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Belgium 13-11-2026 Squad Only Physical English

Building the Business Case for New IT Capabilities; How to justify investment when value is strategic, shared, or only visible over time.

Many IT capabilities are essential and difficult to fund through a simple project ROI. The challenge is showing why architecture, governance, resilience, cybersecurity maturity, data foundations, and AI readiness deserve investment before the gap becomes expensive. Three pressure points make the case harder. - Shared value means the benefit often sits across several teams, while the budget sits in one place. - Timing creates friction because the cost is immediate while the value appears over time. - Risk translation is needed so business and finance leaders understand the consequence of delaying the investment. The working question is simple: how do we turn foundational IT capabilities into credible investment cases that link cost, risk, business value, and future flexibility? If you are building these cases internally, let’s compare how others are positioning value, risk, and timing.

Belgium 19-11-2026 All Members Physical English

Europe’s Digital Foundations

Public organisations are re-evaluating the digital foundations on which critical services depend. Cloud strategy is increasingly shaped by questions of operational control, legal exposure, supplier dependency, interoperability and long-term resilience. For public-sector leaders, the issue is not only where workloads are hosted, but how much strategic control remains over the technologies that support essential public services. This is where European cloud initiatives, sovereign infrastructure and open-source technologies become strategically important. Together, they can increase transparency, preserve portability and reduce dependency on individual providers. But they also raise practical questions around maturity, procurement, integration, support models and long-term sustainability. Open source brings a specific dimension to this discussion. It claims to better support transparency, interoperability and strategic autonomy, but it is also requiring clear governance, security controls and operational support. The opportunity is to understand where open technologies can strengthen the public-sector technology stack, where commercial platforms remain essential and how both can coexist within a coherent European digital strategy. Three questions shape the discussion: Which parts of the public-sector technology stack require stronger European control? What role should open-source technologies play in reducing dependency and strengthening transparency? Which governance and procurement decisions will determine whether a sovereign cloud strategy succeeds? Bringing these perspectives together can define where sovereign cloud and open technologies create strategic value, identify the decisions that deserve executive attention, and establish practical principles for strengthening Europe’s digital foundations while preserving flexibility and innovation. See you at the table?

Belgium 24-11-2026 Country Members Physical French

Les Rencontres: Innovation de l'Ombre

Créativité vs. Chaos : Quelle est la gouvernance minimale ? Le défi principal est d'équilibrer le risque et le rythme du changement. Les équipes métier adoptent de nouveaux outils d'IA et low-code de leur propre chef, créant une véritable créativité mais aussi un risque massif et non géré. Cette discussion se concentre sur l'établissement de voies simples et sûres pour l'innovation, en débattant de la gouvernance minimale qui protège la réputation de l'entreprise tout en évitant l'erreur d'écraser les initiatives utiles dans l'ombre. Questions clés d'Échange entre pairs : Où l'innovation de l'ombre aide-t-elle plutôt que de nuire, et comment éviter de l'écraser ? Quelle est la gouvernance minimale qui protège la réputation tout en maintenant la vitesse, et à qui appartient-elle réellement ? Comment les pairs ont-ils réussi à transformer les efforts initiaux de l'ombre en services officiels soutenus sans perdre la confiance de l'entreprise ? Comment pouvons-nous rendre plus facile d'innover de manière responsable que de simplement agir en franc-tireur ?

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WESTPOLE chooses Trend Micro to secure its systems and those of its customers

Chooses Trend Micro to secure its systems and those of its customers

OVERVIEW

WESTPOLE Italia is the Italian chapter of WESTPOLE Europe, an IT services and solutions provider. With over 40 years of experience in technology management and innovation, WESTPOLE’s primary goal is to scale up digital transformation and “go to cloud” in order to enable the creation of secure, scalable, and cutting-edge innovations.

With two data centers in Milan and Rome, the company designs services for about 500 clients, including government entities, financial institutions, and private companies. WESTPOLE changes the very concept of technological transformation and does so with a pioneering spirit, passion, and empathy.

CHALLENGES

WESTPOLE’s strategy in choosing a security vendor was aimed at consolidation—one vendor that could secure the organization and its customers. WESTPOLE was looking for a single partner that would provide reliable, innovative, and affordable security.

“We began by analyzing our infrastructure, starting to lock down the endpoint,” recalls Michele Onorato, security office manager of WESTPOLE. “Later, we moved to the data center, which had to be safe for both our protection and that of customers who use our cloud.” But the WESTPOLE project did not end there, it needed security solutions that could protect the slice of customers hosted in its data centers.

"One of the greatest benefits we experienced was the consolidation Trend Micro provided, it is very nice to have a single platform to manage everything."

