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Belgium 20-10-2026 Squad Only Virtual English
Cloud decisions are becoming more selective. The challenge is deciding where each workload should run based on cost, performance, control, resilience, sovereignty, and business need. Three pressure points usually drive the decision. - Cost visibility becomes harder when usage grows across cloud services, data platforms, and AI workloads. - Performance and latency matter more when systems need fast access to data or support operational processes. - Sovereignty and resilience become critical when data location, continuity, vendor dependency, and exit options enter the discussion. The working question is simple: how do we place workloads where they create the most value while keeping the hybrid landscape manageable? If these trade-offs are on your agenda, let’s compare how others are handling similar choices.
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Belgium 10-11-2026 Squad Only Virtual English
Data platforms are meant to simplify access and support better use of data. The challenge is choosing and governing the platform landscape in a way that creates consistency, reuse, and long-term value. Three pressure points usually appear. - Platform choice becomes difficult when teams have different needs for speed, flexibility, cost, and control. - Business meaning needs protection: customer, revenue, product, risk, and FTE need shared definitions across tools. - Ownership and governance need to be clear, so platforms grow with accountability and discipline. The working question is simple: how do we give teams the data capabilities they need while keeping the platform landscape understandable, governed, and reusable? If these questions are familiar, let’s compare approaches with others facing the same data landscape.
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Belgium 13-11-2026 Squad Only Physical English
Many IT capabilities are essential and difficult to fund through a simple project ROI. The challenge is showing why architecture, governance, resilience, cybersecurity maturity, data foundations, and AI readiness deserve investment before the gap becomes expensive. Three pressure points make the case harder. - Shared value means the benefit often sits across several teams, while the budget sits in one place. - Timing creates friction because the cost is immediate while the value appears over time. - Risk translation is needed so business and finance leaders understand the consequence of delaying the investment. The working question is simple: how do we turn foundational IT capabilities into credible investment cases that link cost, risk, business value, and future flexibility? If you are building these cases internally, let’s compare how others are positioning value, risk, and timing.
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URUS Group, a global leader in agricultural genetics, has streamlined its security operations with Trend Micro Apex Central. By providing a unified platform for managing diverse IT environments, Apex Central offers real-time visibility and control, enabling URUS to effectively protect its valuable data and systems.
OVERVIEW
URUS Group was established to meet the needs of dairy farmers and beef farmers worldwide. As a holding company with cooperative and private owners, URUS Group connects renowned organizations such as Alta Genetics, GENEX, Jetstream Genetics, PEAK, SCCL, and VAS. Each of these organizations has its own identity and unique products and services. These companies provide cutting-edge genetics for genetic progress, tailor-made livestock reproduction services, and sophisticated livestock management software and services.
"We have minimal management, so Trend Micro Apex Central offers a real-time overview of the complete client environment, at all times."
Egbert Nijboer- IT / Security Manager URUS
CHALLENGES & WHY TREND MICRO
To support these activities optimally, the IT environment has been centralized. The step to the cloud was also taken in that process. The Dutch branch of the URUS group has been using Trend Micro technology to protect all layers of the IT environment since 1998. As a long-time Trend Micro™ OfficeScan ™ customer, URUS has now migrated to Trend Micro Apex One ™ for their endpoints worldwide. The organization has secured their cloud server environment with Trend Micro Cloud One - Workload Security and their on-premises environment with Trend Micro Deep Security software. In addition to the high level of security, the possibility of central management that Trend Micro provides is important to URUS. “Although we have also tried other products for antivirus and malware, they were not at the same level as Trend Micro”, says Egbert Nijboer, IT / Security Manager at URUS. “The contacts were very good and I was involved in the pilot project for the development of Trend Micro Apex One ™ as a Service at an early stage”.
"With Trend Micro Safe Lock we can continue to use our human interface machines in a safe manner and without major risks."
Egbert Nijboer - IT / Security Manager URUS
SOLUTION
Trend Micro Apex One was ready for installation in 2019. However, URUS saw the number of ransomware attacks rapidly increase worldwide and decided to speed up the installation of Trend Micro Apex One to ensure they were sufficiently prepared.
URUS uses Trend Micro Apex One to protect all endpoints, including clients, laptops, and the Microsoft® Windows® servers in Azure and on-premises. “It is a great advantage for us that we can control everything centrally from the cloud, both from our private cloud and from Azure”. Nijboer also saves time with patching without having to compromise on security. “With Trend Micro Apex One, patches are automatically planned and rolled out, and zero-day risks are also closed immediately. In addition, virtual patching prevents us from running risks because a supplier does not deliver patches on time. So we know for sure that we are optimally secured”. With the addition of Trend Micro Apex Central, which acts as the dashboard of Trend Micro Apex One, Nijboer now benefits from direct insight into possible vulnerabilities within his organization.
RESULTS
With Trend Micro Apex One, URUS has the ability to apply policies centrally and roll out adjustments in one go. “We have minimal management efforts and Trend Micro Apex Central offers an up-to-date overview of the complete client environment at all times”, says Nijboer. “Previously, management was divided by region. Now we can apply and adjust policies centrally, and patches are immediately widely rolled out. We use nine policies, and if there is a new client, we link the correct policy to it. This way we can be sure that all clients comply with the policy that we have set up for this”.
Due to their success using Trend Micro Apex One the Netherlands and Canada, URUS has made the decision to expand the solution across their environments in the US.
To protect their servers and lab equipment, URUS decided to deploy Workload Security. “This was a new solution for us. Together with Trend Micro, we have set up a dashboard and rolled it out on the servers for Microsoft 365 and our ERP system, among others. We immediately had better insight into the functioning of the servers. Through indepth analysis, we can now see whether there are vulnerabilities, but also, for example, unauthorized connections between servers”.
Application controls and virtual patching have given URUS more control over security, while the use of machine learning also offers predictive options. “With Workload Security, we not only have a good overview of all communication in the network, but also at server level. The ® dashboard provides insight into everything that is happening, and what applies to the clients now also applies to the servers”.
In addition, Nijboer is pleased by the fact that Trend Micro has made Workload Security also available for AWS, opening doors for URUS to work across multiple cloud platforms without having to organize their security differently. “We therefore maintain maximum control over the security of our entire environment. We can effectively monitor all signals via the central dashboard. Moreover, the rollout and patching is fully automated based on policies. This allows us to fully concentrate on our core tasks and to continue to grow flexibly, while security automatically grows.”
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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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