Belgium 3-7-25 Invitation Only Physical english
Digital Sovereignty - Securing Corporate Autonomy in a Fragmented World In an era marked by geopolitical instability and escalating digital dependencies, corporate leaders face a critical imperative: reclaiming control over their digital ecosystems. This exclusive CIONET executive dinner offers a platform for CIOs, CTOs, and digital leaders to delve into strategies for achieving digital sovereignty. Key discussion points include: Redefining Digital Sovereignty for Enterprises: Exploring how digital sovereignty extends beyond national borders to encompass corporate control over digital assets, infrastructure, and data. Infrastructure Independence: On-Premises vs. Cloud: Evaluating the trade-offs between on-premises infrastructure and cloud services in the context of control, scalability, and sovereignty. Sovereign AI: Building Autonomous Intelligence: Discussing strategies for developing AI capabilities that align with corporate values and operate independently of external platforms. Vendor Lock-In and Technological Autonomy: Identifying risks of dependency on specific vendors and exploring approaches to achieve technological independence. Investing in Sovereign Digital Capabilities: Strategising investments in infrastructure, talent, and processes to build and sustain digital sovereignty. Join us for an evening of insightful discussions, shared experiences, and actionable strategies to navigate the complexities of digital sovereignty. Secure your organisation's future by understanding and implementing the pillars of digital autonomy.
Read MoreBelgium 28-8-25 Country Members Physical english
A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership.Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.This is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and recharge with your fellow digital leaders. Don't miss this exclusive experience packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and special recognitions that highlight the best of CIONET’s history and future.Let’s celebrate the past, present, and future of the digital community you helped build.
Read MoreBelgium 2-9-25 All TRIBERS Virtual english
You’ve been asked a simple question: “What does it cost to host this application?” But the answer is anything but simple. The platform sits across multiple data centres. The app spans a few VMs, shares a backup system, uses licensed monitoring, and touches five different teams. Your CMDB should help, but it’s rigid, outdated, or incomplete. And yet, you still need to provide a number, clear, explainable, and grounded in reality.
Read MoreBelgium Jul 3, 2025 Invitation Only Physical english
Digital Sovereignty - Securing Corporate Autonomy in a Fragmented World In an era marked by geopolitical instability and escalating digital dependencies, corporate leaders face a critical imperative: reclaiming control over their digital ecosystems. This exclusive CIONET executive dinner offers a platform for CIOs, CTOs, and digital leaders to delve into strategies for achieving digital sovereignty. Key discussion points include: Redefining Digital Sovereignty for Enterprises: Exploring how digital sovereignty extends beyond national borders to encompass corporate control over digital assets, infrastructure, and data. Infrastructure Independence: On-Premises vs. Cloud: Evaluating the trade-offs between on-premises infrastructure and cloud services in the context of control, scalability, and sovereignty. Sovereign AI: Building Autonomous Intelligence: Discussing strategies for developing AI capabilities that align with corporate values and operate independently of external platforms. Vendor Lock-In and Technological Autonomy: Identifying risks of dependency on specific vendors and exploring approaches to achieve technological independence. Investing in Sovereign Digital Capabilities: Strategising investments in infrastructure, talent, and processes to build and sustain digital sovereignty. Join us for an evening of insightful discussions, shared experiences, and actionable strategies to navigate the complexities of digital sovereignty. Secure your organisation's future by understanding and implementing the pillars of digital autonomy.
Read MoreBelgium Aug 28, 2025 Country Members Physical english
With the theme “The Power of Connection,” we’re embracing the essence of meaningful connections within IT and beyond. To honour our tradition, expect an unforgettable evening featuring keynote presentations, open bars, a summer BBQ, and a special experience designed to bring our vibrant community together.
Read MoreBelgium Aug 28, 2025 Country Members Physical english
A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership.Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.This is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and recharge with your fellow digital leaders. Don't miss this exclusive experience packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and special recognitions that highlight the best of CIONET’s history and future.Let’s celebrate the past, present, and future of the digital community you helped build.
