null

Belgium 10-09-2026 Squad Only Physical english

Building the Infrastructure AI Needs: From computer and data access to scalability, cost control, and operational readiness.

AI is moving from pilots into operational use, and the infrastructure question is becoming more concrete. The challenge is deciding what needs to be built, expanded, controlled, or delayed as usage grows. Three pressure points usually appear first. - Compute capacity requires careful planning: teams need enough GPU, cloud, or specialised processing power, while keeping utilisation and cost under control. - Data movement becomes more demanding: AI needs access to data across systems, with latency, security, integration, and quality managed from the start. - Operational control becomes essential: monitoring, access rights, resilience, cost visibility, and ownership need to scale with usage. The working question is simple: how do we support AI at scale while keeping infrastructure efficient, governed, and financially sustainable? If you are working through these choices, let’s compare approaches with others facing similar constraints.

Belgium 15-09-2026 Squad Only Virtual english

Turning AI Pilots into Daily Workflows: How to move from experimentation to adoption by redesigning work, ownership, controls, and habits.

AI pilots are easier to launch than to embed into daily operations. The challenge is changing how work happens once AI becomes part of decisions, tasks, handovers, and controls. Three pressure points tend to decide whether adoption holds. - Workflow fit matters: AI has to enter the flow of work as part of the process. - Ownership needs to be clear: someone must own the process, the controls, the exceptions, and the outcome. - User trust has to be built: people need to know when to rely on AI, when to challenge it, and when to escalate. The working question is simple: how do we move AI from promising pilots into daily work while keeping clarity, accountability, and risk control? If this is part of your current reality, let’s compare choices, constraints, and lessons learned.

Belgium 17-09-2026 Country Members Physical french

Les Rencontres: CTO: Le Saint Graal?

Pendant longtemps, le TCO donnait une impression de contrôle. On investissait, on amortissait, on optimisait. Les coûts étaient visibles, relativement prévisibles, et structurés autour d’une logique claire entre CAPEX et OPEX. Ce modèle ne suffit plus à expliquer où va réellement l’argent. Aujourd’hui, une part croissante des dépenses IT ne repose plus sur ce que l’on possède, mais sur ce que l’on consomme: des tokens générés par l’IA des agents qui exécutent des actions en continu des outils SaaS qui se multiplient dans les équipes du cloud qui s’adapte en permanence à l’usage Le coût ne disparaît pas, mais il devient plus diffus, plus dynamique, et souvent plus difficile à attribuer, à expliquer, et à maîtriser. C’est là que des approches comme le Technology Business Management, ou TBM, redeviennent particulièrement utiles: non pas comme un exercice de reporting supplémentaire, mais comme un moyen de relier concrètement les dépenses aux services, aux usages, et aux décisions. Et c’est là aussi que la question du “Saint Graal” revient, mais sous une autre forme. Vous vous demandez peut-être: Comment garder de la maîtrise quand la dépense dépend du comportement, des usages, et parfois même de systèmes autonomes ? Comment piloter l’équilibre CAPEX/OPEX quand le cloud, le SaaS et l’IA déplacent progressivement les coûts vers des modèles variables ? Quels coûts restent encore trop souvent hors radar: ressources métier, formation, support, intégration, sécurité, gouvernance ? Et surtout, qu’est-ce qu’un “bon TCO” veut encore dire quand il faut le mettre en regard d’objectifs parfois plus stratégiques, plus longs à mesurer, ou plus difficiles à quantifier: qualité de service, résilience, agilité, expérience utilisateur, capacité d’innovation ? Ce sont précisément ces questions qui seront au cœur de notre rencontre: une discussion ouverte entre pairs, ancrée dans la réalité du terrain, pas pour débattre de modèles idéaux, mais pour comprendre comment chacun tente, concrètement, de mesurer, d’attribuer et de reprendre le contrôle, sans réduire la valeur d’un choix technologique à son seul coût.

Please Log In with your CIONET account first

Thiele Kaolin increases endpoint protection, reduces costs 60% by switching to Trend Micro

Increases endpoint protection, reduces costs 60% by switching to Trend Micro

OVERVIEW

As a leading manufacturer of kaolin clay, a mineral chiefly used in papermaking, Thiele Kaolin Company stays competitive by acquiring companies and expanding into new markets. The strategy has driven growth and success, but it has also added complexity to their security infrastructure. With Trend Micro as its security partner, Thiele Kaolin has evolved their security posture along with the growing needs of the organization.

