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Belgium 10-3-26 All Members Physical english

The Composable Enterprise: Engineered with AI

From modular business design to AI-driven pipelines, architectures, and operationsA composable enterprise is built on modular processes, API-driven ecosystems, low-code platforms, and cloud-native services. It promises speed and adaptability by allowing organisations to reconfigure their capabilities as conditions change. However, modular design alone does not guarantee resilience; the way these systems are engineered and operated is just as important.This is where AI is beginning to make a difference. Beyond generating snippets of code, AI is already influencing how entire systems are developed and run: accelerating CI/CD pipelines, improving test coverage, optimising Infrastructure-as-Code, sharpening observability, and even shaping architectural decisions. These changes directly affect how quickly new business components can be deployed, connected, and retired.In this session, we will examine how CIOs can bring these two movements together:Composable design is the framework for flexibility and modularity.AI-augmented engineering is the force that delivers the speed, quality, and intelligence needed to sustain it.The pitfalls of treating them in isolation: composability that collapses under slow engineering cycles, or AI that only adds complexity without a modular structure.The discussion goes beyond concepts to practical implications: how to architect organisations that can be recomposed at speed, without losing control or reliability. The outcome is an enterprise that is not only modular in design but also engineered to adapt continuously under real-world conditions.

Belgium 12-3-26 Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

Tomato! Tomato! Tomato! Get your tomato now! Every vendor sells security. And every company depends on vendors, partners, and suppliers. The more digital the business becomes, the longer that list grows, and so does the attack surface. One weak link, and there is always one, or one missed update, and trust collapses faster than any firewall can react. What used to be a procurement checklist has become a full-time discipline. Questionnaires, audits, and endless documentation prove that everyone’s “compliant,” yet incidents keep happening. So it’s clear: the issue isn’t lack of policy, or maybe a bit, but mostly lack of visibility. Beyond a certain point, even the most secure organisation is only as safe as its least prepared partner (or an employee who hadn’t had their morning coffee). So how far can you trust your vendors? How do you check what you can’t control? And when does assurance become theatre instead of protection? Does it come at a different cost? Let’s exchange what works and what fails in third-party risk management: live monitoring, shared responsibility models, contractual levers, and the reality of building trust in a chain you don’t own. A closed conversation for those redefining what partnership means when risk is shared but accountability isn’t.

Belgium 19-3-26 Country Members Physical french

Vendor Detox: La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ?

Moins de Partenaires : La consolidation vaut-elle le risque ? Le problème est la prolifération des fournisseurs : trop d'outils causant de la complexité, une taxe d'intégration paralysante et de la redondance. La Taxe d'Intégration est le coût caché (en temps, en échecs et en ressources) d'essayer de faire fonctionner ensemble des systèmes disparates. Cet échange se concentre sur des stratégies éprouvées pour simplifier de manière agressive le parc technologique, consolider les fournisseurs et élever certains fournisseurs clés au rang de partenaires stratégiques.

March 12, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

The Third-Party Risk Reckoning: How far can you trust your vendors?

March 24, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Killing Zombie Projects: Knowing when to stop, restart, or quietly let go

Every organisation has them, projects that keep running long after their purpose has faded. No one remembers who asked for them, but shutting them down feels riskier than keeping them alive. And eventually, people stay assigned, budgets stay allocated, and energy drains into work that no longer matters. Inertia at its finest.

March 26, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english

Measuring Value in AI Initiatives: Defining ROI, accountability, and measurable outcomes in complex environments

AI projects continue to multiply, but proving their value remains difficult. Most organisations can track activity, not impact. Dashboards count pilots and models, yet few translate to measurable business outcomes. The result is familiar: success stories without clarity on what they actually delivered.

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Professional Services Firm achieves strategic growth goals with better cloud security

Operating out of Louisiana, this professional services firm provides accounting, insurance, audit, and IT consulting to small and large clients across a broad range of industries. Security is a top priority for the firm as it manages extremely sensitive financial data and personally identifiable information (PII).

