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CIONET - What's next

Connecting ambitious digital leaders and businesses around the globe.

Catch up on the upcoming CIONET Events

             
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Italy Sep 25, 2025 Invitation Only Physical italian

Innovation in Balance: governing the power of data and automation

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.

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Belgium Oct 16, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english

CIONET Round Table - Rethinking AI

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.

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Poland Oct 17, 2025 Invitation Only Physical & Virtual Polish

IT EXECUTIVE MASTERCLASS 5

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Germany Oct 28, 2025 Country Members Physical german

Köln: Powershift

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.

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France Nov 4, 2025 Country Members Physical french

Maîtriser la souveraineté numérique: du réseau à la donnée

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.

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Netherlands Nov 10, 2025 Public Physical english

Reis mee: CIO Innovation trip Web Summit 11 nov 2025 Lissabon

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!

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Recent Cases

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Extends protection beyond endpoint with Trend Micro XDR

Nerds That Care is one of the first MSPs to deliver Trend Micro™ Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR, a new offering that extends security beyond the endpoint.

Overview

As a rapidly growing New York–based managed service provider (MSP), with high-touch customer service to over 4,000 endpoints, Nerds That Care was particularly relieved it had a solid partnership with Trend Micro when COVID-19 hit. Their customers were significantly impacted by the economic shutdown, and Trend Micro worked with Nerds That Care to ensure that they continued to have the highest level of security protection available. Nerds That Care is one of the first MSPs to deliver Trend Micro™ Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR, a new offering that extends security beyond the endpoint.

Challenges

Nerds That Care provides a wide variety of IT products and services, including network design, multi-platform integration, network support, and web design, to its small and medium-sized business customers. Their success relies on their ability to protect customers from security breaches, especially small businesses that don’t have the infrastructure to deflect today’s sophisticated cybersecurity threats. “About 70% of our customers would go out of business if they had a security breach, as they can’t handle the repercussions. We are always trying to find the best security solutions available to protect them,” says James Rocker, CEO at Nerds That Care. “We can’t take chances. Our customers rely on us to make sure they are protected, and that their security is handled,” says Rocker.

Why Trend Micro

In 2019, Nerds That Care leaders conducted a review of their existing security offering. The company considered staying with its incumbent security provider. However, after networking with Trend Micro at an event, Rocker was convinced Trend Micro products could provide the next level of security he needed. “It’s hard to fool me as an engineer. When I saw Trend Micro’s security solutions, I knew they were better than others we considered. Compared to what we were using at that time, it was night and day,” says Rocker. “The greatest decision that we made in 2019, was switching to Trend Micro. The company is purely focused on security.”

Trend Micro’s customer service was another differentiator. “The people at Trend Micro made the difference. Trend Micro was focused on us, and we could tell they were dedicated to our vision. People need to be educated to work with a great partner, one that advocates for us and educates our customers,” says Rocker. “The whole solution and the people in the SOC behind the scenes are the real heroes.”

"Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR has blocked ransomware at least a dozen times over a five-month period."

James Rocker
CEO, Nerds That Care

 

Solution

Nerds That Care chose Trend Micro™ Worry-Free XDR to bring holistic threat visibility and correlation across its company. Designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses, Worry-Free XDR is the only solution that correlates email and endpoint protection—and beyond—to supply end-to-end protection. In 2020, Nerds That Care moved to Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR, enabling proactive containment and intelligent response by Trend Micro’s in-house threat experts.

“Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR is seamless to use and organize. Deployment and configuration were super easy, and the portal is simple to navigate,” says Rocker.

“From a technology perspective, the root cause analysis report is like a spider web of activity that has blown our team away—we used to spend up to five hours writing reports. It shows you every single thing that the threat touched,” says Rocker. “It was a huge burden for us as an MSP, but Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR now handles all of that for us. You can’t protect something that you can’t see. This is 110% visibility from what you get on a network.”

"XDR provides the visibility, confidence, and level of sophistication we need to protect anything."

James Rocker
CEO, Nerds That Care

 

Results

Having Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR, Trend Micro’s threat experts now proactively scan the company’s customers to find and eliminate malicious issues. “That level of protection means less work for us. We don’t have to go clean up any messes. I estimate it saves us at least 40 hours a month of labor, which our employees now use to work on more strategic tasks,” says Rocker.

“Peace of mind is huge for an MSP like Nerds That Care. There’s nothing worse than being a security engineer and wondering if your security is working properly. We’ve already had several events where a client clicked on something malicious and Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR did what it was supposed to do and stopped it,” says Rocker.

That peace of mind extends to ransomware, a constant concern for Nerds That Care customers. “Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR has blocked ransomware at least a dozen times over a five-month period. With Trend Micro, we know our customers are protected, and if there is a ransomware attempt, we don’t have to do any investigative work,” says Rocker.

Visibility has also been a game changer for Rocker. “If you have a leak behind a wall on the third floor of your building and the leak appears in the basement, it’s going to be difficult to track where that leak came from because it’s behind a brick wall. You can’t defend what you can’t see. With Trend Micro, we get full visibility, as everything is behind a glass wall,” Rocker says. “XDR provides the visibility, confidence, and level of sophistication we need to protect anything.”

What's Next?

During the COVID-19 crisis, one of Nerds That Care’s customers was forced to layoff over 200 people, and that customer’s leaders had to make a difficult decision to reduce costs by removing Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR. “Trend Micro told us to keep Worry-Free with Co-Managed XDR for our customer and deduct the cost from our bill. That saved jobs for us, and we were able to pass that discount on to our customer to help them during these difficult times. We were so grateful that Trend Micro supported us on that. It was a wonderful demonstration of collaboration between partners,” says Rocker. This dedication makes Trend Micro the top choice for Rocker, as Nerds That Care continues to grow and expand its services into the future.

Checkout our CIONET COOKBOOK

cookbook

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.

CIONET TV

 
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Kalman Tiboldi - CTO & Founder at GemOne-TVH - Simplify or Die: Why Complexity Is the Real IT Challenge

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Isabelle Droll - CIO for Airline, Corporate, Hotels & Resorts and Sustainability at TUI - Data, Diversity, and Destinations

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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

CIONET Reports

 
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Cybersecurity in critical infrastructure

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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HDS - From Hype to Reality Navigating the Challenges of GenAI

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Integration In An Era Of AI: Challenges And Opportunities

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“The CIONET App allows us to learn from eachother and and find the courage to be authentic by hearing stories from others! Thanks to Tobias and the whole team for bringing us together:-) ”
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“The CIONET app provides a really cool platform to network and share insights.”

About CIONET

CIONET’s mission is to help IT executives become more at ease and above all more successful in their jobs. So they can do more than just keep up with change but ultimately define it. CIONET opens up a whole new universe of opportunities in IT management.

With the largest membership of corporate digital leaders across Europe, Latin America, US and Australia, CIONET has the expertise and pioneering vision to solve or address any IT management challenge.

Why join CIONET?

From our local and global events, from our publications and research to our executive education programmes, everything we do is aimed at making sure digital leaders maximise their potential.

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with digital leaders who share your interests, who face the same challenges, who care about the same topics.

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stories, experiences, and ideas around our shared mission.

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inspiration, thought-provoking conversations, expert perspectives and exclusive first-hand content each and every day

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You can either send us a registered handwritten letter explaining why you'd like to become a member or you can simply talk to us right here!

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