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 MoreHelping Almirall get new medicines to market
Providing global collaboration tools to keep millions free from medical problems.
Overview
Almirall’s drugs help people across the world with medical problems, from allergies to migraines. The company had a headache of its own, though.
It was using different comms systems across its worldwide subsidiaries, and that made communication and decision-making tricky. It also made it tough to enter new territories and bring new products to market.
Now, thanks to a Cisco collaboration suite hosted by us, Almirall expects big improvements in productivity and staff satisfaction. And with worldwide research and development teams working together more effectively, they’ll be able to deliver new patents – faster.
The challenge
Based in Barcelona, Almirall provides medicines and medical devices through its own patents, and through agreements and alliances. It’s the leading Spanish pharma company in terms of research and development (R&D) spend.
Almirall grew rapidly, both organically and through acquisitions. But each addition brought introduced a new comms infrastructure. That made it difficult to support teams working in different territories. The company’s telephone systems were separate from other comms channels and there was no global conferencing service.
That left the company relying on face-to-face meetings for decision-making. And with a rapidly expanding global footprint, this meant big costs and delays. Jordi Macià, enterprise collaboration manager, says: “We were starting to work in new markets, acquiring new companies, and we didn’t have a global solution.”
“Video follows me everywhere I go. With my iPad, with my iPhone, I can connect wherever I am. It’s immediate, just a snap of your fingers. I have all my colleagues connected with TelePresence and I can instantly message them, call them and, if we need it, just WebEx.”
Nuria Sane - Aqua Integration Project Manager, Almirall
The solution
We proposed a unified collaboration platform for the whole company, based on Cisco technology that’s hosted in our data centre in Spain. One Enterprise Cisco platform gives Almirall a low-cost IP telephone system that works with a company-wide phone and email directory. Better still, it gives the company a range of video conferencing options, which reduces the need for business travel.
Mariam Gonzalez, Corporate Change Manager, says: “Collaboration allows us to schedule meetings easier, because we all have calendars integrated with WebEx. Jabber makes it easier to communicate with our colleagues from affiliates or other centres.”
Our M&A teams are able to work better with partners. Our sales teams are trained more often and more easily using WebEx.”
Jordi MaciàEnterprise Collaboration Manager, Almirall.
We made sure Almirall were well-equipped for video meetings, with twenty Cisco TelePresence suites, more than 180 video phones, and Cisco WebEx and Jabber for video-enabled meetings on desktops, laptops and mobile devices.
Better still, we deliver the entire infrastructure as a single managed service. This means that Almirall didn’t have to invest in an infrastructure of its own. Instead, it only pays for the collaboration services it actually uses.
Mathias Moritz, Chief Information Officer, says: “We implemented unified communications all over the place to make our people connected anywhere at any time.”
Pharmaceutical company Almirall saves on travel, boosts productivity, and brings together dispersed teams with BT cloud-managed Cisco solutions.
The result
It used to be a big challenge to collaborate at Almirall. Now, it’s simple. Mariam Gonzales, Corporate Change Manager, says, “The BT-hosted collaboration technology allows us to schedule meetings easier, because we all have calendars integrated with WebEx. Jabber makes it easier to communicate with our colleagues from other affiliates or centres. You can use your mobile phones, your desktop or video conferencing rooms.”
Almirall expects that collaboration technology will cut travel costs and speed up decision-making. And for a company set on expansion, it’s had a big impact on reducing the time it takes to complete mergers and get new sites on board.
And because they operate worldwide, it’s easy to launch and maintain collaborative technologies wherever Almirall needs to work. “Now we can provide chat services or instant messaging to everyone in the company,” says Jordi. “They can meet online with whoever they want, inside or outside the company. We can have video from anywhere, on any device. This is a reality now.”
Almirall is using video to support even more innovation. R&D teams in Spain, Germany and beyond now work closer together thanks to TelePresence. Mariam concludes: “Video makes a difference. It makes us closer and more human.”
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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!