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Belgium 01-10-2026 Squad Only Virtual english
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.
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Belgium 06-10-2026 All Members Physical english
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.
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Belgium 08-10-2026 All Members Physical english
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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CIONET Trailblazer: CISO: The Shift from Prevention to Resilience: Turning Visibility into Execution
Published on: January 28, 2026 @ 9:48 AM
CIONET Trailblazer: AI Transformation: Bridging the Cultural Divide to Achieve Competitive Advantage
Published on: December 17, 2025 @ 9:16 AM
Protects mission-critical customer workloads with Trend Micro Hybrid Cloud Security
Partnered with leading managed service providers (MSPs) to secure more than 1,500 customers in over 40 countries, Armor is serious about global cybersecurity. Their customers need powerful, proven threat protection and response, and that’s why the company built the Armor Anywhere cybersecurity solution with Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ Software.
Challenges
As a global cybersecurity software company, Armor protects customers across a range of industries, including ecommerce, healthcare, finance, and IT. These customers vary in size from small businesses and large enterprises. Armor’s customers have one thing in common: They need to protect mission-critical apps and data and meet compliance regulations no matter where they are hosted.
“Data is the currency of our age, and our customers need to protect it,” says Ryan Smith, Product Evangelist at Armor.
Protecting customer data has become more complicated as IT environments have evolved. “In the past, it was easy to figure out how to do security because everything was in one location. Today, data is all over the place: on-premises, co-located, and in the public cloud. The pace of transformation has outpaced the ability of companies to keep up from a security perspective,” says Smith.
At the same time, many people are currently working from home due to COVID-19, which has accelerated concerns around endpoint detection and response.
“We see many of our customers struggling because data security isn’t in their DNA. We built a SaaS-based security and compliance platform to help them de-risk their business and to be flexible enough to deliver great outcomes regardless of how the IT environment changes,” says Smith.
Why Trend Micro
Armor relies on Trend Micro as a key security alliance partner to provide peace of mind for themselves and their customers.
“This partnership is incredibly important to Armor. Trend Micro gives us visibility across cloud and hybrid environments. Wherever the workload or endpoint is, we can protect it thanks to Trend Micro,” says Smith.
The strong alliance between Trend Micro and Amazon Web Services (AWS) was crucial for Armor.
“Another big selling point for us is Trend Micro’s committed consumption model through AWS Marketplace, which allows Armor to simplify and streamline its costs, billing, and reporting,” says Smith. “A sign of a good relationship is someone that truly understands your use case and doesn’t treat every partner the same. Armor is unique in the market. Trend Micro took the time to work with us and arrange a licensing model that provided value for customers and was in line with how customers consume software in today’s cloud era. We aren’t just consumers and customers, we are partners who can influence the roadmap.”
"Trend Micro gives us visibility across cloud and hybrid environments. Wherever the workload or endpoint is, we can protect it thanks to Trend Micro."
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Ryan Smith Product Evangelist, Armor
"A big selling point for us is Trend Micro’s committed consumption model through AWS Marketplace, which allows Armor to simplify and streamline its costs, billing, and reporting."
Ryan Smith Product Evangelist, Armor
Solution
Deep Security Software is a central part of Armor’s product offering, providing Armor with a full range of security capabilities (anti-malware, file integrity monitoring, IDS/IPS) in a single, smart agent. Its automated, host-based model enables automatic detection of new workloads, allowing Armor’s customers to seamlessly auto-scale their security with elastic demand.
“We’re always focused on protecting workloads and host security and visibility. Deep Security Software is the central way we get that visibility. Deep Security Software is an incredibly important part of the workload protection software we offer,” says Smith.
Deep Security Software also helps Armor’s customers maintain regulatory compliance for their cloud workloads. The solution addresses requirements and regulatory controls for multiple standards, including PCI DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA/HITECH. With Deep Security Software, Armor’s customers can demonstrate compliance with detailed audit reports that document prevented attacks and compliance policy, as well the status of regulatory control being on within the environment.
Results
“Due to Trend Micro’s willingness to work with us on the licensing model and their suite of modular security capabilities that protect endpoints wherever they are, Armor was able to build a security platform that met the needs of MSPs protecting hundreds to thousands of end customers. Armor’s relationship and integration with the Deep Security Software portfolio allows Armor to offer a platform to service providers where they can either consume turnkey security bundles to meet their customers’ compliance and security needs or pick and choose between security capabilities and build and scale their own security portfolios within the market,” says Smith.
This has been critical to Armor’s success in its pursuit to be the security platform of choice for the service provider market. In addition to helping secure and scale security in MSP environments, Armor continues to deliver security and compliance outcomes to its direct customers.
“Trend Micro gives Armor the ability to offer valuable security controls that are costeffective, can evolve with customer use cases as digital transformation continues to push the pace of innovation in the cloud, and eliminate complexity for customers as they look to de-risk their modern cloud environments,” says Smith.
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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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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.
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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.
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