Read MoreJuly 3, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish
Zapraszamy na praktyczną dyskusję o wadach i zaletach różnych modeli utrzymania Security Operations Center. Dawid Wachowiak (TDJ) podzieli się doświadczeniami z wdrożenia i funkcjonowania modelu outsourcingowego. Porozmawiamy o tym, co wpływa na skuteczność SOC-a – od decyzji strategicznej po reakcję na incydent – i jak dopasować model operacyjny do potrzeb organizacji.
Read MoreJuly 14, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish
Ministerstwo Finansów zapowiedziało wdrożenie platformy KSeF na 2026 rok. Przygotowanie firm i ich systemów wymaga wiedzy o zakresie KSeF i elementach integracji na poziomie IT. Zapraszamy na kontynuację spotkania z udziałem przedstawicieli Centrum Informatyki Resortu Finansów (CIRF) i Ministerstwa Finansów.
Read MoreJuly 16, 2025 Squad Session Physical polish
Tribes Leadership Circle to cykliczne, wysokopoziomowe spotkania wyłącznie dla dyrektorów obszarowych, posiadających dostęp w ramach wykupionego członkostwa.
Read MorePublished on: June 25, 2025 @ 9:14 AM
How can CIOs ensure that their critical systems never go dark, even amid failures, updates, or entire cloud region outages? For Haytham Elkhoja, Principal Architect and Principal SRE at Kyndryl, the answer lies well beyond lift-and-shift strategies or generic cloud SLAs. In this CIONET Trailblazer interview, Haytham shares insights from his report “Cloud Adoption for Mission-Critical Workloads – Principles for Always On Applications,” offering a new blueprint for CIOs navigating the high-stakes transition of core systems to the cloud.
Published on: May 28, 2025 @ 9:38 AM
As AI moves from novelty to necessity, consumers expect hyper-personalised, pre-emptive experiences. In this CIONET Trailblazer interview, we sit down with Sean Heshmat, EMEA and APJ Head of Data & AI at Cognizant, to unpack findings from the New Minds, New Markets report on AI-powered consumers, the Agentic Internet, and strategies for embedding AI at the heart of the customer journey.
Published on: April 30, 2025 @ 9:04 AM
How can enterprises transform scattered knowledge into strategic intelligence? As data volumes explode and information silos multiply, digital leaders face a growing challenge: making enterprise knowledge accessible, reliable, and actionable. Deloitte’s answer? RAG as a Service is a cutting-edge approach to AI-powered knowledge management built on Retrieval Augmented Generation.
Published on: April 03, 2025 @ 10:17 AM
Retour sur Les Rencontres CIONET du 1er avril – Quand les attentes envers le CIO redessinent les contours du leadership digital
Le 1er avril à Liège, dans l’élégance feutrée de l’Hôtel Selys, CIONET Belgium a lancé en beauté la saison 2025 de son programme Les Rencontres – un cycle d’échanges intimistes, 100 % francophones, qui réunit les leaders du numérique pour discuter, débattre et déconstruire les évidences.
Published on: March 26, 2025 @ 9:59 AM
AI and data have become essential tools for businesses, but how do you ensure they create real, lasting impact? At Telenet Group, data isn’t just about analysis: it’s actively shaping decisions, optimising customer journeys, and enhancing connectivity. Their approach recently earned them a Data Maturity Award, recognising their ability to turn data into tangible business value.
Published on: February 26, 2025 @ 10:51 AM
Over the past decade, the role of the CIO has evolved from a back-office supporting function to a central position that enables business strategy through technology. Today’s technology leaders must balance modernising legacy systems, scaling AI, and aligning IT investments with ESG goals—all while ensuring operational efficiency and security.
Published on: February 25, 2025 @ 4:14 PM
Disclaimer: This personal view on the position of Red Hat within the AI-landscape is based on the personal experience of a specialist solutions architect in application development and AI.
