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Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge
Germany Oct 20, 2025 Country Members Virtual german
Die Realisierung des Potenzials von KI und datengesteuerten Strategien stellt nicht länger nur einen Wettbewerbsvorteil dar, sondern ist Heute auch entscheidend für den langfristigen Erfolg eines jeden Unternehmens. Unsere Wissensaustausch-Briefings "AI & Data Knowledge Transfer" zielen darauf ab, CIDOs und Senior Digital Leaders praktische Anwendungen aufzuzeigen und umsetzbaren Erkenntnissen von Fachexperten zu vermitteln, die den Weg für die transformative digitale Reise ebnen und beschleunigen.
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Belgium Oct 21, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
In today's competitive landscape, customer expectations have never been higher. They demand a personalised, seamless experience at every touchpoint, from initial marketing contact to post-sale service. Unified data is at the heart of creating engaging customer experiences and is meant to fuel the 360 profile. However, for many organizations, a complete picture of the customer is fragmented, with critical data scattered in disconnected systems and departments. This exclusive roundtable will bring together Digital Leaders active in multiple industries to discuss a critical challenge: breaking down data silos to build a true 360° view of the customer. We will explore how to solve the complex integration challenges that prevent a unified view, and how to transform disparate data into a single source of truth. Join us to: Discover how to overcome the technical hurdles of integrating critical business systems, such as ERP and CRM platforms, to unify customer data. Explore real-world case studies on how organisations have successfully created unified customer insights to enhance personalisation and boost commercial and operational efficiency. Discuss best practices for turning fragmented data into actionable insights that can anticipate customer needs, drive revenue growth, and foster long-term loyalty. This is a unique opportunity for Digital Leaders who are ready to transform their customer engagement strategy and unlock the full potential of their data.
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Spain Oct 22, 2025 Country Members Physical spanish
Descubre cómo las organizaciones están utilizando la tecnología para impactar en el negocio a través de casos reales de uso y aprendizajes clave en áreas como ciberseguridad, automatización o data, contados por los protagonistas. Un espacio diseñado para inspirarte, conectar con expertos y potenciar la innovación en tu organización.
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Belgium Oct 22, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
Enterprises are questioning whether private networks and stacked firewalls are still worthwhile investments. A newer approach operates on the open internet with Zero Trust, eliminates perimeter complexity, and reframes cybersecurity as a business performance metric for boards and audit committees. This is a closed-door, peer discussion, not a lecture. We’ll examine the promise and its pitfalls: Are the promised savings significant, or are they too good to be true? What risks do you introduce? How does this collide with your installed base, legacy OT, entrenched processes and team competencies, and how do you overcome that without breaking operations or credibility with the board? Two senior leaders from global companies will spark the dialogue with lived experience: Kurt De Ruwe, CIO AkzoNobel Frank Bolata, CIO Syensqo
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Poland Oct 23, 2025 Invitation Only Physical Polish
Cloud UP! ’25 to miejsce spotkań managerów, którzy chcą świadomie i skutecznie rozwijać swoje organizacje, wykorzystując najnowsze technologie. Nieformalnym hasłem tegorocznej edycji jest “Chmura gotowa na AI” - będziemy rozmawiać o tym, co sztuczna inteligencja naprawdę potrafi oraz pokazywać, jak wdrażać ją w praktyce. Wspólnie z ekspertami przeanalizujemy, jakie warunki muszą zostać spełnione, aby wdrożenia AI były zarówno skuteczne, jak i bezpieczne. Zerkniemy za kulisy najnowszych rodzimych produktów AI-owych, by zobaczyć ich możliwości, a także poznamy najciekawsze wdrożenia z wykorzystaniem Agentspace. Po raz kolejny spotkamy się w formule Share.Explore.Execute. Stawiamy na wymianę wiedzy i doświadczeń zdobytych podczas realizacji projektów. To one stanowią punkt wyjścia do odkrywania, testowania i skutecznej implementacji najlepszych rozwiązań w organizacjach. Cloud UP! ’25 to cztery ścieżki tematyczne, na które złożą się prezentacje, rozmowy, sesje live-demo oraz pogłębione dyskusje w formule roundtables: AI: Beyond the Hype Data Mastery Resilience & Regulatory Advanced Practitioners Dołącz do liderów chmurowych innowacji w Polsce i spotkaj się z nami już 23 października w Event Hall w Fabryce Norblina.
