungen schützen. Praxisnahe Einblicke unterstützen Unternehmen dabei, ihre Identity-Programme zukunftssicher auszurichten.
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Belgium Jan 20, 2026 All Members Physical english
CIOs today are being judged less as technology leaders and more as portfolio managers. Every euro is under scrutiny. Boards and CFOs demand lower run costs, higher efficiency, and clear ROI from every digital initiative. Yet, they also expect CIOs to place bets on disruptive technologies that will keep the enterprise competitive in five years. This constant tension is redefining the role. In this session, we go beyond FinOps and cost reporting to tackle the strategic financial dilemmas CIOs face.
Read More
Switzerland Jan 20, 2026 Country Members Physical english
Gain insights into key strategies for achieving IT resilience and network with peers in the intimate setting of the NapaGrill Circle Room in Zürich.
Read More
UK Jan 21, 2026 Invitation Only Physical english
This event is ideal for senior IT decision makers looking to effectively manage their IT estate in order to drive greater efficiencies and deliver increased business value. Join us for an evening of insightful conversation and great company among industry peers and experts.
Read More
Belgium Jan 27, 2026 Invitation Only Physical english
AI is becoming embedded in every workflow, every application, and every decision engine. But as data grows exponentially, IT estates become heavier. Moving data - across clouds, across regions, or even across environments - has become slow, expensive, and risky. Latency, sovereignty, egress fees, and unpredictable cloud bills make the old defaults unsustainable.
Read MoreRossmann Runs Business-critical Logistics System on OutSystems
With more than 1,500 stores in around 400 cities, Rossmann Poland is the country’s leading drug store chain. And since 2020, the retailer has used a logistics app called “S-Hub” in its central distribution warehouse.That app and 24 others are built on OutSystems, and the number keeps rising.

“OutSystems gives us the ability to build applications we need with virtually no limits, including extensive apps that cover critical operations.” - Robert HaberBusiness Solutions Architect, Rossmann Poland
Rossmann Poland has a long history of in-house custom software development, which has helped the drug store giant differentiate in its market. Around 300 specialists work in its IT department, and they had a veritable smorgasbord of different software development technologies.
“We were concerned about hitting a wall with low-code. But we’ve found no limits to what we can do with OutSystems. The ability to modify or extend code at the front-end or back-end means we can deliver apps precisely tailored to our needs.” - Piotr JugielDeputy Director of the IT Department, Rossmann Poland
In mid-2019, Rossmann Poland decided to complement and standardize its application development technology, aiming to provide a single, comprehensive application development kit that would speed up the development process and allow developers to focus less on technology and more on solving business problems. This additional element was the choice of a low-code solution.
Ultimately, the company chose OutSystems as the platform met their requirements to deploy on-premises and was suited to multiple use cases, including mission-critical core business systems and smaller web and mobile workplace applications.

With a large team of experienced developers, Robert Haber, Business Solutions Architect at Rossmann, had to tread carefully to win over colleagues to a new low-code way of working. “Junior developers were very receptive and quick to learn OutSystems,” says Robert, “But, in fairness, it wasn’t easy to convince all of our developers to go low-code.”
“To win over skeptics, presenting low-code as a panacea doesn’t work,” says Robert. “Instead, a step-by-step approach is more persuasive. We pointed out the areas of development where OutSystems gave the most benefits, like UI development and speed. We gradually proved the case with concrete results.”

“To win over skeptics, presenting low-code as a panacea doesn’t work. Instead, a step-by-step approach is more persuasive.”- Robert HaberBusiness Solutions Architect, Rossmann Poland
Now, just over two years since adopting OutSystems, Rossmann has 25 applications running on OutSystems, serving around 20,000 users every day. Of these, 4,000 are heavy users at head office, and around 16,000 are users in stores.
Rossmann has a blended sourcing approach that combines in-house development with certified developers from OutSystems partners to assist on more complex projects.
“Many developers assume low-code is just for simple tools in the back office,” says Robert. “But we’ve proven the contrary very quickly. OutSystems allows us to build the applications we need with virtually no limits, including extensive apps that cover critical operations.”
So, although Rossmann has several simple applications that do not require extensive integration, it also has more complex business-critical solutions that it has comprehensively integrated with core systems.
The S-Hub app is at the center of Rossmann’s supply chain. Installed on Android devices used at Rossmann’s central distribution warehouse, S-Hub scans incoming and outgoing deliveries, streamlining distribution to stores.
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Embark on a culinary journey through the ever-evolving world of digital leadership with our third edition of the CIONET Cookbook: Recipes for Digital Success. Unveiling the intricate trilemma faced by today’s Master Chefs, our trailblazing European CIOs address a challenge at the nexus of customer interests, digital transformation strategies, and IT modernisation. Their secret? Synchronising the gearing between customer, business, and technology to create a frictionless movement through the digital landscape.
The CIONET Cookbook uses the analogy of a five-star restaurant to explain the importance of optimally integrated technology, with the CIO as Master Chef. In order to provide the best service to its customers, a top restaurant must have the right atmosphere, an inviting menu, a well-equipped kitchen, talented and committed front-of-house and kitchen staff and smooth-running processes that ensure an enjoyable experience for diners.
To better understand industry sentiment – and to assess the barriers and opportunities on the path to adoption – CIONET, in partnership with Thoughtworks, brought together a dozen IT leaders for an in-depth discussion on Agentic AI in financial services.
Throughout the Coping in Chaos series from Cognizant, Google Cloud and CIONET, the goal has remained the same: to understand how volatility – economic, geopolitical, and technological – impacts today’s IT leaders and the businesses they serve. In the third event of the series, a dozen or more senior technology leaders considered the customer. Coping in chaos. Navigating Market Dynamics explored how uncertainty is affecting consumer behaviour and how, in turn, that changing behaviour requires a response.
The role of the CIO has evolved from managing systems to shaping outcomes: growth, resilience, and competitive edge are now won or lost in the technology arena. Today ’ s CIOs must balance stability with innovation, control costs while attracting scarce talent, and modernise legacy infrastructure while adopting emerging technologies.
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