Published on: February 25, 2025 @ 10:33 AM
In today's digital age, The AI revolution is fundamentally changing how businesses operate while simultaneously the threat landscape is changing. Security strategies, practices, and tactics need to evolve to be more proactive, requiring a risk-informed security model to stay ahead of threats, making it imperative for organisations to adopt robust cybersecurity measures. One such measure is the implementation of an Enterprise Cybersecurity Platform, which plays a pivotal role in the fight against cybersecurity threats. This blog will explore the significance of such platforms and offer insights into the cyber risks companies face, explaining why a platform approach is essential in addressing these challenges.
Published on: January 29, 2025 @ 9:58 AM
As organisations increasingly embrace cloud technologies to drive innovation and agility, misconceptions about cloud security persist. To demystify these challenges, we spoke with Stefaan Van Hoornick, Cloud and DevOps Security Presales Engineer at Trend Micro, to explore the nuances of cloud security and share actionable insights with the Belgian CIO community.
Published on: December 18, 2024 @ 9:07 AM
In this edition of CIONET Trailblazer, we are excited to present an exclusive interview with Bart Windal, Country General Manager of IBM Belgium/Luxembourg. We dive into IBM's approach to ethical and responsible AI, showcasing how the company is leveraging its legacy as a trusted technology partner to set new standards in AI governance.
Published on: November 27, 2024 @ 10:45 AM
Welcome to another edition of CIONET’s Trailblazer, our feature series where we interview digital thought leaders. In this edition, we speak with Tom Olislagers, Chief Technology Officer Western Europe at Dell Technologies. We discuss how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shaping the way we work, learn, and connect—and what it means for organisations, teams, and individuals.
Published on: October 30, 2024 @ 9:34 AM
In this CIONET Trailblazer article, Stef Schampaert, Country Managing Director of Red Hat Belgium & Luxembourg shares insights into Red Hat's journey, their strategic focus areas, and how they empower organisations to innovate confidently in an ever-changing tech landscape. Key topics include Red Hat’s approach to hybrid cloud, the evolution of OpenShift, and its role in AI-driven development.
Published on: October 22, 2024 @ 10:04 AM
Until October 31, you were able to compete for the title of The Smartest Cyber Expert 2024. You needed to fill in 20 questions divided into 5 different categories: News & current affairs; Buzzwords and abbreviations; Legislation and policy (including NIS2); Technological developments; (ethical) Hacking and Fraud.
Published on: September 25, 2024 @ 8:59 AM
In this edition of CIONET Trailblazer, we dive into MindWave’s unique strategy of operating between Belgium and Greece in an exclusive interview with Johan Nagels, CEO & Founder of MindWave. With a mission to solve one of the key challenges facing CIOs—finding IT resources at a reasonable cost—MindWave’s dual presence drives innovation and offers competitive solutions through nearshoring. We explore how this cross-cultural collaboration enhances their growth and how they are capitalising on Greece's emerging tech scene while staying competitive in the evolving global talent landscape.
Published on: August 28, 2024 @ 10:10 AM
LCL has managed to position itself as a leader in sustainability within the data center industry. We spoke to Laurens van Reijen, Managing Director, and Steve De Craene, Finance Manager, about how they integrated sustainable practices into their operations, the strategic insights that drove their journey, and the key takeaways from their second sustainability report. This episode of CIONET Trailblazer explores how LCL’s approach to environmental responsibility is setting new standards in the industry and offers practical lessons for organisations striving to innovate sustainably.
Published on: July 31, 2024 @ 9:20 AM
In this CIONET Trailblazer episode, together with Laetitia Dierinck, VP Business Excellence Acceleration - SME/LE, we explore the transformative leadership style that has become a cornerstone of Telenet Business's success: Servant Leadership. See how this approach empowers teams, fosters innovation, and creates a resilient organisational culture. Discover what defines this leadership philosophy and how you can integrate these principles to drive growth and engagement within your organisation.