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Belgium Oct 23, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
How to lead responsibly when technology can deceive better than a human? AI’s ability to shape our perceptions and create new realities is becoming increasingly sophisticated. While it opens significant opportunities, it also carries risks. What happens when AI goes beyond data and algorithms to influence - or even deceive - our senses? How does this change not only our understanding of reality but also the foundations of trust, creativity, and truth in business? AI isn’t just transforming business, it is altering how we experience and interpret everything around us. From AI-generated deepfakes to personalised experiences designed to influence behaviour, the line between truth and illusion is increasingly blurred. This event combines a roundtable discussion among peers with a hands-on sensory workshop, where you will experience illusions through sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Through these experiments, we will confront the ethical dilemmas that arise when AI has the power to fabricate realities and influence decisions.
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Supercharging Rexel’s network with intelligent connectivity
We’re helping this electrical products distributor to meet their customers’ needs while cutting costs.
Overview
The Rexel Group is a leading electrical supplies wholesaler. In recent years, it’s focused on expanding its business worldwide. So that it now has 27,000 employees in 26 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. But its German subsidiary needed help to handle changing customer expectations.
With 31 branches and four logistics centres distributing up to 300,000 components across the country, Rexel Germany has a lot of customers to keep up with. To offer the level of service it wanted, it needed a smarter network that could respond faster to increased online sales. The Rexel Group turned to us to help.
The challenge
Rexel Germany can only handle the variety of products and the logistics of just-in-time delivery thanks to modern IT. But in an increasingly digital world, customer expectations are changing. Rexel’s customers want to be able to place orders online, see descriptions and compare prices. To plan ahead they need order tracking. And because they don’t work in offices, they need to do it all using smartphone apps and tablets.
But Rexel’s old traditional network – pairing an MPLS system with new VoIP and WAN – couldn’t keep up with the growing data volume. And because customers needed more assistance, the IT team had less time to deal with system support. "The IT technicians, who were extremely familiar with SAN, LWL and the like, had to develop into business IT managers," says head of ICT services Wolfgang Tomischek.
Aware there was a problem, Rexel had already looked at upgrading its system. But it found the cost of new hardware and lengthy install time would be too expensive. They needed a solution that could flex to meet their changing business needs without breaking the bank.
Our customers place their orders via multiple channels – using the online shop, fax and phone – and expect us to deliver within hours.”
Wolfgang TomischekHead of ICT Services, Rexel Germany
The solution
To help Rexel better manage its system, we rolled out a Connect Meraki software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). It combines the benefits of different network technologies and puts control back into Rexel’s hands. It used the company’s existing MPLS network for mission-critical and sensitive internal data, giving it a dedicated connection. Meanwhile, the system inexpensively routes less urgent traffic over the internet.
An online management portal lets Rexel’s IT team keep an eye on network usage. As well as being able to view data flow through the entire network, they can view it by individual user, site or region. This portal also gives them more control, so they can choose which connection to use for each of its business applications. And they can react in real-time to surges in traffic, re-routing data to prevent bandwidth bottlenecks.
While the portal allows the IT team to monitor security threats, the solution also comes with new hardware and software-based firewalls built-in for added protection. “The new, hybrid solution should give us more flexibility and control options, as well as better scaling. It should also help us to keep control over costs at the same time,” explains Thomas Spannbauer, Rexel’s head of IT infrastructure and security
The result
Our SD-WAN solution gives Rexel Germany more control over its network. The IT team have a self-service portal so they can get an overview of the data streams in the network, and choose the best connection for each business application. Making it easier to collaborate, react to changes and meet their customer’s needs. "Overall, we have a much more transparent overview of our network and know what is happening where," says Tomischek.
The change has also freed up 20 per cent of Rexel’s internal MPLS, bringing down costs and giving the company capacity when they need it most. And with new managed security devices, like hardware and software-based firewalls, the business is safer.
The next step is to migrate the local area network (LAN) to Meraki technology as well. This will give Rexel end-to-end visibility and control of the entire network. And the word has spread
Based on Rexel Germany’s experience with SD-WAN, the Group is also planning to roll out SD-WAN technology around the world.
The new, hybrid solution will give us more flexibility and control and help us control the cost at the same time.”
Thomas SpannbauerHead of IT Infrastructure and Security, Rexel Germany
Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge
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Sharon Prior - CIO in transition - How Great Tech Leadership Begins with Business Thinking
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José Antonio López, Group CIO at TOUS - Jewels, Data & AI: Inside the Digital Transformation of TOUS
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Tom Tanghe - General Manager ITC EMEA at Daikin Europe - Reinventing the CIO Role
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CIOFEST 2025 - From Order Taker to Proactive Disruptor
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.
As AI transitions from a specialised tool to an all-pervasive force, understanding its profound implications for our human lives is no longer merely academic but an urgent imperative for social well-being and strategic preparedness.
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.
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