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Welcome to CIONET Belgium

Realise your ambition! Connect with your local community of digital leaders.

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Upcoming Events

 
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Belgium 28-8-25 Country Members Physical english

20 Years CIONET - CIONET Belgium: Summer Festival

A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership.Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.This is more than a celebration—it’s an opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and recharge with your fellow digital leaders. Don't miss this exclusive experience packed with inspiring talks, networking opportunities, and special recognitions that highlight the best of CIONET’s history and future.Let’s celebrate the past, present, and future of the digital community you helped build.

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Belgium 28-8-25 Country Members Physical english

Summer Festival - Advisory Board

A special celebration marking 20 years of CIONET—two decades of empowering digital leaders and driving innovation in the technology landscape. This exclusive event will bring together our members to reflect on the incredible journey we've shared and look ahead to the future of digital leadership. Featuring keynote presentations from visionary CIOs, industry pioneers, and founding members, we’ll explore how far we’ve come and what lies ahead in the ever-evolving world of technology. Together, we will honour the contributions of our members who have shaped CIONET’s legacy while offering insights into how the community will continue to lead in the years to come.

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Belgium 2-9-25 All TRIBERS Virtual english

What Does It Cost to Host an App? ; A practical guide to calculating hosting costs across infra, licenses, and operations

You’ve been asked a simple question: “What does it cost to host this application?” But the answer is anything but simple. The platform sits across multiple data centres. The app spans a few VMs, shares a backup system, uses licensed monitoring, and touches five different teams. Your CMDB should help, but it’s rigid, outdated, or incomplete. And yet, you still need to provide a number, clear, explainable, and grounded in reality.

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Upcoming TRIBE Events

 
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August 5, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish

AI Act – praktyka stosowania na rynku polskim

AI Act – dyrektywa unijna regulująca wiele zasad wykorzystania AI w modelach biznesowych- już obowiązuje na polskim rynki. Ciekawe są prawdziwe i realne przypadki jej stosowania. Spójrzmy na temat od strony regulacyjnej, czyli prawnej. Ale zobaczmy praktykę aktywnej w temacie kancelarii prawnej. Zaprosiliśmy mecenaskę Aleksandrę Maciejewicz z kancelarii Lawmore, która od dłuższego czasu jest niezwykle aktywna i praktykuje w tym temacie. Poznamy podstawę prawną, praktyczne case’y i opis sytuacji oczami prawdziwego praktyka.

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August 6, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish

DORA: wszystko, co chcielibyście wiedzieć, a baliście się zapytać

Michał Kulesza, adwokat, partner w departamencie technologicznym kancelarii Rymarz Zdort Maruta i szef zespołu regulacji ICT, przeprowadzi nas przez kluczowe wątki rozporządzenia i zmierzy się z pytaniami zgłoszonymi przez uczestników. Omówimy zarówno krytyczne aspekty na początku wdrożeń, jak i dostrajanie zmian na poziomie organizacyjnym i strategicznym. Masz konkretny temat, który warto poruszyć? Zgłoś go w trakcie rejestracji. Zamiast czytać między wierszami DORA – porozmawiajmy o tym wprost.

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August 7, 2025 Squad Session Invitation Only Virtual polish

Automated Systems Testing

Duże tempo developmentu i dokonywanych zmian wymaga nowej klasy testowania. Jakość systemów obserwowana na produkcji będzie pochodną skuteczności tego procesu. Duże nadzieje wiążemy z platformami wspierającymi testowanie i opartymi na AI. Sesja ta pokaże, gdzie jesteśmy w poszukiwaniu takich rozwiązań i gdzie ewaluuje myślenie szefów testów i ich rozwiązania organizacyjne.

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CIONET Partner Updates

CIONET Partner Updates

Recent Cases

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Mount Pleasant School District leverages Trend Micro to protect all data and prepare for the future

Leverages Trend Micro to protect all data and prepare for the future

OVERVIEW

Known as a technology trailblazer with over 20 years of experience in technology and a passion for discovering innovation, Noe Arzate, chief technology officer for Mount Pleasant Independent School District (ISD) knows that leveraging technology to accomplish current needs and prepare for the future is crucial. With thousands of confidential records, Mount Pleasant ISD considers securing data a top priority.