Published on: July 02, 2024 @ 10:51 AM
About the LCL Sustainability Report 2023
This sustainability report is the second of its kind for LCL. Since the first report, they have made significant progress in addressing environmental impact, social impact, and good governance. LCL's dedication to achieving climate neutrality by 2030 remains steadfast, as does their commitment to communicate the progress. With this report, LCL wants to show how they - in the world of data centres - are paying more attention to their impact on the environment and society. The central theme of our Sustainability Report, ‘Together We Thrive’, is a testimony to their belief that collective action and connection are essential. As trailblazers in their field, they want to inspire, invite and motivate all stakeholders - customers, partners, suppliers, employees, and governments - to join them on our journey to sustainability. This report also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to see how their business is evolving and to provide feedback on LCL's sustainability performance.
Published on: June 26, 2024 @ 2:25 PM
Those who want to continue growing, innovating, and competing in the digital age must digitise. Digital transformation processes are crucial for organisations, but executing them successfully proves to be a major challenge: 70% of digital transformations fail. Why? Because one factor is often overlooked: the relationship between people and technology.
This edition of the CIONET Trailblazer Series delves into this challenge with Pascal Laffineur, CEO at Yuma. Pascal shares his insights on a successful digital transformation that people want to work with. This process changes not only the way organisations work but also their identity and culture. Therefore, when digitising, it is crucial not to overlook the human element that underlies every facet of business operations. After all, organisations operate with people to deliver value for other people.
Published on: June 21, 2024 @ 11:23 AM
Lorenzo Bernardi, Head of Security Services de NRB, nous explique comment l’entreprise basée à Herstal s’investit dans la lutte cruciale de la cybersécurité des organisations belges et internationales.
Published on: June 21, 2024 @ 11:17 AM
Lorenzo Bernardi, Head of Security Services at NRB, explains how the Herstal-based Group is committed to the crucial fight for the cybersecurity of Belgian and international organisations.
Published on: May 31, 2024 @ 4:37 PM
Did you know that, on average, companies waste 30% of their cloud spend due to inefficiencies? As more businesses adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and migrate to the cloud, managing cloud spend has become a critical challenge. In this era of optimising operations and minimising costs, organisations are constantly seeking innovative ways to leverage AI advancements like Open AI GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to revolutionise their business processes. However, it's important to recognise that choosing the right AI model not only impacts performance but also has significant cost implications. This is where the concept of FinOps comes into play.
Published on: May 29, 2024 @ 9:13 AM
In this edition of the CIONET Trailblazer, we sit down with Pierre Marchand, Chief Data Strategist at Cognizant, to discuss the strategic considerations behind AI investments. Pierre provides valuable insights into how organisations can identify AI projects and use cases that offer the greatest value. We explore the importance of aligning business and IT strategies, leveraging data products, and fostering collaboration to enhance AI's impact. With practical advice and proven strategies, Pierre offers a comprehensive guide to achieving successful AI adoption and maximising value creation.
Published on: April 24, 2024 @ 9:31 AM
In an age where data is as valuable as currency, organisations must understand its worth and learn how to navigate its tides. As the Product Marketing & Solutions Marketing Director for EMEA & LATAM at Denodo, Errol Rodericks has seen firsthand the transformative power of data when properly harnessed. Herein lies a chart for navigating the complexities of data-driven transformation, democratisation, ethical considerations, and the significance of data products, from the perspective of a modern-day organisation.
Published on: March 27, 2024 @ 10:49 AM
How to face the challenge of adopting advanced ‘cloud’- technology while maintaining strict security measures? That is the key question this edition of the CIONET Trailblazer Series delves into with Pieter Molen, Technical Director Benelux at Trend Micro. Pieter shares valuable insights on enhancing cloud security architectures and fostering a culture of shared accountability. Aimed at digital and IT leaders navigating the complexities of cloud security, this conversation offers innovative strategies for reducing risks and maximising business opportunities. We also explore the future of cloud computing, where innovation and security intersect to redefine digital transformation.
