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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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Luminus’ Path to Smarter Test Automation

Luminus set out to speed up software delivery while improving quality. By adopting an AI-powered low-code test automation tool and applying a shift-left strategy, the team reduced manual testing by 70%, improved test coverage, and achieved a 460% ROI in their pilot project. The success of this initiative laid the foundation for scaling test automation across the company—without relying on external consultants.

Who is Luminus

Luminus is leading the energy transition in Belgium. It is active in electricity production, energy supply, and flexible energy solutions for residential and business customers. With a market share of 23%, Luminus helps its customers electrify and reduce both CO₂ emissions and energy consumption.

At Luminus, we are committed to providing high-quality applications and processes to our internal and external stakeholders. To deliver on this promise, we designed a testing framework to improve software quality, testability, and time to market through an AI-driven low-code automation solution.

The Problem Statement

Luminus introduced a shift-left strategy focused on delivering faster feedback for applications closer to the source code. A strategic project was launched to modernise backend pricing and offering systems, aiming to create a smooth and fast end-to-end process.

The main challenge was ensuring on-time delivery of processes and applications while maintaining high software quality in a complex environment.

Solution Approach

To meet both objectives, implementing the shift-left strategy and delivering a high-quality project on time, Luminus adopted an AI-powered low-code test automation tool.

The testing team quickly ramped up the right automation tests across different applications, enabling faster, high-quality feedback for development teams. Thanks to advanced AI capabilities, the test coverage increased significantly: 80% of stable tests (API and UI combined) could run in parallel across multiple environments.

Manual testing efforts dropped by 70%, allowing the team to focus on development and other critical tasks. The pilot project delivered an ROI of 460%, mainly due to reduced manual testing time, faster deployment cycles, and fewer incidents during production releases.

Key lessons from the pilot:

Start automation early
Monitor test coverage continuously
Maintain regular feedback loops with development teams

Conclusion

The drive to deliver fast feedback in fast-paced teams while maintaining high application quality was approached with a practical mindset. With a clear vision, the team designed an effective test strategy and selected a focused pilot project.

We took one step at a time while staying aligned with our end goal. By sharing progress and outcomes regularly across teams, we ensured smoother adoption and broader visibility of the benefits.

The successful pilot reduced manual testing by 70% and enabled us to scale the solution across Luminus without external consultancy.

This project proved that with clarity and consistent effort, we can achieve major gains in both efficiency and quality.

Let’s keep building on this success to drive further innovation at Luminus.

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.