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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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Transforming a global business to work with the agility of a startup

How a global SD-WAN rollout is boosting network visibility and control.

Overview
How can a big business move with the agility of a small one?
This was the conundrum we helped one of our largest customers solve. While every startup dreams of growth, expansion comes at a price. Big firms have more people to organise and more to lose by taking risks, so it takes them longer to adapt to change. That’s exactly what our multinational customer wanted to avoid. The team needed a better way to manage the network from a central, cloud-based system, without losing speed. All while reducing the cost of WAN. The change would give the team better network visibility, so they could make smarter business decisions and react faster to their customers’ needs. We helped them roll-out this next-generation network worldwide, so they could behave like a startup at scale.

The challenge
We helped the customer test and vet the latest SD-WAN technology in an on-site lab. Working closely with the team gave us an important insight into the network’s complexities. And it meant our team was perfectly positioned to help with the rollout – while limiting the overall risk to the business. But it was still a mammoth challenge. The customer wanted to upgrade 85 sites around the globe. These ranged from factories with complex IT and OT environments to 24/7 offices for thousands of people that couldn’t afford any downtime. And because we had to work with different local vendors every time, no two installs were the same. Over the course of the project, we’ve streamlined the way we work. The boost in efficiency encouraged the customer to let us take on more responsibilities – now, we’re also handling the design and delivery of infrastructure for each site. As well as procuring and commissioning hardware, this means configuring vEdge routers to work with existing systems. Then we oversee the handover to the customer’s operations team and decommission old hardware when they need it. To start with, the customer’s local engineering teams helped us create templates in Cisco Viptela vManage and push out the configurations. But after the first few implementations, the customer trusted us to carry out the process from end to end without any oversight.

The solution
Working together on a global rollout
First, we had to make sure each unique site was set up correctly. We put together a team of nine project managers and 13 technical designers to handle the challenge. Our experience working with large global enterprises meant we already understood their internal systems and processes, so we could quickly roll out the new system. And meet their internal procurement, audit, operations and security expectations – without shaking things up for people on the ground. Plus, because we simplified the infrastructure, once the SD-WAN was up and running, the customer’s network operations centre could easily manage it all from one place. We’ve perfected the art of custom installations to each site. It now only takes a week for our team to create a design, with the customer’s sites experiencing zero downtime during the delivery.

The result
Building better connections
Phase one of the rollout has been a real success. We delivered a total of 65 sites in just over a year, with 50 of them in less than nine months. They can now resolve problems faster, give their users better network security and work more efficiently using cloud applications. It’s already saved the company $15m in operating costs. And helped them advance their cloud-ready strategy. Phase two is already underway – over the next six months we’ll roll out to 50 more sites. And the best news is that our customer is completely satisfied with the results so far. With more network visibility and control, SD-WAN has given them all the tools they need to succeed. Their business applications, data, devices and people are better connected than they’ve ever been before. And they can embrace new technologies on-the-fly, including mobile connectivity. The new system has made it easier for the whole organisation to collaborate and innovate. So they can accelerate their growth like a startup.

Technologies

Connect Meraki SD-WAN

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.