Published on: March 15, 2024 @ 3:29 PM
As we move deeper into 2024, it is imperative for data management leaders to look in their rear-view mirrors to assess and, if needed, refine their data management strategies. One thing is clear; if data-centric organisations want to succeed in 2024, they will need to prepare for an environment in which data is increasingly distributed.
Published on: March 15, 2024 @ 3:11 PM
Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) have the potential to transform all aspects of business, from customers and employees to development and operations. Building AI/ML into your applications can help you achieve measurable business outcomes. Read this e-book to learn how Red Hat can help you build a production-ready AI/ML environment that accelerates the development and delivery of intelligent applications to support your business goals.
Published on: March 05, 2024 @ 10:49 AM
Ever wonder why everyone's talking about data? It's not just a buzzword — it's the secret sauce for making smarter decisions, understanding your customers, and saving money. When you follow the data instead of gut feelings, you're on the path to better pricing, effective marketing, and products people actually want.
Published on: February 28, 2024 @ 9:11 AM
Deloitte's Tech Trends 2024 offers an outlook on how emerging technologies are pivotal to strategic business transformation. In this CIONET Trailblazer episode, Deloitte unveils the profound impact of innovations like generative AI and digital twins on industry paradigms, highlighting their role in driving competitive advantage and operational excellence. Featuring insights from Tom Van Boxstael, AI & Data Partner at Deloitte, the discussion provides a comprehensive roadmap for businesses aiming to navigate and capitalise on the digital revolution, ensuring readiness for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Published on: February 27, 2024 @ 2:01 PM
The internet we know and love today was initially built in the 1960s as a communication system that would survive a nuclear war. That is why Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was invented - to specify how computers transfer data from one device to another. However, it was also built with the vision that information should be free and that a network could and should be trusted.
Published on: February 07, 2024 @ 10:27 AM
In well-chosen, sustainable partnerships lie powerful levers. LCL therefore takes on the role of ambassador for Close the Gap (mission: reducing the digital divide worldwide) and Digital For Youth (mission: safe and easy access to a laptop for all children and youth in Belgium). By giving enterprises’ ICT equipment a second life, Close the Gap reduces waste and increases opportunities for those who have less. As a pacesetter, the data centre company shares that impactful story with its stakeholders.
Published on: January 31, 2024 @ 9:31 AM
All companies, no matter their industry, share a common challenge with their IT environment: growing complexity. To anticipate the pitfalls this complexity brings in terms of reliability, security and efficiency of IT operations, new ways of working are being adopted. These modern ways of working such as agile and continuous integration / continuous deployment already used in the world of application development, have trickled over to IT Operations and have proven their merits. ModernOps is gaining widespread adoption among companies, transcending traditional boundaries and proving to be a transformative force.
In this episode of the CIONET Trailblazer, Hendrik Devos, technology Lead at Kyndryl Belux and Marnix Gillis, Distinguished Engineer at Kyndryl talk about how ModernOps transforms IT organisations by fostering a collaborative culture that prioritises adaptability, innovation and continuous learning, ultimately driving sustainable business outcomes.
Published on: January 24, 2024 @ 3:50 PM
Can we talk about translations? We’ve heard many, many clients tell us what a hurdle translations can be. Human translation gets you the best results, but it takes a lot of time and can be expensive. Machine translation seems like a great alternative, but you never know what you’re getting. You’d almost be tempted to start copying your content and pasting it into ChatGPT for better results.
Published on: January 19, 2024 @ 2:50 PM
Canon USA works with a large network of vendors. Its finance department struggled to receive and process as many as 5,000 vendor invoices a month—most of them filled with a complex matrix of information like date ranges, machine serial numbers, meter readings, fuel fees, and other charges. On top of that, many of the invoices were created on paper documents, and much of the processing involved invoices for relatively small dollar amounts—sometimes less than $150.
