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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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DeKalb County Schools District proactively protects environment with the Trend Vision One™ platform

DeKalb County Schools Partners with Trend Micro to safeguard its network and data. By leveraging Trend Vision One, the district is ensuring the security of students, staff, and sensitive information.

OVERVIEW

With 13 schools and nearly 9,000 students, DeKalb Country Schools District prides itself on being a hub for educational excellence—and a pillar of its community. Local resident, Jimmy Benefield, who took over the role of technology coordinator in 2020, sees a personal side to this mission. “Being entrusted with servicing and maintaining all of our campuses, the network, and the computer infrastructure here with the school system, it’s like I’m able to give back to the community I grew up in,” says Benefield. He relies on Trend Vision One™ to keep the district’s students, teachers, administration, and staff secure from cyber threats.

Seeing the complete picture — from servers, cloud, email, network to endpoints — is crucial to maintaining a healthy network. Having access to all of this information in one portal really saves time.

Jimmy Benefield - Technology Coordinator, DeKalb County Schools District

CHALLENGES

“Our biggest goal is to protect our environment from potential risks, ensuring our end users are safe and our network, endpoints, cloud, and email are secure,” says Benefield. “With the rise of phishing, ransomware, and other attacks increasingly becoming more disruptive for school districts across the country, keeping DeKalb County Schools is our priority with my five‑person team.”

“Protecting our students’ access to information online and addressing potential risks, such as unsecured apps, is a constant concern,” says Benefield. “Our team must also synchronize their efforts across multiple departments and schools, wearing many hats to meet diverse needs—from data integration to network infrastructure for new construction projects.”

WHY TREND

Faced with a need to increase protection on the network when he came on board in 2020, Benefield chose Trend to secure the district’s servers. “When DeKalb County Schools District experienced a ransomware attack on our computers seven months after our purchase, our Trend deployment was the game-changer in keeping the servers protected. The Trend team was with us every step of the way during the rebuild and recovery,” says Benefield.

We realized purchasing more security products was essential to our ransomware recovery process. The level of support we received from Trend during our recovery made it the obvious first choice.

Jimmy Benefield - Technology Coordinator, DeKalb County Schools District

SOLUTION

“We added Trend Vision One™ – XDR for Endpoints and Workloads after the incident to give us visibility over our network. The addition of XDR for Endpoints and Workloads helped us to discover machines that were still infected, which saved us considerable time getting those devices sent back to our district office so we could clean, protect, and return them to users.”

The district now enjoys the complete security of Trend Vision One. “Seeing the complete picture with Trend Vision One—from servers, cloud, and network to endpoints and email—is crucial to maintaining a healthy network. Having full visibility and access to all of this information in one portal really saves time,” says Benefield.

RESULTS

DeKalb County Schools District has experienced a transformation since beginning its partnership with Trend. “Trend Vision One has streamlined monitoring and provided a single interface to manage our district’s servers, cloud, email, network, and endpoints,” says Benefield. “We’ve saved valuable time, allowing my small team to focus on critical tasks, ensuring systems are up and running seamlessly.”

Benefield especially praises the Trend network security solutions. “With Trend Vision One™ – TippingPoint™, the geo block feature allows us to see on the dashboard how many attacks we are blocking hourly from other countries, and it is continuously scanning for weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We’re lucky to have TippingPoint up and running to manage those threats,” he says.

“The Trend Vision One™ – XDR for Email notifications have also become a critical feature, alerting our team to security risks and prompting rapid responses and investigations. With enhanced visibility into the network and ongoing reporting, we have successfully overseen the elimination of older device operating systems and can help my team to better prioritize and keep operations running smoothly,” says Benefield.

WHAT'S NEXT

DeKalb County Schools District is proactively bolstering security measures by focusing on training and awareness. “I’d like to make our staff and students more knowledgeable about potential attacks and ways to avoid them—not just to secure our network but to provide them with insight to reduce the chances of being taken advantage of at home,” says Benefield.

“I’m excited to use Trend Vision One to run phishing campaigns that aid in staff training,” says Benefield. As the digital landscape evolves, with the support of Trend, Benefield and his team are set to address these security concerns head‑on, fostering a safer digital environment. “Peace of mind and sleeping soundly is what I am now able to do with Trend Vison One in place. The Trend security solutions and team cover me and life is more peaceful.”

Business benefits:

Unified security platform empowers the IT team to focus on critical tasks with a single interface to manage infrastructure
Enables proactive threat mitigation and prompt responses to security risks
Bolsters the school district’s response to ransomware, phishing, and other critical risks to students and staff

Technologies

Apex One™ Cloud One – Workload Security Trend Micro Cloud App Security™ Trend Micro TippingPoint Trend Micro™Deep Discovery™ Trend Vision One™ cloud security platform Vision One™ with Managed XDR

Partners

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.