Belgium 23-9-25 Squad Only Virtual english
Security teams are overwhelmed. Too many tools. Too many alerts. Too few people. And now, increasing pressure from the board to protect everything, everywhere, all the time. Expect honest reflection, shared strategies, and a conversation that cuts through compliance noise and focuses on what to do when your team is stretched and your risk is rising.
Read MoreBelgium 23-9-25 Invitation Only Physical english
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, the financial services industry in Belgium faces a critical juncture regarding its cloud adoption strategy. While the allure of cloud computing – with its promise of scalability, agility, and innovation – is undeniable, the unique regulatory demands and paramount need for data sovereignty present significant challenges. This CIONET roundtable, aims to bring together Digital Leaders from the Belgian financial sector to discuss how to navigate these complexities. We will explore how financial institutions can leverage cloud technologies while ensuring complete control over their data, maintaining compliance with stringent European regulations like GDPR and DORA, and mitigating geopolitical risks.
Read MoreBelgium 24-9-25 Invitation Only Physical english
As smart devices proliferate across operational environments — from sensors on factory lines and GPS trackers in logistics fleets to wearables in healthcare and connected systems in smart cities — the integration of Managed IoT (MiOT) is accelerating. But with it comes a surge in cybersecurity risks. No longer isolated or air-gapped, OT systems are becoming fully networked, remotely accessible, and deeply entwined with IT. This creates a vulnerable, highly complex digital mesh, one where a single compromised device can trigger physical, financial, and reputational consequences.
Read MoreSeptember 23, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english
Security teams are overwhelmed. Too many tools. Too many alerts. Too few people. And now, increasing pressure from the board to protect everything, everywhere, all the time. Expect honest reflection, shared strategies, and a conversation that cuts through compliance noise and focuses on what to do when your team is stretched and your risk is rising.
Read MoreSeptember 30, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english
Everyone has technical debt. The question is what to do with it. Refactor now? Wait for the next feature? Build on it and hope it holds? If you’re tired of debating whether to clean up or move on, this session helps you frame the debt conversation in a way that supports both speed and stability.
Read MoreOctober 2, 2025 Squad Session Squad Only Virtual english
Architecture doesn’t happen in diagrams. It happens in minds, seasoned, curious, sharp minds that understand how the pieces fit. But who’s shaping these minds? Who’s growing the next generation of digital architects? If you’re responsible for complex systems, and for the people designing them, this session is for you.
Read MoreBelgian company HB Antwerp is redefining how natural diamonds are sourced, crafted, and sold. To gain better supply chains insight, HB Antwerp turned to Microsoft and its Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, and Azure solutions.
If the ledger is from Microsoft, you are entering into an environment of familiarity with a quick learning curve. It’s not just scalable, it’s also easily accessible. - Shai de-Toledo: Co-founder & Managing Partner - HB Antwerp
In 2020, HB Antwerp, a Belgian diamond company with a fresh perspective, set out to challenge the age-old opacity of the industry. Co-founder Shai de-Toledo aptly summed up the problem: "You could tell me the diamonds came from Mars, and I'd have to take your word for it." Unlike luxury retail sectors with compelling stories for each item, the diamond industry lacked transparency. HB Antwerp aimed to redefine how natural diamonds are sourced and presented, introducing digital twins for every stone and unveiling each gem's journey from origin to artistry. In an era where trust is paramount, HB Antwerp is rewriting the rules, one diamond at a time.
The company wanted to build a new supply chain for diamonds to increase transparency on the origin of the diamonds for stakeholders and customers. “Since we know everything that doesn’t work, we tried to do exactly the opposite,” says de-Toledo. The reimagined supply chain ecosystem needed to be built on the idea that a diamond belongs to the community that mines it. These stakeholders include the miners themselves, community members, investors, and even the government.
First, HB Antwerp had to meet the challenge of tracing something that was previously considered untraceable. “It wasn’t considered untraceable because we’re geniuses and we discovered a new system, but because no one had the incentive to,” says de-Toledo. The biggest issue was because of segmentation; because diamonds traverse many different companies, each company did not want to know the diamond’s origin to avoid responsibility.
The company wanted to create incentives at the two ends of the supply chain. One, from the point of view of the producer of the diamond, who wants to distinguish their stones and protect their contribution to the economy. And also from the point of view of the consumer, who is eager to learn the provenance and overall story of the diamond.