“We have to evaluate technology pragmatically. We have to prepare for the worst and hope it doesn’t happen,” says Arzate.

 
 

CHALLENGES

Educational institutions in the US experienced an average of more than two attack incidents per school day in 2020, according to the K12 Security Information Exchange. Mount Pleasant ISD in Titus County, Texas, faced the challenge of protecting more than 5,400 students across eight campuses, plus approximately 1,000 faculty and staff members, while leveraging technology to inform curriculum and instruction decisions. To accomplish this, and to prepare for the district’s future security needs, Mount Pleasant ISD chose Trend Micro.

 

With Trend Micro, it’s not just a purchase, it’s a relationship. It’s not just the technology, it’s the people that stand behind the technology.

Photo of Noe Arzate  Noe Arzate - Chief Technology Officer, Mount Pleasant Independent School
 
 

WHY TREND

While the district previously used Trend Micro™ TippingPoint™ to protect its data and endpoints, it was replaced by other tools due to a change in direction by school administrators. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented the district with new security concerns, as students alternated between remote and in-person learning. He evaluated several other vendors to determine if they’d be a better fit for the district’s needs of securing each learning environment.

“We wanted to have the best protection for students learning from home, but we didn’t want to create obstacles to that learning. We needed to meet compliance requirements and empower kids to learn and progress. I kept coming back to TippingPoint because of the excellent job it did when I was a customer years ago,” says Arzate.

He also liked the fact that Trend Micro’s support and partnership compared to other vendors.

“With Trend Micro, it’s not just a purchase, it’s a relationship. It’s not just the technology, it’s the people that stand behind the technology,” says Arzate.

The solution and customer experience are exceeding Arzate’s expectations.

“I’m impressed with TippingPoint and Trend Micro. I know if I need help, I can get a hold of someone quickly who can help. I’m confident and happy that I selected Trend Micro,” says Arzate.

 

With Trend Micro, it’s not just a purchase, it’s a relationship. It’s not just the technology, it’s the people that stand behind the technology.

Photo of Noe Arzate  Noe Arzate - Chief Technology Officer, Mount Pleasant Independent School
 
 

SOLUTION

Arzate especially likes what he’s seeing in TippingPoint, the next-generation intrusion prevention system (IPS), which protects critical infrastructure, data, and vulnerable applications in real time from known, undisclosed, and unknown vulnerabilities without adversely affecting network performance. “When it comes to IPS, Trend Micro does things differently than other vendors. I like the architecture of TippingPoint and the way it’s positioned. We can set it up in different architectures and situations in our environment. It’s nice to see that the core of IPS and Trend Micro hasn’t changed—it has evolved to make something really good into something even better,” says Arzate.

Arzate also appreciated how seamless implementing and integrating TippingPoint has been during a demanding time for the district.

“TippingPoint has been extremely easy, from the sales side of things to the implementation of the product. I was able to schedule a call with Trend Micro and get it up and running very quickly. I also like the automation. You can set it up and forget it, which frees my staff to work on other critical needs,” says Arzate.

 
 

RESULTS

Mount Pleasant ISD is already seeing improved security protection without adverse impacts to its network performance. The district also works with another security vendor to provide external domain name system (DNS) protection. Placing TippingPoint in front of the firewall, in between its other server security vendor, allowed Arzate to see that some security events were still filtering through.

“Without TippingPoint, I wouldn’t have been able to see that. I could see that our other vendor is doing a good job, but not an excellent job because some security events are still getting in,” says Arzate.

The district plans to leverage that information to mitigate the events that are penetrating the system.

“It’s about finding the best position for TippingPoint to leverage the capabilities our other systems don’t have. Ultimately, having TippingPoint means having more data than ever to protect students, staff, and faculty even better,” says Arzate.

 
 

WHAT'S NEXT

Working with Trend Micro again has influenced Arzate to consider other ways in which the two organizations might collaborate in the future. “I’ve gotten to know Trend Micro again as a company, to understand their values and why they do what they do. That’s helped me see Trend Micro in a different light and to consider how we might expand our partnership in the future,” says Arzate.

CIONET Circles

CIONET Business Circles

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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?

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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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Check out our latest news

Testimonials

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Team

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Contact us

Would you like to know more about CIONET Belgium, membership or partnership opportunities? Do you have feedback or any other question? Send us a message!