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Belgium 13-1-26 Squad Only Virtual english
Migrating legacy systems to the cloud remains one of the toughest balancing acts in IT. Every choice affects stability, cost, and trust at once, and what starts as a modernisation effort quickly turns into a negotiation between ambition and reality. Suddenly budgets rise, dependencies appear late, and timelines tighten as old architectures collide with new expectations. In the end, success depends on sequencing, ownership, and aligning business priorities with infrastructure limits, and not only on technical readiness. Making it work requires more than a plan on paper. Knowing which systems genuinely belong in the cloud, which can wait, and which should stay put shapes the entire roadmap and defines its success. Each refactoring decision sets the level of future flexibility, but it also drives cost and risk. The trade-offs between speed, sustainability, and resilience only become clear once migration begins and pressure builds. Let’s discuss how to plan migrations that stay on track, manage hidden dependencies, and handle downtime with confidence. Let’s also discuss how governance, testing, and vendor coordination keep progress visible and credible. Are you in? A closed conversation for those who turn cloud migration from a disruption into a long-term advantage.
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Belgium 20-1-26 All Members Physical english
CIOs today are being judged less as technology leaders and more as portfolio managers. Every euro is under scrutiny. Boards and CFOs demand lower run costs, higher efficiency, and clear ROI from every digital initiative. Yet, they also expect CIOs to place bets on disruptive technologies that will keep the enterprise competitive in five years. This constant tension is redefining the role. In this session, we go beyond FinOps and cost reporting to tackle the strategic financial dilemmas CIOs face.
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Belgium 22-1-26 Invitation Only Virtual english
AI coding assistants entered development teams quietly, but their impact grows by the day. What started as autocomplete now shapes architecture decisions, documentation, and testing. And when productivity gains are visible, so are new risks: security blind spots, uneven quality, and the slow erosion of shared standards. Teams move faster, but not always in the same direction. The challenge has become integration rather than adoption. And new questions have risen: how do you blend automation into established practices without losing oversight? When is human review still essential, and what should the rules of collaboration between developer and machine look like? As AI tools learn from proprietary code, where do responsibility and accountability sit? Let’s talk about how to redefine those workflows, balancing creativity with control, and protecting code quality in a hybrid human-AI environment. A closed conversation on where AI accelerates progress, where it introduces new debt, and how development culture must evolve to stay credible.
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January 13, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual english
Migrating legacy systems to the cloud remains one of the toughest balancing acts in IT. Every choice affects stability, cost, and trust at once, and what starts as a modernisation effort quickly turns into a negotiation between ambition and reality. Suddenly budgets rise, dependencies appear late, and timelines tighten as old architectures collide with new expectations. In the end, success depends on sequencing, ownership, and aligning business priorities with infrastructure limits, and not only on technical readiness. Making it work requires more than a plan on paper. Knowing which systems genuinely belong in the cloud, which can wait, and which should stay put shapes the entire roadmap and defines its success. Each refactoring decision sets the level of future flexibility, but it also drives cost and risk. The trade-offs between speed, sustainability, and resilience only become clear once migration begins and pressure builds. Let’s discuss how to plan migrations that stay on track, manage hidden dependencies, and handle downtime with confidence. Let’s also discuss how governance, testing, and vendor coordination keep progress visible and credible. Are you in? A closed conversation for those who turn cloud migration from a disruption into a long-term advantage.
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January 22, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual english
AI coding assistants entered development teams quietly, but their impact grows by the day. What started as autocomplete now shapes architecture decisions, documentation, and testing. And when productivity gains are visible, so are new risks: security blind spots, uneven quality, and the slow erosion of shared standards. Teams move faster, but not always in the same direction. The challenge has become integration rather than adoption. And new questions have risen: how do you blend automation into established practices without losing oversight? When is human review still essential, and what should the rules of collaboration between developer and machine look like? As AI tools learn from proprietary code, where do responsibility and accountability sit? Let’s talk about how to redefine those workflows, balancing creativity with control, and protecting code quality in a hybrid human-AI environment. A closed conversation on where AI accelerates progress, where it introduces new debt, and how development culture must evolve to stay credible.
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January 27, 2026 Squad Session Invitation Only Physical english
Zero Trust sounds simple on paper: trust no one, verify everything. But once you start implementing it, the fun begins. Legacy systems, hybrid networks, and human habits don’t read the manual. The idea is solid; the execution, not so much.
