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Belgium 01-10-2026 Squad Only Virtual english

Letting Teams Build Safely with Low-Code, No-Code, and AI Tools. ; How to enable business-led development while keeping security, architecture, and support under control.

Low-code, no-code, and AI tools are giving business teams more ability to build solutions themselves. The challenge is setting the right boundaries before fast local solutions become important operational assets. Three pressure points need attention. - Boundaries must be clear: teams need to know what they can build alone and what requires IT, security, or architecture review. - Supportability matters when a quick solution becomes business-critical. - Risk control remains necessary around data access, compliance, security, process dependency, and maintenance. The working question is simple: how do we enable business-led development while keeping security, ownership, and support under control? If you are trying to enable this safely, let’s compare approaches with others facing the same balance.

Belgium 06-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Token Trap: Reclaiming Control of Enterprise AI

As enterprise AI transitions from experimental Proofs of Concept (POCs) into real implementations, digital leaders are encountering a shared challenge: consumption-based public cloud token billing models do not fit neatly into traditional IT budgeting. Daily token consumption can rise unexpectedly, pushing expenses through the roof while arbitrary caps quickly kill momentum for innovation. For many CIOs, this raises an open strategic question: How do we keep costs under control while further stimulating innovation? During this interactive CIONET roundtable, we will explore among peers how to navigate AI tokenomics. Rather than treating public cloud LLMs as the default path, we will investigate how different execution environments, ranging from hybrid cloud setups and targeted on-premise models to specialised edge hardware, can help balance cost with performance. This session is intentionally designed as an open peer-to-peer exchange; a space to compare notes, challenge current ways of working and architectural setups, and discuss practical approaches to building predictable, scalable AI models.

Belgium 08-10-2026 All Members Physical english

The Permanent (R)evolution

Every large organisation has been through a major transformation, and most through several. The word transformation is misleading because it suggests a beginning and an end. But organisations that do well are the ones that have given up on the idea of arriving and realise that constant change has become the new norm, and missing a single cycle leaves you permanently behind. This evening, two leaders will share how they think about this, coming from opposite directions. John Porter led Telenet through a sustained period of reinvention spanning the pandemic, a full reorganisation into tribes, M&A, and a shift to a performance driven culture. Along the way, the IT department was dissolved and technology was embedded inside autonomous tribes that run as small businesses. There is no CIO at Telenet. It is Telenet Group’s purpose to become a digital-first, customer-centric organisation. To deliver on this ambition, it has embarked on a transformation journey built on three pillars: (i) the implementation of a scaled-agile operating model (organisation), (ii) the acceleration of digitisation and automation underpinned by optimised IT systems, platforms, and strategic technology partnerships (digitisation), and (iii) a performance leadership culture focused on accountability, ownership, and a change mindset (culture). Kris Vervaet, on the other hand, has just become CIO at KBC, the bank whose mobile app has been ranked best in the world three times and whose AI assistant Kate now handles 70% of customer queries on its own. But Kris is no ordinary CIO: he ran DPG Media Belgium as CEO, and KBC went looking for someone who has led transformation rather than someone who manages technology. So while one organisation got rid of the CIO role, the other reinvented it, and both are thriving. The conversation will range across organisational and IT redesign, the rise of digital-first customer experience, the impact of AI on how every business is run, and the harder questions of culture, talent and leadership. The question for every leader in the room is what that tells you about your own role, your own operating model, and the pace at which you are prepared to keep evolving.

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Some like it complex

What do progressive rock and jazz have to do with data integration? A great deal says Peter Tenbusch, CEO of travelbasys, a leading IT service provider in the tourism industry that offers a range of solutions for managing data, payments, and bookkeeping. Why? Because all of those things require a good deal of curiosity and openness.

Marillion, Genesis, Pink Floyd—everyone knows these famous bands and one or two of their big hits. However, things look very different when it comes to lesser-known songs. But not for Peter Tenbusch. A diehard fan like him is also enthusiastic about their multilayered, intricate, and lengthy pieces: "Art rock, progressive rock, and jazz have never intimidated me," says the CEO of travelbasys. "I always thought: So many other people like it, there must be something to it." So he dove headlong into the music, listening very closely and intently.

Pushing the boundaries

RBS now is the most important product for travelbasys, which is based in Mühlheim an der Ruhr. RBS was developed with Software AG’s Adabas & Natural and is a market-leading back-office and management system for travel agencies in Germany and Europe. The software integrates all systems and data into one seamless, automated process—from process management to reporting, bookkeeping, and archiving. Many tour operators and travel agencies throughout Europe use it.

RBS has been steadily refined over time and expanded to a back-office software package with a variety of functions, and meanwhile has also turned its focus to additional customer groups such as credit card companies and banks. "We need to keep on evolving specifically because we have been in business for so long," explains Tenbusch. "In that process, we have often pushed beyond our boundaries—and we're still doing that to this day.

The dynamic way the travel industry has changed since the advent of the internet has made that necessary. "Essentially, not a stone was left standing. The entire market has become extremely heterogenous and modular," states Tenbusch. For instance, in the past the entire industry in Germany used a single central reservation system. That has grown to five in the meantime, and more are coming. And while 30 years ago consumers generally went to a travel agency to book a flight, these days they can do that easily on their smartphone, either directly on the airline’s website or with any of the two dozen online travel providers.

"The airlines in turn maintain direct contact with customers, travel agencies, and sales channels to get out of the standardized price ranking," says Tenbusch. As a consequence, demand for online data availability in real time has risen enormously. There is a rapidly growing volume of information and a wide variety of data sources that need to be dynamically integrated with each other.

Data integration is key

In order to keep up with the pace and level of complexity while staying ahead of evolving industry standards, travelbasys needed to revolutionize its systems. The company now relies on Software AG’s webMethods and API Gateway to do the job. They enable the integration of all data silos and are establishing a central data source for real-time data processing, which travelbasys’ customers can access. webMethods provides a standardized gateway for the travelbasys systems to communicate with other systems. "It has given us a toolbox that we currently use to connect 100 different interfaces as well as import and export all possible data formats,” explains Tenbusch. "Thanks to this flexibility we can also connect customers with older systems by integrating their existing systems. And we’re up to date and ready for new customers with their new requirements and standards."

Openness and user-friendliness—it always comes down to these two maxims at travelbasys. Tenbusch elaborates: "Over time we have built up a large treasure trove of experience with normalizing and standardizing data from the travel industry and making it easily available to customers." Aside from the IT, the team's mindset is crucial: staying agile, interested, and open to new innovations and ideas. "We regularly have major projects where we need to adapt and adjust, but those are the projects where we learned and gained a great deal," he notes, adding: "That continues to make our business so interesting for me to this day."

All that remains is a request for a music tip. Mr. Tenbusch, can you name three progressive rock albums that warrant indulging in a deep dive?… Tenbusch: "There are so many, but here are four albums from recent years:

Pushing the boundaries

Data integration is key

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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.

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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 !

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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.