CHALLENGES

“When I joined the firm, I inherited an uneven distribution of security solutions,” says Mark Ligget, Director of IT Services. “There were multiple platforms, some overlapping. It was a challenge to manage, and untenable with a small staff. We needed to make a systemic change.”

The company recently migrated from on-premises systems to a hybrid cloud environment to enable better agility and allow the firm to innovate faster. That’s important as the company expands its business to offer IT consulting and looks to develop a managed service provider (MSP) offering. “We have an advantage because we don’t have the weight of early development to reengineer. We are in a good spot to innovate faster,” says Liggett.

With a goal to protect “any data, any device, anytime, anywhere,” Liggett searched for a solution that would bolster IT security and ensure compliance with strict and frequently evolving regulations.

WHY TREND

Liggett first considered whether the firm could stick with its three incumbent security solution providers. “That didn’t work because different things were protected. We needed a single security platform that could work in the cloud as well as on servers and endpoints,” Liggett explains.

“Trend Micro covers all the major requirements, including PCI compliance and cloud-based solutions. We really liked the SaaS offerings, which makes deployment and management easy.”

With better visibility I can see what’s out there. BEC, ransomware, and email protection all work extremely well. Cloud App Security pays for itself every time I send a report to management.

Mark Liggett - Director of IT Services, Professional Services Firm

SOLUTION

The firm purchased Trend Micro Worry-Free Services endpoint protection to block ransomware and other targeted attacks. “Worry-Free Services provides the cloud-based endpoint protection I’m looking for,” Liggett notes.

The firm also uses Trend Micro Cloud App Security advanced threat and data protection for Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Gmail™, and cloud file-sharing services to extend protection beyond the perimeter. That’s particularly important in the wake of unprecedented events like COVID-19.

“Trend Micro Cloud App Security enables our remote workers to access their files securely through cloud applications like OneDrive and provides the IT team with greater confidence that key data is safe, especially during tax filing season. Had COVID-19 occurred before we started working with Trend Micro, I would’ve insisted everyone work via a VPN because I couldn’t guarantee security or compliance,” says Liggett.

“The rollout was simple and non-interruptive for users. Issues are quickly resolved, and I have confidence that my users are protected. I have everything I need to protect them without putting my hands on their keyboards.”

With Trend Micro, we’ve reduced the time spent dealing with phishing, spam and malicious emails by 90%, going from 10 hours to about an hour a week.

Mark Liggett Director of IT Services, - Professional Services Firm

RESULTS

Better security from the cloud has been a key to helping the firm achieve its strategic growth goals of 5% to 10% per year. With Trend Micro blocking ransomware, targeted attacks, and ensuring that endpoints, inboxes, and client data are fully protected, the firm is focusing on growing the business and expanding its offerings.

“It’s hard to fight what you can’t see. Now, with better visibility I can see what’s out there. Business email compromise (BEC), ransomware, and email protection all work extremely well. Cloud App Security pays for itself every time I send a report to management.”

The most recent monthly report Liggett pulled included scans of over 175,000 emails. Those emails included 20 attempts to compromise business emails, 60 phishing attempts, and multiple malicious files. All of these have escaped Microsoft 365 basic security but none made it past Trend Micro’s detection and protection capabilities.

“Our response time for an end user that’s having issues is reduced to minutes, not hours. We don’t have to hunt around, do scans, or do any heavy lifting to figure out what’s going on. With Trend Micro, we’ve reduced the time spent dealing with phishing, spam and malicious emails by 90%, going from 10 hours to about an hour a week.” says Liggett.

WHAT'S NEXT

“COVID-19 has been a good lesson for us, and we’re fortunate that all our users have laptops and can work from home,” Liggett says. “I’m always looking to improve security coverage and visibility in the field, so Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ will be our next strategic investment to secure our hybrid cloud workloads.”

Technologies

Trend Vision One™ cloud security platform Worry Free Services

Partners

CIONET Business Circles

Healthcare Circle

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?

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.