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CIONET Trailblazer: AI Transformation: Bridging the Cultural Divide to Achieve Competitive Advantage
Published on: December 17, 2025 @ 9:16 AM
DealerSocket protects sensitive customer data in a hybrid cloud environment
Protects sensitive customer data in a hybrid cloud environment
OVERVIEW
DealerSocket is a leading provider of software solutions for the automotive industry, offering a suite of seamlessly integrated products to help dealers sell and service vehicles more profitably. Since 2001, more than 100 million vehicles have been sold through the company’s software platforms. DealerSocket’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) products include advanced customer relationship management (CRM), digital marketing and websites, vehicle inventory management, analytics reporting, dealer management systems for independent dealers, and solutions that streamline dealer operations.
Based in Dallas, Texas, DealerSocket also has offices throughout the U.S. and internationally. The company employs more than 1,000 team members, serving 300,000 active users at more than 9,000 dealerships. DealerSocket’s hybrid cloud environment combines Amazon Web Services (AWS) and VMware® data centers. The organization also uses containers for its growing DevOps practice.
CHALLENGES
DealerSocket’s top priority is protecting the credit data for more than 100 million auto sales for its customers. The company’s IT security team must protect this information on AWS and in its data centers to maintain compliance with regulations in the U.S. and worldwide. The effort was complicated by the acquisition of several new companies, which introduced a variety of tools into the mix.
“We needed to consolidate our security tools on a platform that was scalable, easy to deploy and use, as well as protect our cloud and virtual environments,” said Greg Tatum, director of DealerSocket’s network and security operations.
In addition to the need for broader and stronger security, DealerSocket wanted a solution that would support its DevOps operation. “DevOps presents unique security challenges,” said Tatum. “The move to DevOps requires security tools that our engineers and infrastructure teams can easily embed in applications, in real time as they are built.”
"We needed to consolidate our security tools on a platform that was scalable, easy to deploy and use, as well as protect our cloud and virtual environments."
Greg Tatum - Director of Network and Security Operations, DealerSocket
WHY TREND
When DealerSocket began its search for a new security solution, they wanted comprehensive reporting capabilities to support compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other regulations. The solution had to be application programming interface (API)-driven, scalable, and easy to manage, install, and use. Finally, the solution would have to work seamlessly across Linux®, Microsoft® Windows®, Mac®, and virtual platforms.
Based on the results of the proof of concept, and on its reputation for innovative and effective solutions, Trend Micro was chosen among three vendors to provide the company’s security solution. “With a trusted partner like Trend Micro and its leadership in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, our customers know their data is protected by one of the best companies in the business,” said Tatum.
"At DealerSocket, DevOps starts with engineering, infrastructure, and security leadership. We meet weekly to discuss the cultural changes required to make DevOps and security part of our culture."
Greg Tatum - Director of Network and Security Operations, DealerSocket
DealerSocket selected Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ to use across all of its hosted infrastructure, including every endpoint within the AWS environment and in the data centers. “Deep Security is required as part of our security policy,” said Tatum. “A machine won’t go into the field unless Deep Security is installed.”
DealerSocket uses Deep Security’s antivirus, file integrity monitoring, and network intrusion detection and prevention features to protect its environment and support compliance. The solution’s reporting capabilities are instrumental in keeping the company secure across its entire infrastructure. “In addition to daily reviews, Deep Security reports are shared once a month with other teams that support our IT environments as part of our vulnerability and threat management review,” said Tatum.
RESULTS
With Deep Security protecting its AWS and data center environments, DealerSocket’s security team can quickly detect incidents and efficiently manage investigations, allowing them to provide vastly improved protection for the company’s data. Deep Security also met DealerSocket’s ease-of-use requirements from the start. In just 30 days, the solution was easily installed on 2,000 machines and the previous product was removed. The product supports DealerSocket’s DevOps goals with its full API enablement and scalability. Finally, Deep Security’s tools and reports have significantly simplified its compliance requirements. For example, the company’s last PCI DSS audit took only two and a half weeks.
WHAT'S NEXT
Looking ahead, DealerSocket plans to continue expanding its DevOps practice. Trend Micro is working with Tatum and his team to secure containers and is currently testing container security in its AWS environment. “At DealerSocket, DevOps starts with engineering, infrastructure, and security leadership. We meet weekly to discuss the cultural changes required to make DevOps and security part of our culture,” said Tatum.
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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?
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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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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!