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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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Aziende Industriali di Lugano (AIL) SA locks down its utility grids and IT networks with Trend Micro

Locks down its utility grids and IT networks with Trend Micro

OVERVIEW

Aziende Industriali di Lugano (AIL) SA is a Swiss corporation that produces, transforms, transports, distributes and markets energy, drinking water, water for industrial use, and raw materials for energy production. The company’s products and services are purchased every day by more than 110,000 individuals and businesses in the 56 municipalities of the Sottoceneri region of the Swiss canton of Ticino, which extends from Monte Ceneri to the Swiss border at Novazzano. This makes AIL the most important retail and wholesale distributor of water, natural gas, electricity, and heat of the Ticino canton.

 

 

CHALLENGES

Since 2015, Aziende Industriali di Lugano (AIL) has needed a solution that could effectively monitor the entire utilities grid and IT network in order to control the provision of electricity, water, and gas and to take quick action in the event of alarms. “From 2015 to 2017, we tested various solutions, not including Trend Micro, but none of them were able to fully meet our needs, especially in relation to monitoring our utilities grid,” said Michele Rusconi, head of ICT & FO Infrastructures for AIL.

 
 

WHY TREND

“One day, our partner MTF Info Centro SA, which had recently begun working with Trend Micro, suggested we try out their network inspection solutions. The monitoring and analysis of traditional IT networks proved to be excellent right from the start, but the solution didn’t yet support utilities grids.” Over the next six months, though, the research team at Trend Micro developed recognition of technical protocols to meet AIL’s needs. “That was when we knew it was the product for us,” Michele Rusconi continued. “Trend Micro was the only company to provide analysis of flows of the entire network, and we also very much appreciated Trend Micro’s support of and focus on us, and this continues to today.” Subsequently, in order to achieve full integration, AIL also chose to adopt the Trend Micro suite for endpoint protection.

 

"The greatest benefit so far is something we experienced recently when we were the targets of an attack that took advantage of a vulnerability in our systems. The Trend Micro solutions detected it immediately, and in just half a day we were able to apply the right patches. Most likely, without Deep Discovery Inspector, we would have lost an entire day without getting a clear idea of what had happened."

Michele Rusconi - Head of ICT & FO Infrastructures for AIL

 
 

SOLUTION

In order to meet AIL’s security needs, Trend Micro came up with a custom protection strategy that monitors the IT and utilities networks and controls the endpoints. The networks are now protected by Deep Discovery, specifically Deep Discovery Inspector for detection and Deep Discovery Analyzer for remediation. For the endpoints, Aziende Industriali di Lugano use the Enterprise Security Suite. These solutions communicate with each other in real time and are managed centrally by the Trend Micro Control Manager.

The cornerstone of this project is Trend Micro Deep Discovery, the most complete solution of its category in combating APT attacks. Not only does Deep Discovery have the tools it takes to detect zero-day exploits and other threats throughout the network and during all phases of an attack, it has also been designed to provide in-depth analysis tools to prevent future attacks. Deep Discovery’s network detention capabilities and custom sandbox analysis can detect the spear phishing email messages that are often at the heart of the attack, identify the malware, and discover the external command-and-control (C&C) sites used by the cybercriminals. Deep Discovery Inspector, in particular, is a network device that provides full control over all network traffic in order to detect any aspect of a targeted attack. Deep Discovery Inspector monitors all network ports and more than 100 protocols to provide the broadest protection available. Specialized detection engines and custom sandboxing identify and analyze malware, C&C communications, and the evasive actions of attackers that are invisible to standard security solutions. Deep Discovery Analyzer, in turn, provides analyses in custom sandboxes, thereby increasing the value of security products, such as endpoint protection, web and email gateways, network security, and other Deep Discovery products.

 
 

THE BENEFITS

“The greatest benefit so far is something we experienced recently when we were the targets of an attack that took advantage of a vulnerability in our systems,” said Michele Rusconi. “The Trend Micro solutions detected it immediately, and in just half a day we were able to apply the right patches. Most likely, without Deep Discovery Inspector, we would have lost an entire day without getting a clear idea of what had happened.” As the head of ICT & FO Infrastructures, Rusconi is greatly satisfied with Trend Micro, especially, as he says, “for the convenience of having a complete view over all that transits over the network, not just in relation to threats, but also to protocols that may not always work properly and the ability to make fixes.”

 
 

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

At Aziende Industriali di Lugano, they have a great many ideas for development. “From an anti-spam project based on Trend Micro solutions to an assessment of our protection in relation to SCADA,” Michele Rusconi concluded, “[with the goal] of having increasing levels of integration and collaboration between the solutions we use in order to ensure maximum security for our company’s critical infrastructures and, in turn, for our customers.”

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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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.

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