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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Ballard Power Systems protects intellectual property and data with Trend Micro
Protects intellectual property and data with Trend Micro
OVERVIEW
In the highly competitive alternative energy industry, Ballard Power Systems stands out as an innovator and global leader. Their fuel cells have powered vehicles over more than 50 million kilometers of roads around the world and are found in buses, trams, trucks, and marine vessels. “As a leader in fuel cell technology, protecting our intellectual property is a top priority. We’re in a constant race with other companies to perfect this technology,” says Adam Brooks, IT Director at Ballard. By partnering with Trend Micro to protect the company’s data and intellectual property (IP), Brooks’ IT team keeps the company’s assets safe so their innovators can focus on developing solutions for a sustainable planet.
As a leader in fuel cell technology, protecting our intellectual property is a top priority. We’re in a constant race with other companies to perfect this technology.
Dave Bailey
IT Director, Ballard Power Systems
CHALLENGES
Since fuel cell development is an emerging technology, Ballard must constantly adapt and overcome an ever-changing variety of engineering challenges, so keeping systems running and secure is key. “Protecting our internal environment is important from an IP perspective. For the same reason, we also need to protect our systems and data from ransomware and other types of attacks,” says Brooks.
Ballard’s IT team of 17 is tasked with protecting over 1,000 endpoints across their office, production, and engineering departments. To complicate that task, Ballard’s environment includes older operating systems and PCs that are built into expensive, specialized equipment that can’t be upgraded without going to great expense. Additionally, the engineering department conducts extensive testing—and when their PCs are running those tests, they can’t be shut down or updated. These computers can’t be completely isolated from the rest of the company’s network, leaving Ballard’s systems susceptible to vulnerabilities.
Trend Micro endpoint security ensures that we can protect our remote employees. That’s been one less thing we had to worry about. We didn’t even have to think about it when employees went remote. We knew they would be fully protected.
Dave Bailey
Security and Network Administrator, Ballard Power Systems
WHY TREND
Ballard began using Trend Micro™ Endpoint Security in 2014. As their security challenges changed over the years, Ballard’s leaders upgraded to Trend Micro Apex One and Trend Micro Apex Central to boost their vulnerability protection, especially for those test machines that use older servers and computers and might not be patched on schedule. “Trend Micro’s vulnerability protection helps us mitigate the risks of older machines. Even if there isn’t a patch in place, vulnerability protection, found as part of Trend Micro Apex One, knows that a vulnerability exists and can run protection for it. By protecting those test machines, Trend Micro helps us protect our entire environment,” says Dave Bailey, Security and Network Administrator at Ballard.
SOLUTION
Trend Micro Apex One uses a blend of advanced threat protection techniques to eliminate security gaps across any user activity and any endpoint. “We particularly like Trend Micro Apex One’s real-time scan, behavioral monitoring, and vulnerability protection,” says Bailey.
The company also uses Trend Micro Apex Central, a web-based console that provides centralized management for Trend Micro products and services at the gateway, mail server, file server, and corporate desktop levels. “With Trend Micro Apex Central, we get one console to manage everything. We use both solutions to produce executive reports, and we use the policy manager in Trend Micro Apex Central to easily push changes out to clients,” says Bailey.
RESULTS
Ballard Power Systems has had zero security incidents since implementing Trend Micro solutions. “As long as I can remember since we’ve been a Trend Micro customer, we haven’t had a major ransomware incident, virus breakout, or any major security issues,” says Brooks.
“The biggest story is that we don’t have a nightmare story. In the old days, viruses or major upgrades would knock stuff out. Trend Micro made that a thing of the past,” says Bailey.
The strength of the Trend Micro security solutions and the automation those solutions enable means Brooks’ small IT team can easily manage security for the entire company. “There is less demand for help from the support side and we spend less time with customers that need assistance. Things just work in the background without our employees even knowing about it,” says Brooks.
An added benefit is the protection Trend Micro solutions provide for Ballard’s remote workforce. Due to the pandemic, 75% of Ballard employees currently work from home. “Trend Micro endpoint security ensures that we can protect our remote employees. That’s been one less thing we had to worry about. We didn’t even have to think about it when employees went remote. We knew they would be fully protected,” says Bailey.
WHAT'S NEXT
Going forward, Ballard Power Systems’ leaders have ambitious plans to continue expanding clean fuel initiatives and pushing into markets where they can replace fossil fuels with greener alternatives. The company also plans to build internet-capable devices into their equipment, which will need to be protected.
As they grow, Brooks says he expects Trend Micro to grow with them. “As we upgrade Microsoft® Exchange®, build business continuity systems in the cloud, and add other technologies and capabilities, we plan on securing them all with Trend Micro,” says Brooks.
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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.
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