HB Antwerp wants consumers to know that they are entitled to information on the diamond transformation process. The company needed a solution that could create a digital twin to the physical diamond, allowing stakeholders to tell the true story of the diamond. The solution would form a blueprint to show how all tracking could be done in one place. “We build the physical infrastructure and supply the distribution, and we allow all stakeholders to follow the journey of every single stone,” says de-Toledo.
It would also need to come from a company that consumers trust. Global familiarity and confidence in Microsoft technology was a key factor in choosing the overall partnership between Industry Solutions Delivery and HB Antwerp, including the block-chain based Azure Confidential Ledger in conjunction with Azure SQL Database, Dynamics 365 Finance, and Dynamics 365 Project Operations. “Microsoft is part of that trust. You never question if Microsoft technology is authentic, if due diligence was done, or if it’s safe,” says de-Toledo. The Microsoft solution provides a safe place to deposit information with a high level of scrutiny and auditing. De-Toledo adds, “We put the benchmark really high in the hopes that other companies will create the same level of auditing and investment and meet us there. But until they do, we want to say, ‘Look, this is how it’s done.’”
Employees use Azure Confidential Ledger and Azure SQL Database to track touchpoints through roughly 3,000 block chain nodes, the device and stakeholder pairs that record and verify transactions in a decentralized network. These touchpoints are divided into six macro sections which represent the different status of a stone, from the mine through productions. The ledger helps tell an authentic and honest story of the diamond, which transforms something as technical as a ledger into an exciting tool at the heart of the company’s mission.
"Commencing in a data-scarce landscape, we pioneered the establishment of a data benchmark, setting a precedent for others to emulate. With our innovative solution, HB Antwerp has unlocked the ability to make highly accurate profit predictions, significantly reduce errors, enhance communication, and optimize overall value creation,” says de-Toledo. A paramount advantage offered by Azure Confidential Ledger and the Azure SQL Database is their capacity to transform data into streamlined protocols, facilitating seamless scalability and ensuring accessibility. Shai de-Toledo underscores the importance, stating, “To effect change, every stone must be meticulously tracked and verified within our system. With the Microsoft ledger, we not only gain scalability but also enjoy a user-friendly environment with a short learning curve. It's not just scalable; it's effortlessly accessible.”
These factors had a part in choosing Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Project Operations as well, alongside the need to pick mature technology. De-Toledo adds, “It starts with how you authenticate yourself when you enter Teams, and it ends with the ease of how you input information and how you receive it. There’s an unprecedented level of maturity, collaboration, and relationship to new products like Copilot, which are crucial to growth.”
Employees use Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics Project Operations to manage the financial outcomes of transactions and the IoT, and Power BI and Power Apps to visualize the traceability of the stone. “Over the last year and a half, there have been so many new tools that Microsoft has added to help us get what we need,” says de-Toledo. Building an app that would speak to the same SQL used to be a question of six months, now it might take two days.
The biggest benefit to the Botswanan government and citizens is ownership, allowing producers to reap the financial benefits of their products. And in turn, giving customers the opportunity to see how their purchases are transforming the Botswanan economy and the life of its citizens.
HB Antwerp has been tracing 100 percent of the stones passing through its Mineral Infrastructure since day one. In the first three years of operation, HB Antwerp traced an amount of 500 million USD in diamonds. In 2024, the company plans to up the value of diamonds tracked to one billion US dollars. In terms of continuing to use AI like Copilot, de-Toledo says that 60 percent of emails are written with AI, suggesting the importance of AI to the future of the company. The company is also looking to grow by hiring more employees to expand the mission and track other precious stones with the Microsoft ecosystem.
What started as a mission to collect data on diamonds has developed into a robust solution that is also applicable to other minerals, but even more importantly, turned out to be a great catalyzer to mine data, finding useful data patterns and trends for better business insights and predictions. HB Antwerp has embraced the move from being just a diamond company to a data company. “It’s about how do you mine data and create scalability on it that attracts different humans, companies, and institutions who want to be a part of the story, and that’s how we aim to grow,” says de-Toledo.
There’s an unprecedented level of maturity, collaboration, and relationship to new products like Copilot, which are crucial to growth. - Shai de-Toledo: Co-founder & Managing Partner - HB Antwerp
353 Views 0 Likes Read More
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!