We were reluctant to leave our current security provider, but after doing the deep dive, it became clear that moving to Trend Micro was in our best long-term interest.

Mark Bailey

Manager of Information Services
Thiele Kaolin Company

CHALLENGES

With the coated paper industry in decline, Thiele Kaolin started to move into new markets, the company needed to improve their security posture while tightly controlling costs. Mark Bailey, Manager of Information Services, was charged with securing a newly diverse and dispersed network of assets with his small security team without increasing costs.

To add to the challenge, the contract for Thiele Kaolin’s incumbent security provider was up for renewal. “Our incumbent provider was changing the way their relationships with mid-size companies were managed and that was going to increase costs for us. Their customer support was slow, which made us uneasy. New threats emerge constantly, so you can’t be complacent. We felt the incumbent was focused more on revenue than on security,” says Bailey.

Our relationship with Trend Micro helps us control the cost of endpoint protection, reducing it by approximately 60%.

Mark Bailey

Manager of Information Services
Thiele Kaolin Company

WHY TREND

Bailey’s team decided to conduct a deep-dive investigation of three security companies who appeared in the leadership position of the Gartner® Magic Quadrant, which included Trend Micro. “Trend Micro’s reputation put them at the top of our short list,” says Bailey.

After a thorough examination of all three solutions, Thiele Kaolin selected Trend Micro. “We were reluctant to leave our current security provider, but after doing the deep dive, it became clear that moving to Trend Micro was in our best long- term interest,” says Bailey.

In addition to Trend Micro’s complete data and endpoint protection, their responsiveness and dedication was a differentiator. “The passion Trend Micro personnel had for innovating and providing a great solution was clear. Trend Micro had an openness and willingness to talk with us about our needs,” says Bailey. “It was our best long-term solution.”

SOLUTION

Thiele Kaolin launched a proof of concept of Trend Micro Apex One for their endpoints, which offers advanced automated threat detection and response against a wide variety of threats. “Trend Micro Apex One’s automation is important to my team, as is the customizable dashboard that makes it easy to monitor threats and anomalies. The incumbent provider’s endpoint protection did not include any investigative tools other than notification that specific activity occurred on an endpoint,” says Ed Harper, Senior Security Systems Administrator at Thiele Kaolin.

Trend Micro Apex Central, the solution’s central management control makes it quick and easy to create and modify policies. “The simplified administration is very important because we have the same threats to manage as larger companies. Being able to drill down and see the details with Trend Micro Apex One is huge for us,” says Bailey. The addition of endpoint detection and response (EDR) also extended greater visibility for the IT Team.

Bailey’s team also appreciated the easy way the Trend Micro team uninstalled Thiele Kaolin’s previous solution. “Trend Micro has a tool that looks for competitive agents to reduce resource contention and that made it easier. They helped us ensure all the old software was gone, to prevent any conflict with the new software,” says Bailey.

RESULTS

Since implementing Trend Micro Apex One, Bailey’s team has seen the number of detected threats drop substantially. “We have not had any malicious activity on our endpoints since installing Trend Micro,” says Harper. Using Trend Micro Apex One is also helping the company reduce expenses as its customer base and the industry evolves. “Our relationship with Trend Micro helps us control the cost of endpoint protection, reducing it by approximately 60%,” says Bailey.

Finally, automated updates ensure that Thiele Kaolin clients always have up-to-date security protection. “We updated the server recently and all the clients started updating automatically. Keeping the software up to date is essential and seeing this work effectively was important to us,” says Bailey.

WHAT'S NEXT

Thiele Kaolin’s manufacturing division is currently exploring TXOne, Trend Micro’s industrial intrusion prevention system, through another proof of concept. “COVID-19 reinforced the need to look at solutions that give manufacturing employees more flexibility. We are excited about TXOne because it will enable better security and remote management so we’ll be better prepared for any future disruptive events,” says Bailey.

Beyond that, Thiele Kaolin leaders are looking for opportunities to grow and diversify the business. “We acquired two companies in the past few years and we anticipate more in the future. Trend Micro makes us more flexible. As we acquire new businesses and our networking becomes more complex, Trend Micro will help us ensure a smooth and

Technologies

Apex Central Apex One™ Trend Vision One™ - Endpoint Security

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.