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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

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Upcoming Events

 
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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.

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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.

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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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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

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Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) safeguards its virtual servers from APT and zero-day threats

Safeguards its virtual servers from APT and zero-day threats

OVERVIEW

Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) was established in 1996. With nearly 200 trading units in 132 transaction points across Vietnam, OCB is an industry leader in Vietnam’s financial services market. In 2017, OBC attained Moody’s Basel II rating, the highest level of rating for commercial banks in Vietnam.

As the pioneer in digital banking service, OCB is the first bank in Vietnam to offer integrated omni-channel banking services, providing seamless transaction experiences for end users across all channels and devices. As a result, OCB was recognized by IMF as the Most Innovative Digital Bank Viet Nam 2018 and the Best New Omni Channel Platform.

 

CHALLENGES

OCB has been undergoing rapid digital transformation over the years. In March 2018, OCB launched the OCB OMNI application, an omni-channel digital banking platform that allows users to switch between devices during a single transaction. With OCB’s online and offline channels integrated, customers have the flexibility of making a transaction on its website and complete the process at a physical branch or on its mobile app. The move made OCB the first integrated bank in Vietnam.

The banking sector has traditionally been one of the top targets for cyberattacks. Threats can range from low-level phishing (via email, SMS, and websites) to advanced persistent threats (malware infections, targeted attacks, zero-day, and vulnerability exploits). And in OCB’s quest to have elevated cybersecurity a top operational priority, then bank wants to be prepared for all of them.

 

"Trend Micro gives us the right proactive security solution for our virtual infrastructure while minimizing the impact on our systems’ performance."

Mr. Du Xuan Vu - CIO, Orient Commercial Bank (OCB)

 
 

WHY TREND

As a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, Trend Micro is a well-known brand in the local market. The company provides cybersecurity technologies to many financial organizations across the world, including Bank Saint Petersburg, State Bank of India, Softbank Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and many more.

In addition, Trend Micro offers a comprehensive suite of on-premise and SaaS solutions protecting the endpoints, network, and servers in any given organization. The company is also known for its tireless innovation throughout its 30-year history.

 
 

SOLUTION

OCB deployed two key solutions – Trend Micro™ Deep Security™ full Enterprise capabilities and Trend Micro™ Deep Discovery™ Analyzer, to protect its virtual servers from zero-day vulnerability exploits, unknown malware, and other unforeseen threats. Deep Security is an advanced server solution that provides smart security. Optimized for the virtual environment, Deep Security uses a comprehensive set of policy-enforced security controls to automatically shield virtual machines from cyberattacks and vulnerabilities, stop malware from spreading in the server environment, and detect any unauthorized system changes. It also applies virtual patches to servers, protecting them from any vulnerability-based attacks, even before an official patch is released.

Deep Discovery Analyzer (DDAN) extends the value of Deep Security by providing custom sandboxing and advanced analysis. As a result, better detection can be achieved. Custom sandboxing analysis works by creating virtual images that mimic OCB’s system configurations, drivers, installed applications, and language versions and executes a suspicious file in a safe “sandbox” to determine if it is malicious. This reduces the timeconsuming task of manually analyzing suspicious files, enhancing productivity and detection over time.

 
 

WHAT'S NEXT

Having deployed Trend Micro’s two cybersecurity solutions, OCB is able to protect the virtual servers in all of its 132 branches—as well as its customers—from known and unknown malware, zero-day vulnerability exploits, and other criminal threats with increased detection accuracy and without any disruption to its operation. In addition, OCB is able to centrally manage its security operations through a unified platform, simplifying security tasks, accelerating detection time, and reducing incident response time and remediation costs.

 

Partners

CIONET Circles

CIONET Business Circles

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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.

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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.

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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 !

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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.

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Team

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Programme Manager
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