Published on: December 20, 2023 @ 8:57 AM
In this CIONET Trailblazer episode, "Preventing AI Unleashed: Ethical and Legal Frontiers," we delve into the transformative impact of generative AI. Joining us are Wouter Travers, a Technology Advisory expert at PwC, and Loïc Delanghe, Senior Managing Associate IP/IT/Data law and a Certified Data Protection Expert at PwC Legal. Together, we'll explore the reshaping of industries through AI and the crucial need for aligning technological advancements with ethical and legal benchmarks.
Published on: November 29, 2023 @ 11:45 AM
In this episode of the CIONET Trailblazer, we meet Jelle Schroven, Regional Director Belux at Zscaler. Together, we delve into how Zero Trust, traditionally a security framework, is evolving into a crucial enabler for business transformation. This discussion not only focuses on Zscaler's implementation but also on the broader application and impact of Zero Trust in the industry.
Published on: October 25, 2023 @ 9:21 AM
In this CIONET Trailblazer episode, we're joined by Olivier Lallemand, Chief Operations Officer, Applications at NRB. We'll question whether organisations should employ multiple cloud computing services rather than relying on one. With Olivier's expertise, we'll uncover strategies, real-world applications, and practical insights essential for navigating the challenges of single or multi-cloud environments.
Modernizing interactive experiences across LEGO House with Azure Kubernetes Service
Opened in 2017, the LEGO House in Denmark is the ultimate LEGO experience center for children and adults. In 2023, facing challenges with an array of custom-built digital experiences served from an aging on-prem data center, it began upgrading with Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
LEGO House is an architectural marvel designed to resemble a stack of LEGO bricks. Located in the company’s hometown of Billund, Denmark, this "Home of the Brick" serves as the ultimate LEGO experience for children and adults who want to explore endless possibilities in creativity and learning.
Opened to the public in 2017, it features interactive zones for creative play, exhibits showcasing the LEGO Group’s history, educational workshops, and artistic LEGO sculptures. Designed to inspire creativity and learning, the LEGO House not only celebrates the legacy of the iconic toy brand but also serves as a community hub for LEGO enthusiasts from around the world.
“The house is built on ‘Learning through Play’—the core of LEGO play,” explains Søren Bering Andersen, Head of Digital & Technology at LEGO House. Beyond the physical play with over 25 million LEGO bricks, the house offers users a wide range of 2D and 3D digital interactive engagements. “We believe you can learn a lot through play, which is why we have interactive experiences all around LEGO House,” adds Andersen.
Guests can build a LEGO character, then bring it to life on a digital dance stage or create a stop motion video with their character creations as the hero, among other experiences.
Andersen notes LEGO House “only use tech where it makes sense, where it adds something. The LEGO brick is always the starting point, but we use digital on top.” He explains his team’s challenge is to connect the physical brick and the digital experiences around them. For example, guests can build a fish using LEGO bricks, then convert it digitally to join a virtual tank with other guests’ fish.
Six years after launch, LEGO House had greater insight into its guests, the spaces, and how experiences meshed with them. In 2023, it launched an effort to refresh many of the experiences’ front- and back-ends around these insights.
Originally custom designed and developed with an array of different partners and served from an on-prem data center, the infrastructure supporting these interactive experiences was difficult to maintain for a modestly sized organization and staff. With all the customized builds and platforms, “it was super hard to error correct and update,” Andersen says.
LEGO House began looking for a new platform for the next generations of LEGO House experiences, one with modern technologies that could be responsive to the needs of guests and the house tech team.
"We want to create those canvases around the house where people get inspired, because there are endless possibilities in the LEGO brick,” says Andersen.
LEGO House turned to Microsoft to develop an entirely new approach to the experiences, one based on a “containerized, component-based setup” that offered “scalability and flexibility in our digital tech stack,” says Andersen.
Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) was perfect in practice and a complementary metaphor to the LEGO brand’s brick-based utility. “We build from different components to build new experiences, change flows, try new things, just like using LEGO bricks,” Andersen says.
Reducing or eliminating on-premises hardware dependencies in favor of a standardized, modern, cloud-based Kubernetes (K8s) approach has been a revolution in development efficiency and maintenance.
In addition to the migration, the LEGO House team worked collaboratively with Microsoft to launch City Architect, an interactive building experience powered by Azure IoT Edge Device, where color and placement of a LEGO brick changes a digitally projected landscape.
In September, the house launched Robo Lab, where guests can program a beekeeper robot to plant as many flowers as possible, creating a sustainable garden for bees. As they play, students learn principles of programming, along with choices and consequences around biodiversity.
“We wanted a tech stack enabling us to learn, and scale, and use it to inspire the rest of the LEGO ecosystem, perhaps passing along some of the great things we build to LEGOLAND, in brand retail stores, or wherever,” says Andersen.
On AKS, experiences will share a common foundation, allowing the reuse of elements between experiences.
For example, the brick scanning technology used in the virtual fish tank experience can also power the MINI CHEF eatery where guests can build their meal with LEGO bricks. Efficiencies thrive, as services don’t need to be rebuilt from scratch; they’re available for integration through AKS. Creativity is a welcome by product, enabling developers to think beyond the formerly siloed experiences.
Maintenance is also much easier with AKS, with fewer services and the ability to connect services across the application pipelines. Andersen notes that house experiences are “more stable, with higher uptime,” to satisfy happy guests.
The LEGO House team also utilized Microsoft technologies like Key Vault for secure data management, Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) for identity services, Azure Files for cloud data storage, and Azure IoT Edge for real-time data processing.
With the two successful migrations and experiences complete, LEGO House has seen the benefits of Azure and AKS firsthand. Andersen says visitors have raved about the experiences. Internally, teams report greater freedom working in the tech stack.
Azure empowers the LEGO Group’s developers, opening collaboration across the LEGO ecosystem. “The LEGO Group has 2000 engineers across the street, and partners with LEGOLAND that we can suddenly talk together and exploit different opportunities we couldn’t before,” Andersen says. The more standardized approach to technology allows them to capitalize on collective vision and applied creativity.
This is where Andersen sees real value, enabling teams to iterate, learn, create new experiences and services for their guests in an ongoing cycle of innovation.
The organization intends to complete migration of the remainder of LEGO House experiences by the end of 2023 and introduce nine new engagements over the next year. “We will actually rebuild the full house to run on Azure and AKS to create flexibility and scalability in our digital tech stack,” says Andersen.
While enjoying the immediate, near-term efficiency and performance metrics of its new K8s-based approach, Andersen is intrigued by Azure AI and its built-in capabilities for future ideation.
“Maybe we’ll use its AI for bits and pieces, or maybe run things in a different way. Who knows?” he muses. “That’s the beauty of the Azure platform: whatever our guests need, we can take the services and apply them.”
“In the long term [with Azure and AKS], we can iterate and learn, providing new services and experiences for our guests, making the house better and better,” says Andersen.
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Digital Transformation is redefining the future of health care and health delivery. All stakeholders are convinced that these innovations will create value for patients, healthcare practitioners, hospitals, and governments along the patient pathway. The benefits are starting from prevention and awareness to diagnosis, treatment, short- and long-term follow-up, and ultimately survival. But how do you make sure that your working towards an architecturally sound, secure and interoperable health IT ecosystem for your hospital and avoid implementing a hodgepodge of spot solutions? How does your IT department work together with the other stakeholders, such as the doctors and other healthcare practitioners, Life Sciences companies, Tech companies, regulators and your internal governance and administrative bodies?
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreDécouvrez 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 !
Read MoreCIONET 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.
Read MoreWould you like to know more about CIONET Belgium, membership or partnership opportunities? Do you have feedback or any other question? Send us a message!
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!