Michele Onorato

Security Office Manager, WESTPOLE

SOLUTIONS AND WHY TREND

After evaluating multiple vendors based on technology and flexibility, WESTPOLE chose to protect its endpoint deployments with Trend Micro Apex One™, and its data centers with Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ software, which also secures customers hosted within its own cloud. For customers outside the data center, WESTPOLE chose Trend Micro™ TippingPoint™ and Trend Micro™ Deep Discovery™ Inspector for network protection.

Apex One is an all-in-one solution that automates detection and response, providing complete visibility to IT and security teams. Compared to previous traditional antimalware solutions, Apex One is a unified platform for the management of different services, redefining endpoint security with vast capabilities offered through a single agent for SaaS and on-premises environments.

Deep Security and Trend Micro Cloud One™ – Workload Security are integrated and modular platforms that provide comprehensive protection of data centers that include physical, virtual, and cloud servers, as well as virtual desktops. Designed to defend the data center from breaches and business disruptions, Deep Security is the first and only agentless security platform that helps simplify security management and accelerate return on IT investments.

Deep Discovery Inspector is a network device that allows 360-degree control over all traffic, to detect any aspect of a targeted attack. And with TippingPoint, WESTPOLE experiences the best intrusion prevention to remain protected against all types of threats traveling at great speed anywhere on the network.

"Trend Micro solutions allow us to easily control security from a centralized console, which is essential from an operations point of view."

Michele Onorato

Security Office Manager, WESTPOLE

RESULTS

WESTPOLE adopted Trend Micro solutions to protect its infrastructure and its customers. “One of the greatest benefits we experienced was the consolidation Trend Micro provided, it is very nice to have a single platform to manage everything,” says Onorato. “As for the internal WESTPOLE side, the usability and lightness of the products were fundamental in removing the need to allocate additional resources.” Onorato went one to say that, “Customers are pleasantly surprised when they become aware of threats that were never detected by the solutions they used to have installed.”

The WESTPOLE data centers now house around a thousand machines and all customers using the WESTPOLE cloud are protected by Deep Security. “Customers can take advantage of all the features of this product, according to individual needs,” says Onorato.

As for the offer to customers outside of the data centers, “WESTPOLE is able to offer managed service solutions. Trend Micro solutions allow us to easily control security from a centralized console, which is essential from an operations point of view,” says Onorato. “Trend Micro virtual patching is also a great feature, as it allows us to secure legacy infrastructures, while avoiding significant costs for the renewal of the entire machine park,” continues Onorato.

WHAT'S NEXT

“We recently migrated to Office 365®, and the next step is to protect it with Trend Micro solutions. This protection will also be extended to the emails of all our customers and also to those who use advanced suites,” concludes Onorato.

Technologies

Apex One™ Cloud One – Workload Security Trend Micro TippingPoint Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ Trend Micro™Deep Discovery™

CIONET Business Circles

Cyber Circle

CIONET’s Cyber Circle: a new three-event programme exclusively focusing on the most urgent, complex, and high-impact challenges in cybersecurity today. Launched in 2026, this initiative brings together CISOs, CIOs, and senior IT executives with a strong interest in cybersecurity for three curated gatherings each year. As part of CIONET’s trusted executive community, the Cyber Circle provides a confidential, peer-driven environment to exchange insights, share real-world experiences, and address evolving cyber threats. Each session is designed to foster strategic dialogue, strengthen resilience, and elevate cybersecurity as a core driver of business value.

Telenet Business Leadership Circle

The Telenet Business Leadership Circle powered by CIONET, offers a platform where IT executives and thought leaders can meet to inspire each other and share best practices. We want to be a facilitator who helps you optimise the performance of your IT function and your business by embracing the endless opportunities that digital change brings.

Les Rencontres

Découvrez la dynamique du leadership numérique aux Rencontres de CIONET, le programme francophone exclusif de CIONET pour les leaders numériques en Belgique, rendu possible grâce au soutien et à l'engagement de nos partenaires de programme : Deloitte, Denodo et Red Hat. Rejoignez trois événements inspirants par an à Liège, Namur et en Brabant Wallon, où des CIOs et des experts numériques francophones de premier plan partagent leurs perspectives et expériences sur des thèmes d'affaires et de IT actuels. Laissez-vous inspirer et apprenez des meilleurs du secteur lors de sessions captivantes conçues spécialement pour soutenir et enrichir votre rôle en tant que CIO pair. Ne manquez pas cette opportunité de faire partie d'un réseau exceptionnel d'innovateurs numériques !

Female Leadership Circle

CIONET is committed to highlighting and celebrating female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, creating a leadership programme that empowers and elevates women within the tech industry. This initiative is dedicated to showcasing the achievements and successes of leading women, fostering an environment where female role models are recognised, and their contributions can ignite progress and inspire the next generation of women in IT. Our mission is to shine the spotlight a little brighter on female role models in IT, Tech & Digital, and to empower each other through this inner network community.